TOPEKA: Just HOW BAD Is It? What We Saw In The Kansas Capital City

The greatest rock group of the sseventies is from Topeka.
Kansas, carry on wayward son, dust in the wind and point of no return

Nothing but drugs crime, unwanted diversity and homelessness with severe mental health issues destroying the city. We packed up and moved within a month

Don't let those "beautiful" houses fool you. I wouldn't want to be in some of those areas after dark.

You mention the Topeka Performing Arts Center and all the bands that played in the venue. You forgot one very important group. The Band Kansas who have the rock hits Carry On Wayward Son, Dust in the Wind, Icarus Borne on Wings of Steel, People of the South Wind (a song about the Kansas tribe), and Song For America. They were from Topeka.

I new a kid whose was their when he off was a young kid by in Topeka he always bragged about how him and his friends built a go cart out of a 8x12 and two wheels from a wagon wheel and it held 5 kids from the neighborhood and he took the ride not down the hill up by the driveway to the outside movie theater true story

the Office was originally out in Pauline Ks close to Forbes Air Force base in the early 70"s Not sure when they moved to the city. Forbes air force base closed in 1973

What so funny .

Interesting video. Thanks for sharing. But the fact that you did not know who John Brown was and that you didn’t like real potatoe French fries …those two things are just sad. 😊

You made it feel like home

The state I live has no dome in the capital building that is Lincoln Nebraska...

I had to leave Topeka. Wouldn't be alive otherwise. I fell down the wrong path though and there was no turning it around unless i got out. Your results may vary.

I've performed music at the Jawhawk theater, The Office, and the Celtic fox!

It would be better for Kansas economically if they moved their capital to Wyandotte or Johnson county

Riddle me this; the Kansa Tribe, and the Kansa River are pronounced Kawn-sah. Yet, our State is pronounced Can-sas, with a nasal sound. At some point in time, the settlers were smart, and we seemingly lost this trait as time went on. Or am I wrong.

Wild. I’ve been working at the iron rail for 2 years now

I wish you could have visited the Evel Kneivel Museum! It is amazing!

My home town, but I moved away in the mid 1980s, chasing that better job with more pay, etc. Never thought I'd miss the place so much. Topeka was a wonderful place for a childhood to flourish.

Cant believe you got footage after the capital was actually finished with the outside renovations, that place had a crane there forever.

Update: houses now cost out the ass and we are paid less in most places

I currently work in Topeka once or twice a week (Sales) & I have grown to like the City. The people are pleasant & yes theres a little bit of everything there. The Roads are in terrible condition which I cant understand because its the Capitol of Kansas. By the way, the Big Time Rock Band "Kansas" calls Topeka Home.

My mother in law is a local artist and she painted the wren. Got her photo in the Topeka Capital Journal.

I live in Topeka. Very interesting video. My girlfriend went to Topeka high school. I've yet to go inside but I definitely will, at some point? The Capital building truly IS fascinating. But the stairs up into the dome were a bit taxing? Amazing view though, so it was worth it. 😀

This is why I live in Atchison.

Gordon Ramsey should go to Topeka! Thanks Nic. James from 🇦🇺

I wish you would show prominent sights like universities rather than just neighborhoods. Wanted to see the university in Topeka.

Thanks for coming to visit my town! I love it here. There's so much history in Topeka.

I was a cop in Topeka for 28 years, starting in the late ‘80s, crime was in the past very high, weirdly enough because of massive LA and Chicago gang influence, we got it under control in the early 2000s, way low, as in crime levels of the Lesve It To Beaver era.
Sadly, the voters here have a habit of electing completely incompetent city council members. The department was “defunded” decades before that was a buzz word. Now crime is way back up.
The downtown was vibrant in the ‘80s, then they let the developers start building out west, the first huge modern Walmart was built there, called the “Hypermart” originally, and West Ridge Mall. Sadly the mall has been derelict for years.

Yeah I grew up in Topeka, now live in Florida. Miss the slow life feeling there! Oh and Gallagher also did a showing at the performance art center.

Mixed feeling about Topeka wonderful place but so boring. Lots of food and paces fo eat just othing to keep bored people fro drinking and do drugs nees to e a retirement town. I was a part of the renovation in the Capitol building. I was a part of the crew that put all the tile in the new sections of the Capitol in the basement

My job takes me to Topeka a few times a week. I find the city to be depressing and run down and the roads are not taken care of. I'm always glad to be back home.

If u haven't already you Need to see Madison, GA just above Macon. Ga.. Mike...

Go to the zoo, you can dang near pet the hippos

I found your cross country series and really enjoyed it, so decided to watch a few others. But scrolling through the video thumbnails, I notice it’s nothing but negativity…slums, decaying buildings etc. why so negative???? Even this one on Topeka looks bad but yet you loved Topeka and did not have on negative thing to say about it.

Looks like Peoria, Illinois.....

As a Kansas....you didn't really do the mural of John Brown justice. That's a pretty famous painting you glossed over. I give you a C- on that part of the video.

Motorcycle shops are closed on Mondays almost all the time. Everywhere.

Elvis Knievel isn't from Topeka?

I think those bricks under the road used to be yellow 😉 🌈

How much is the price of a midsized house in Topeka?

I’ve grown up in Topeka. My dad moved here in 1980-81 when he married my mom. He said that the town has been talking about renovating the downtown as long as he can remember. Apparently it had fallen on bad times back then. In the late 80s the west side of town became the major business district with one of the first Walmart Hypermarts was built. Which was an experiment for what would later become Walmart Supercenters. It had a Subway Sandwich with a small area with tables to eat and was 24 hours I believe. This was the early 90s. It wasn’t until I left to deploy to Iraq in 18-19’ that the town changed dramatically. I came back and the downtown had been cleaned up and looked nice again. Local breweries and restaurants cropped up. I actually wanted to go downtown for the first time in my life. Usually I avoided it because of the homeless people and nothing to do. The Capitol building has one of, if not the only oldest working elevators from around the turn of the century. It was used in the filming of a movie where they needed a working period accurate elevator from the time. I cannot for the life of me find what movie it was. The Celtic Fox is not an Irish pub. It’s not very clean and is like a typical Midwest bar with generic beer and typical bar food but nothing I would care to eat and I’m not picky.

Carl Menninger was a student of Freud and he created a mental health hospital on the west side of town. It attracted a lot of celebrities seeking mental health treatment. Topeka was a small enough town to not draw an annoying crowd. Most people kept to themselves and didn’t bother celebrities if they were seen in public. The hospital had a partnership with Baylor University and it was ultimately decided to move the hospital to Baylor because of the logistics struggle operating two sites. It shut down in 2001.

Forbes Air Force Base shut down in 1976. It was a place that hangared the U-2 spy plane. A few Atlas-2 ICBMs were managed there. There was a SAC base there with a bomber wing. It’s now a municipal airport with an Air and an Army National Guard presence.

The Santa Fe Railroad was headquartered in Topeka and was merged with Burlington Northern in the 80s. It was the primary maintenance hub for Santa Fe and remained a major maintenance hub but I think BNSF has reduced its operations there.

The town has lost some major industries. Which has only been propped up by a bloated bureaucracy labor force between federal, state, county and city employees. Being a short drive to KC. Most of our major business is done there. We’re far enough out of KC to not draw in business. The town has experienced a decline since the early 90s. A lot of tiny track homes built after WWII filled the town. They’re cheaply made 800 sq ft homes that no one wants to own. They’re bought up for cheap and turned into rental properties. Which draws in a crowd of people who may have made some poor life choices. Who can’t afford to buy a home. So they resort to renting. The money collected in rent rarely stays in Topeka. So it drains our economy. We now have a reputation as being a place that welcomes homeless according to a friend on the city police. All of the smaller towns kick their homeless out and drop them off in Topeka. This brings crime and it’s also why the housing is cheap. The bulk of the homes are 800 sq foot $80k houses.

You missed the main landmark in downtown Topeka, Kansas!! The Jayhawk Tower!!

The indians arrow is pointed at the North Star!

I grew up in Topeka & graduated from both Topeka High School and Washburn University. THS was built during the Great Depression by the Civilian Conservation Corps (or maybe it was the WPA), a federal program that put a lot of people to work, and they built some absolutely stunning architecture, including Topeka High School. Too bad you didn't get a chance to tour that school. It's gorgeous inside.

Amelia Earhart was from Atchison Kansas.

Topeka sucks as the High schools have nothing but gangs & fighting for the past 60 years. Crime is rampant & welfare breeders abound, Keeps them from getting honest work. Just ask the KBI who recently asked the counsel for $$$ to build another office for them away from all the homeless slobs & their crime. Pretty bad when even the KBI agents are afraid of the mean old criminals

Harlem globe trotters before it was only called municipal autotorium

Why you didnt go to burnetts mound

Looks awesome, would love to visit. Been obsessed / fascinated with Kansas for years.... one day I hope!

I’m from Dallas but lived in Topeka half my life. The place is awesome, there’s also some cool parks, there’s one called Gage park that Stephen King based on one of his Books. Thanks, it’s a great video!