This holiday season will be a memorable one for Kansas City Museum fans who appreciate its tradition of the Fairy Princess.

This year, for the first time ever, the Fairy Princess will hold court inside the carriage house, a building on the former Long family estate that is being restored to its original glory.

“This will be a wonderful holiday season at the Museum,” explains Katrina Waldrop Henke, board president of Friends of Kansas City Museum. “The Fairy Princess is such a rich tradition in Kansas City, and with the Museum’s carriage house being restored, it’s a lovely venue for the Fairy Princess events.

“It will give our visitors a chance to learn about the progress of the Museum’s restoration while they’re enjoying the Fairy Princess tradition,” she says.

View a photo gallery of Fairy Princesses through the years >>



The Museum's carriage house is being restored to the building's original purpose as a carriage house for the R.A. Long family. Daughter Loula Long Combs' famous and extensive collection of horse carriages will return to the carriage house after restoration is complete.

When built in 1910, the Long family’s carriage house was one of the grandest of its kind with beautifully appointed horse stalls and living quarters for the stable hands. When Loula Long moved to her Longview farm in south Kansas City, the carriage house remained empty for a number of years. After the estate became the Kansas City Museum, the converted building housed the Natural History Halls of the Museum in the 1950s, featuring exhibits of animal specimens and natural artifacts from the Kansas City region. In 2008, these exhibits were removed and the specimens were transferred to other regional historic centers.

The current phase of restoration includes the replacement of all exterior windows and doors on the Corinthian Hall residence and the carriage house.

Learn more about the carriage house restoration. >>