Seville and Kansas City, twinned cities for the love of art
The twinning of places has existed since the sixties of the last century. It arose with the aim of uniting villages or cities from different parts of the world, assuming that perhaps in this way a scenario as globally destructive as the Second World War, still recent in all areas of life, would never happen again.
Of course, for two places so far apart to twin, they have to share a story. There are hundreds of examples in the Spanish geography of places that have forged links with others throughout the planet. These lines will review the case of Seville and Kansas City, in the state of Missouri, in the United States. Two cities twinned by the love of art.
The Giralda is one of the symbols of Seville. | Shutterstock
So thought the real estate developer Jesse Clyde Nichols, considered one of the main promoters of valuable urban projects of the 20th century. His was the initiative to build, in Kansas City, the Country Club Plaza, considered the first shopping center in the world. It was opened to the public in 1923 and from the beginning it was clearly Hispanic-inspired. J.C. Nichols was in love with Hispanic architecture and sought its colours and forms for this project. To carry it out, he commissioned Edward Buehler Delk to design it, who traveled through Spain, South America and Mexico looking for inspiration. J.C. Nichols already knew that he wanted to include in this shopping center a replica of the Giralda and the fountain in the Plaza de la Virgen de los Reyes in Seville.
It was in the plans all along, although it did not become a reality until the mid-sixties, precisely when the twin-city project was gaining momentum. The reproduction of both monuments was then carried out. The inauguration was attended by the mayor of Seville, who decided that from that moment on, the Avenida de San Pablo, in the Andalusian city, would be known as Kansas City.
That same year, in 1966, the mayor of the U.S. city announced that the first place with which they would be twinned would be Seville. In honour of the city, celebration days were held in which typical products were exhibited and Andalusian customs were shared. This way, for the love of art, Seville and Kansas City, two cities from different parts of the world, have been united for more than fifty years.
