photo by
gusto
Hard against the Kansas border, Kansas City is in fact divided between the two states. But despite its name, the commercial heart of Kansas City lies on the Missouri side.
The city began as a trading post in 1821, then flourished as an outfitting station during the great westward migrations in the mid-1800s, thanks to its position on the Missouri River and at the head of the Santa Fe and Oregon Trails. It fell on hard times in the prelude to the Civil War, as slavery supporters and abolitionists clashed trying to ensure Kansas entered the Union under their preferred classification. After the war, Kansas City benefited from a new rail link to Chicago. It soon became the nation’s biggest cattletrading center, and a major grain market.
Today Kansas City, with a population of 435,100, is still a top wheat market and agricultural distribution center. But it is also the headquarters of several big commercial concerns, including Hallmark Cards. It also boasts the nation’s first shopping center, and prides itself on its civic improvement drives, which have introduced many statues and parks to the city. More significant to visitors, Kansas City has a rich and deservedly famous tradition of jazz and barbecues.
Kansas City has a number of art museums that are well worth a visit. The Kansas City Museum explains the city’s role in the country’s westward migration and gives visitors a sense of frontier life on the plains. The museum complex includes a 50-room mansion, a natural history hall, and a planetarium. The Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art’s diverse collection features works by such well-known artists as Georgia O’Keeffe and William Wegman. The Nelson- Atkins Museum of Art is renowned for its Asian collection. Its 58 galleries and 11 period rooms also feature Egyptian and classical sculptures, European and American paintings, and English pottery. Its Henry Moore Sculpture Garden displays a dozen large bronze sculptures, the largest American collection of Moore’s works.
Elsewhere in the city is the Thomas Hart Benton Home and Studio State Historic Site, celebrating this twentieth-century Missouri artist. The Museums at 18th and Vine include the American Jazz Museum and the African-American Leagues Baseball Museum. They are in a neighborhood well known for its jazz and blues scene in the 1920s and 1930s. The complex’s Horace M. Peterson III Visitor Center screens a video about the local African-American community. The Arabia Steamboat Museum displays items recovered from a steamboat that sank in the Missouri River in 1856. There is also a working preservation lab on the site.
Greeting card enthusiasts can visit the Hallmark Visitor Center, which has a dozen exhibits about the company and the manufacture of its products. Other Kansas City attractions include the John Wornall House Museum, an 1858 Greek Revival plantation house; the Kansas City Zoo; an IMAX theater; casinos; and the Toy and Miniature Museum of Kansas City, which displays a large collection of antique toys.
A fun day out can also be enjoyed at two popular theme parks. The 175-acre Worlds of Fun boasts one of the world’s tallest, longest, and fastest roller coasters. It is open from mid-April to mid-October. Nearby, Oceans of Fun is a 60- acre water park with slides, a wave pool, and other water playgrounds. It is open from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
Year-round recreation is offered at over 300 parks. The most notable among them are Loose Park, Swope Park, and Fleming Park. Popular activities include bicycling, crosscountry skiing, ice skating, hiking, and boating. Visitors can even ride horses along part of the Santa Fe Trail, at Benjamin Ranch.
More passive entertainment is available at Kansas City’s many professional sporting events. Visitors can watch the Kansas City Royals playing baseball or the Kansas City Wizards playing soccer in the spring and summer; the Kansas City Chiefs playing football in the fall; and the Kansas City Blades playing ice hockey in the winter.
Kansas City is also renowned for its 55-acre Spanish and Moorish- style shopping complex, Country Club Plaza, the country’s first completely planned shopping center. It has more than 150 shopfronts including well-known retail chains, as well as specialty stores, nightclubs, and restaurants. The city also has about a dozen other shopping centers, including Westport Square, once a Santa Fe Trail outfitting station. Antiques hunters should check out the State Line Antique and Art Center.
Cultural events include performances by the Lyric Opera of Kansas City and the Kansas City Symphony. The restored 1912 Gem Theater hosts a variety of multicultural events. For an oldfashioned evening out, there is the Martin City Melodrama and Vaudeville Co. In the summer, visitors can choose among the Music in the Parks outdoor concert series, the Theater Under the Stars, or the Swope Park Starlight Theater (which holds performances in the nation’s second-largest outdoor amphitheater). The four-day Kansas City Rodeo is held over the July 4th weekend. The following month, the city hosts the Kansas City Jazz Festival. Kansas City is serviced by buses, trains, and an international airport.
