Lawrence Travel Guide

These are more pictures of special items in the building. Overall, the this museum is good for locals and tourists of all kinds to see local culture but also some worldly art.

Wonderful community museum, an example of Romanesque architecture. Two main points of focus are the years of turmoil leading up to the beginning of the Civil War, and Kansas' admittance to statehood; and basketball history, much of which is rooted here in Lawrence.

The University of Kansas Museum of Natural History is located in Dyche Hall, a beautiful neo-Romanesque building shown in my previous tip.Small children absolutely love this museum. If you go on a school day, particularly in the late spring, you may be swamped by school kids on field trips. My wife and I took our 3 1/2 year granddaughter to see it...

Located in a little strip mall on the south side of Lawrence this place is well worth the visit. It is kind of small a few tables and a counter. It is clean and friendly. Order at the counter and the food will be brought to you at the table.It is bright and casual. The kitchen is open and the food is fresh and well prepared.Open 10am to 9pm closed...

I'm very surprised to find a restaurant this good in the mid-west. This kind of service I have only seen at top restaurants in New York. As for the food the best Italian I have ever eat. Arrabbiata Gamberetti is my favorite. Wow the taste of this dish is so so so good words can't do it justice. First of all it is a little spicy, to me not much at...

The food looked very appealing and what I had was very good, also. They were chicken wings, with condiments. At 35 cents a piece, why not? They also have 35 cents shrimp ofn Wednesdays, and other days specials. The beer-AT $1.50 a can, or $5 a pitcher on Wednesdays, try a sample. Talking to locals that were there, all the food is good and...

This place seems to bring out the lower element of drinkers-No real special things about the inside, but it seemed dirty and smelled like a toilet. Drink specials advertised on a chalkboard sign was from 2 weeks prior and they do not try to erase the ad for $2 beers. Sloppy

This seemed to be the closest place for students to walk over and get a beer. I think it gests packed in hot summer nights. This was at 1PM midday and ready for action already. It looks like it has a lot of ambiance. whatever

This has its own brewery and the students flock to come here now. They have quircky names like Flying Bison Rye, Black Angus; guess they are beers? It is decorated inside with paintings on the brick. The brewer is 1750 gallons, so it lasts the day.

Lawrence finally has a decent modern bus network after years of depending on rattling antiques borrowed by the university from Wichita. The routes are comprehensive and the service impeccable; I found the drivers exceedingly friendly and helpful. It costs 50 cents for a ride.

On campus, you can get a $20 fine if parked in wrong place. They have kiosks to stop you entering campus during daytime. The main parking lot is on Mississippi and it costs $1 per hour. You are not allowed to travel through campus except with permit, and after hours. Weekends, there is not a charge. Downtown lots are either 2 hours or daily. Watch...

It just ingrates me that since about 1970 the state was to charge for the roads for 10 years, and then free. Now the State workers use it as a pension, and the toll keeps going up. Seems like always in repair and no chance in *** to get rid of tolls. I use the side roads if not too inconvenient. It can cost $2-3 from Kc and to Topeka the cost is...

The selling of secondhand CDs must be Lawrence's biggest industry. Love Garden Sounds is the original and best with the most astounding selection of CDs, cassettes and vinyl imaginable.The shop itself epitomizes the Lawrence style with its vintage stock, wonky floorboards and population of friendly felines parked atop the merchandise waiting for...

The Dusty Bookshelf does for books what Love Garden Sounds does for music, offering the city's biggest selection of secondhand reads. Forget Borders around the corner, here are stacks and stacks of books which get shuffled through so often there is no chance of the shelves getting dusty. Some KU students sell their plasma at the blood clinic for...

Just walked by this place on my latest trip. Everything British. Not my cup of tea, but kind of interesting. Football posters under $25

Art TouGeau - one of Lawrence's many colorful events, is sponsored by the Lawrence Arts Center and local businesses, and is held each year in May. It features zany art creations on wheels. The highlight is a parade of these artworks.

Annual event in downtown Lawrence - and old-fashioned parade: no motorized vehicles, no bands, NO POLITICIANS - just horses and horse-drawn carriages and wagons decorated for the season. I believe it is always the first Saturday in December - check first.

Superstitious KU students refuse to walk all the way through the foyer of the Campanile at any time before graduating, saying that do so is bad luck. Only on graduation day, when thousands of robed seniors descend the hill to the stadium do they allow themselves to walk through.Another bit of folklore involving graduation day says that the bronze...

Watch where and how you go. The locals tolerate the street people, who seem not to hussle you, but watch carefully the movements when going by. The college students get a free run most times to loosen up downtown and then have a party type on the streets, apparently without a lot of hassle. Do not get in a fight.

If you're going to be exploring Massachusetts Street, there are a plethora of parking meters on Mass St. However, on Vermont Street (one block away), there are two two-hour parking lots (on the 800 block and on the 900 block). Trust me though, they mean business when they say two hours. The meter maids will mark your tires and write you a ticket if...

The local power company has a small hydro facility right on the Kaw River in downtown Lawrence. People tend to think of it as benign and slow-moving, but the river has its danger. Some fisher was wading in midstream when he got caught up in the current, was swept away and drown.Now, that would be really depressing. It's not the way to go. I mean,...

Haskell Indian Nations University is a unique higher educational institute where representatives from over 150 Native American tribes benefit from free tuition.The Haskell Cultural Center & Museum is a recent addition to the campus, which was established in 1884. At the new visitors center you can visit a student art gallery, see historic artifacts...

With a small town population of 4,000 plus 1,000 students, this is a nice and peaceful town. It has that feel like when you grew up in a more serene and proud environment. The 60 historic homes and the college structures from 1854 to 1900 are the features to spend a day here and view. The town established in 1857.

This is a nice and quiet town just 7 miles east of Lawrence. Commuters come from here for services type jobs mostly. It is nice and peaceful and worth a venture to see. It has around 7,000 residents, but seems like just due to new homes in recent years in subdivisions built. It originally was a more vibrant town when river traffic was coming...

Oh gosh, I hardly know where to start. I mean, everyone knows about the KU Jayhawks basketball teams and their famous Allen Fieldhouse, but the town has also got great golfing, boating, fishing, cycling and hiking opportunities if you'd rather do more than just cheer the 'Hawks on.

Lots of pool tables for rent, and karaoke (shudder) on some weekends. Good place to kick back with a tall beer and relax with friends.

Bowling - a good way to pass the time with a beer and nachos. Rent balls and shoes if you don't travel with your own.

The city grid with 82,000 residents and then 26,000 students is not conducive to good traffic flow. There is not outerbelt loop. At Hwy 10 & Iowa St intersection, it can back up for one half mile on an average day in heavy traffic. Then out west is more commercial and apartments and homes along the stretch of Hwy 40 going out about 3-5 miles. Whew....

He looks like a gardener to me."The Pioneer" is in a quiet nook just to the east of Lewis Hall, and it front of Miller Scholarship Hall. The sculpture was cast in 1905 by Frederick C. Hibbard - a Missouri artist (alas) who also was responsible for the "Boss Jim" Pendergast statue in KC M0 (which you can see on my Kansas City page.)

Sculpture by local Lawrence artice Elden Tefft, located in front of Smith Hall, home of the Department of Religious Studies. Although it is not shown in this picture, Moses is kneeling in front of a large stained glass window which is part of Smith Hall. The stained glass depicts the burning bush which spoke to Moses, and which although aflame was...