Lawrence, Kansas

"From ashes to immortality" -- Lawrence motto

Lawrence is the sixth largest city in Kansas and the county seat of Douglas County. Located in northeastern Kansas, it is approximately 25 miles east of Topeka and 35 miles west of Kansas City and the Missouri state border. Lawrence is situated along the banks of the Kansas and Wakarusa Rivers. Lawrence is a college town and is home to the University of Kansas and Haskell Indian Nations University.

Lawrence serves as one of the main settings of the fourth season of the Mental campaign.

Overview
Originally, north-south streets were named after the states in the order they were admitted to the union and east-west streets were named after people involved in the American Revolution. Massachusetts was selected for the main thoroughfare since that was where the town's original settlers came from. Over the years, this plan became marred, causing Oregon street to be placed before Delaware, North and South Carolina being represented by a single street near Lawrence High School and nine states not being included as a few examples.

The city is known for a thriving music and art scene. Rolling Stone named Lawrence once of the "best lil' college towns" in the country in 2005. The New York Times said Lawrence had "the most vital music scene between Chicago and Denver" in a travel column earlier that same year. Locally owned bar and music venue The Replay Lounge was named one of Esquire magazine's top 25 bars/venues in the country in 2007.

Lawrence is home to many bands and record labels. Many artists in the folk and indy scene originated in Lawrence or its surrounding areas. KJHK, the University of Kansas's award-winning, student-run radio station, is a staple of the local music scene. The Wakaruse Music and Camping Festival is a four-day-long weekend music festival held annually in early June just outside Lawrence, at Clinton State Park. Many big names headline the festival every year and the event attracts nearly 60,000 tickets every year. The event is kept smaller than other festivals such as Bonnaroo by an agreement with the state. Activities other than music include disc gold, yoga, hiking and swimming in Clinton Lake.

Lawrence is a college town and the University of Kansas is the largest public university in the state with total enrollment of just more than 30,000 students.

The architecture of Lawrence is greatly varied. Most buildings built before 1860 were destroyed in the Lawrence Massacre. Architectural styles represented in Old West Lawrence are Italiante, Victorian, Gothic Revival, Tudor, Richardson, Romanesque and many others.

Lawrence has a diverse economy spanning education, industrial, agricultural, government, finance and scientific research, most of these are related to the University of Kansas, which is the largest employer in the area. The largest private employer in Lawrence is General Dynamics. Lawrence Public Schools, the City of Lawrence, Lawrence Memorial Hospital and Hallmark Cards round out the top six employers.

Lawrence saw growth in the industrial sector in the 1980s in part to the development of the East Hills Business Park in 1986. Lawrence lies on the southern edge of the Dissected Till Plains, bordering the edge of the Osage Plains to the south. It is located between the Kansas and Wakaruse rivers. There are several major creeks that flow through Lawrence. Burroughs Creek in east Lawrence and Baldwin Creek in northwestern Lawrence that converse with the Kansas River. Yankee Tank Creek in southwest Lawrence and an unnamed creek that flows through central Lawrence converge with the Wakarusa River south of the city. Yankee Tank Crees is dammed to form Lake Alvamar, which was originally called Yankee Tank Lake, and still is by some older residents. The Wakarusa River is dammed to form Clinton Lake. Potter Lake is located on KU Campus and Mary's Lake is located in southeastern Lawrence as part of Prairie Park. There are also the Haskel-Baker Wetlands maintained by Haskell University and Baker University.

Climate
Lawrence lies in the transition between the humid continental and humid subtropical climate zones, typically experienging hot, humid summers and cold, frosty, dry winters. On average, Lawrence receives about 40 inches of rain annually, most of which occurs in the warmer months. Measurable snowfall occurs an average of 8 days per year, and a snow depth of at least one inch occurs an average of 16 days a year.

The Supernatural
Despite its proximity to the Lawrence Lodestone, Lawrence is not exactly a supernatural hot bed. Yes, its tragic and conflicted past have lent themselves to Lawrence having a respectable number of ghosts and other spirits, and while there are a fair number of Fae and monsters from Native American mythology can be found in the area, Lawrence is relatively quiet, supernaturally speaking.

Early History
Long before even before the Shawnee people settled in the region, the Lawrence Lodestone was created by an unknown party via an unknown method. This made the area of focal point of magical and psionic energy. Ever since, the region is rich with supernatural activity.

Prior to Kansas Territory being opened to settlement in May 1854, most of Douglas County was part of the Shawnee Indian Reservation. The Oregon Trail followed the Kansas River through what would become Lawrence and Mount Oread was used as a landmark and an outlook.

Settling
Lawrence had its beginnings as a center of Kansas politics. However, its economy soon diversified into many industries including agriculture, manufacturing and ultimately education, beginning with the founding of the University of Kansas in 1866 and later Haskell Indian Nations University in 1884.

Kansas was an important area during the Civil War for the Union Army.

Modern Era
In 1903, the Kansas River flooded causing property damage in LAwrence, especially North Lawrence. The water got aa high as 27 feet and water marks can still be seen on some buildings, especially at TeePee Junction at the US 24-40 intersection and at Burcham Park. Lawrence would be hit by other floods in 1951, where the water rose over 30 feet, and in 1993 but with the resevoir and levee system in place, Lawrence only had minimal damage compared to the other floods.

Also in 1903, Theodore Roosevelt visited the town and dedicated a fountain that is now located at South Park, next to the gazeebo.

In 1929, the city celebrated its 75th anniversary, dedicating the Lawrence Lodestone (known locally and officially as Founder's Rock, aka the Shunganunga Boulder). Lawrence also dedicated the Lawrence Municipal Airport on October 14 of that same year.

In 1943, the federal government transported German and Italian prisoners of war to Kansas and other Midwest states to work on farms and help solve the labor shortage caused by American men serving in the war effort. Large internment camps were established in Kansas. Among the twelve camps that were established, Camp Phillips was established in Lawrence near 11th & Haskell Avenue near the railroad tracks. The camp would close by the end of 1945, though those interred there suffered many great injustices, and escaped inmates would unleash their own atrocities just before the camp closed.

In 1955, the vampire Dante massacered the Ford family at their farm for a perceived slight. According to the papers, the entire family was butchered in what was called the bloodiest murders in 50 years. In reality, Edward Ford, one of George Ford's sons, was survived because he was turned into a vampire, though of course the public is unaware of this. The Ford house would remain abandoned until it was purchased by Edward Ford (the vampire) in 1990, when he renovated the property in his family's memory.

In the early 1980s, Lawrence grabbed attention from the television movie ''The Day After. ''The TV movie first appeared on ABC but was later shown in movie theaters around the world. The movie depicted what would happen if the United States were destroyed in a nuclear war. The movie was filmed in Lawrence, and hundreds of local residents appeared in the film as extras and in speaking roles. This is something they still talk about around town.

In 1989, the Free State Brewing Company opened in Lawrence becoming the first legal brewery in Kansas in more than 100 years. The restaurant is in a renovated inter-urban trolley station in downtown Lawrence. In 2007, Lawrence was named one of the best places to retire by U.S. News & World Report. In 2011, the city was named one of America's best college towns by Parents & Colleges.

Neighborhoods
Lawrence is designated by neighborhoods. Neighborhoods closest to Downtown are Old West Lawrence, East Lawrence, Oread, Hancock and Pickney. The first neighborhood west of Iowa Street was Sunset Hills. There are several neighborhoods listed on the National Register of Historic Places: Old West Lawrence, Oread, Hancock, Breezedale and most of Rhode Island Street.

Public Locations
Lawrence has 54 parks which includes community parks, neighborhood parks, trails, cemeteries and nature preserves. Community parks include South Park, Buford Watson Park, Broken Arrow Park, Riverfront Park, Holcomb Park, "Dad" Perry Park, Centennial Park and Prairie Park. Cemeteries include Oak Hill, Maple Grove and Memorial Park. The first cemetery in Lawrence, Pioneer Cemetery, is located on the University of Kansas Campus and is maintained by KU.

South Park is a large park in Downtown Lawrence divided by Massachusetts Street just south of the county courthouse between North Park and South Park Streets. The park originally consisted of four separate parks but they were combined to form a single park. A gazebo was built in South Park in 1910 and is used for annual city band performances during the summer months.

The Watkins Museum of History is located a block north of South Park and houses exhibits from Lawrence and Douglas County. Next door is a Japanese Friendship Garden designed by a representative from Lawrence's sister city of Hiratsuka, Japan.

Memorial Stadium and Allen Fieldhouse are sports stadiums located on the KU Campus. College sports--especially the Jayhawks--are practically a religion. The entire town gets caught up and there's nary anybody who doesn't regularly attend the games, or at least participate in a tailgater.

Businesses
The following are a list of businesses in the campaign:

--Bridges Private Detective Agency: A PI agency run by Jonathan Bridges and his daughter, Erica.

--Lawrence Sun: The daily newspaper and workplace of Elijah Porter.

Other Locales
The Eldridge Hotel was first built in 1855 as the Free State Hotel by Colonel Shalor Eldridge. The hotel was destroyed during the sack of Lawrence, but Eldridge rebuilt the Free State and added an extra story, vowing to do so every time. The Free State was destroyed again during Quantrill's Raid but Eldridge rebuilt again and renamed the hotel The Eldridge. In 1925, due to deterioration, the Eldridge was demolished and rebult but was closed and converted into apartments in 1970. In 1985, work began to renovate the Eldridge back into a hotel and in 2004, the building was sold and completely renovated back to its 1925 look. It is rumored that the ghost of Colonel Shalor Eldridge haunts the Eldridge. This is completely true.

Erica Bridges, her son Bruce and Elijah Grimes live on the old Ford Farm, located in the country about 12 miles south of town.

Trivia
--Despite his family living in Boston and having died in upstate New York, and having never lived in Lawrence, Sam Hudson's body was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery.

--In December of 2005, the then-mayor announced Inernational Dadaism Month, celebrating the early 20th century art movement. In the spirit of Dada, rather than select a typical calendar month for the occasion, the mayor set the dates for the "Month" as February 4, March 28, April 1, July 15, August 2, August 7, August 16, August 26, September 18, September 22, October 1, October 17 and October 26, determined by rolling dice and pulling numbers out of a hat.