(Editor's note: This is the 76th in a series of "then and now" articles on places and things of interest in Kansas City, Kan., compiled by area historian Margaret Landis in observance of the 100th birthday of KCK in 1986. Much of the information has appeared in past editions of The Kansan.)

(Transcriptions are presented without changes except to improve readability.)

Black	Scandinavian	Irish	Yugoslavian
Polish	Mexican	Jewish	Italian
Greek	Czechoslovakian	German	Russian-Ukrainian

Banners representing the various ethnic groups of Kansas City, Kan., fly on 7th street between the KCK Municipal Building and the Wyandotte County Courthouse.

The 12 ethnic banners along with 16 American flags were raised in ceremony Oct. 19, 1973.

The United States flags are 8-by-12 feet in size on 50-foot poles. The ethnic banners are 6-by-10 feet flags flying on 40-foot poles.

The Ethnic Banners plaque, located in the lobby of the Municipal Building, details the purpose of the banners:

"The purpose of the ethnic Banners flying outside is to recognize the contribution our numerous Ethnic Groups have made to the past and present growth of Kansas City, Kan.

"These 12 banners along with the U.S. Flags also serve as a visual statement that this area is the governmental center of the city. The Ethnic Banners were designed and developed by Verne Christensen and David Samuelson of the Urban Renewal Agency. The flags and flag-poles were installed by the agency as part of its Center City Project."

The Oct. 19, 1973 issue of The Kansan reported the flag raising ceremonies at which Mayor Richard F. Walsh said,

"The myriad of ethnic people that immigrated from abroad to settle in Wyandotte County the past century were extolled today as hard-working individuals to build a better life for posterity...The migrants' dream is now reality and the entire community is better for it."

The Urban Renewal architectural designer, Verne Christensen, with the advice of local representatives of the ethnic groups designed the banners. "Rather than duplicate national flags," he told The Kansan's staff writer Bob Friskel, "we tried to use symbols of the heritage of the people of the countries; because we're representing the people instead of the countries themselves."

The symbols:

1. BLACK - Black, handshake symbolizing brotherhood of the black community.
2. POLISH - Red, Polish eagle, a national emblem.
3. GREEK - Blue, the cross from the Greek flag.
4. SCANDINAVIAN - Red, Viking ship with five shields representing the five Scandinavian countries.
5. MEXICAN - Brown, Mayan carving, stone relief from an ancient temple.
6. CZECHOSLOVAKIAN - Red and Blue, the symbol of the Cross of St. Cyril's Methoclious, with two bars horizontal and one vertical, representing three person in Christ.
7. IRISH - Green and black, shamrock and Celtic cross.
8. JEWISH - Blue, the Menorah or candelabrum with Stars of David. The seven candlesticks symbolize the seven days of creation, seven continents and seven planets.
9. GERMAN - Black, the German eagle.
10. ITALIAN - Green the three ships of Columbus.
11. RUSSIAN-UKRAINIAN - Gold, blue the traditional onion domes of the Russian Orthodox Churches for Russia, and for Ukrainians, the 3-pronged spear or trident symbolizing three persons in Christ.