The doors to the National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial will open to the public in December, and on August 1, 2006, City of Kansas City, Mo., representatives toured recent construction progress on the project.

The tour began in the J.C. Nichols Auditorium at the museum where participants viewed a promotional video containing previously unseen footage of the museum. After the film, Brigadier General Steve Berkheiser, United States Marine Corps (Ret.) and executive director of Liberty Memorial and the National World War I Museum, led the group and revealed the newest construction progress at the museum. Councilmembers Bonnie Sue Cooper, 2nd District-at-Large; John Fairfield, 2^nd District; Jim Glover, 4^th District-at-Large; George Blackwood, 4^th District; and Chuck Eddy, 6^th District attended the tour along with City Manager Wayne A. Cauthen and city staff.

The first two phases of the restoration and construction, which have already been completed, dealt primarily with structural renovation and replacement of the dilapidated deck surrounding the monument. The third phase of the renovation includes construction of the new infrastructure including the 30,000-square-foot core museum exhibit and a 20,000-square-foot research center. Construction on the project began in July 2005 and is scheduled to be complete by December 2006.