Century-Old Time Capsule’s Contents Are Unveiled in Kansas City

Artifacts from a 100-year-old time capsule, including metal etchings of U.S. presidents, local newspaper printing plates and a container of seeds, were revealed to the public by the National World War I Museum and Memorial, in Kansas City, Mo., on Oct. 16. 2024. Nick Ingram/AP Photo

Time capsules are fickle, and the opening of one entombed a century ago inside one of the nation’s preeminent World War I memorials was no exception.

The first challenge was just getting to the time capsule, which was entombed in a tower that rises 217 feet into the Kansas City skyline and is topped by a giant flame.