The four industrial artworks atop the support towers of the Kansas City Convention Center were once the subject of ridicule, but now define the night skyline near the along with Missouri's tallest office tower , the Missouri's tallest freestanding structure and the , a World War I memorial and museum that flaunts simulated flames and smoke billowing into the night skyline.
In the early 20th century under Pendergast, Kansas City became the country's "most wide open town".