Thomas J. Kiely Park
Owner: City of Kansas City, MO
Dates: Opened, 1926
Description:
Lt. Thomas Kiely died Sept. 12, 1918 in France. The original memorial location was a traffic island at the intersection of Brush Creek Blvd. and The Paseo. A cannon was placed in honor of Capt. Kiely by the Thomas J. Kiely American Legion Post, and the site was dedicated in his name in 1941. The cannon was removed for safety reasons just a few months later. In 1947, a different monument was placed there, dedicated to 2 doctors, one killed in WWI and the other during WWII. This Fitzsimons – Battenfeld Monument was later moved when the traffic island was eliminated with the realignment of Brush Creek and surrounding roads. The park property alongside The Paseo from Cleaver Blvd to Brush Creek was unofficially named Kiely Park, as a replacement for the traffic island park that was removed. The American Legion Post has closed, and little is known about Thomas Kiely at this time.
