Commonly referred to as the West Bottoms, the French Bottoms was the general location of the French speaking village of Chez les Canses, the first permanent White settlement in the modern day Kansas City. First settled in 1799, the village only stood for a few decades before being washed away by a flood in 1844. Into the late 1800s, this area became a commercial hub with the newly built Union Depot and stockyards. This historical marker was removed in 2018 for new construction at this location and is awaiting a permanent home.

9th Street between State Line and Genessee on 9th Street was known as “The Wettest Block in the World” fthe wettest block in the world following Kansas prohibition with 23/24 buildings on the north and south side of 9th Street being saloons or liquor stores.Building at SW corner of 9th and State was constructed by Pabst Brewery in 1911. St Louis Ave and State Line, about a block south, was home to Joseph Schlitz Brewing depot.

A Kansas City tradition since 1899, the American Royal sponsors rodeos, livestock shows, BBQ contests, ranch camps for children, and other exhibitions and competitions. The organization also offers tours of its museum as well as educational programs and community entertainment.

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The World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City Missouri, is recognized by the United States government as the nation's official World War I museum. The landmark began as the Liberty Memorial, a monument created from 1921-1926 to honor Kansas City residents who had died during the war. The memorial was the product of tremendous community organization. Prominent locals operated a planning community, and city residents crowdfunded over $2.5 million for the project in less than two weeks. The monument draws from various architectural styles, including Beaux Arts Classicism and Egyptian Revival, and features an illuminated, 217-foot, limestone shaft at the center. Renovations starting in 1998 included the expansion of a World War I museum underneath the monument. It reopened in 2006 as the National World War I Museum and Memorial. The museum portion of the complex includes thousands of artifacts as well as the Edward Jones Research Center. The Liberty Memorial is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a designated National Historic Landmark.

In 1877, Jacob Rieger established a distillery across from the Livestock Exchange that would grow to become the largest mail-order distributor of whiskey in the United States. J. Rieger & Co. operated until prohibition in 1919.

This historic Kansas City landmark was constructed between 1909 and 1911. The building serves as the headquarters of the Kansas City Stockyards which was once the second-biggest stockyard in the United States, trailing only behind the Union Stock Yards in Chicago. Founded in 1870, and operating until it closed in 1991, the Kansas City stockyards and its Live Stock Exchange Building were essential to the economic growth of the city, providing livestock owners with the best prices for their cattle. Beginning in 1899, the stockyards began what is known today as the American Royal Livestock and Horse Show. At the height of its operations, between 1911 and the devastating flood of 1951, the stockyards sold millions of cattle, including cows, hogs, sheep, horses, and many other animals. The Livestock Exchange, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, stands as a monument of the growth, development, and decline of Kansas City and its livestock industry. The building has been home to the Golden Ox steakhouse, an iconic Kansas City establishment, since 1949.

The history of Arthur Bryant's is closely connected to the larger history of Kansas City. One of the oldest and most influential restaurants in establishing the unique flavor of Kansas City barbeque, Arthur Bryant’s dates back to 1908 when Henry Perry began serving barbecued meats from a cart in Kansas City's Garment District. In the decades that followed, Charlie and Arthur Bryant learned the craft while working for Perry. In 1949, Arthur Bryant established this restaurant which quickly established a strong reputation among diverse groups of Kansas City residents. The restaurant's fame spread following a 1972 article by food critic Calvin Trillin that declared Arthur Bryant's "the single best restaurant in the world." In the decades that followed, American Presidents, politicians, civil rights leaders, actors, and athletes from all around the United States and the world have made a pilgrimage to experience what some consider to be the best BBQ ribs in the world.

A new city would be founded in the middle of the 19th century, South of the Kansas River’s confluence with the Missouri River, this new city, Westport, would need a place for people and goods to be able to enter and leave the new town. The spot for this would be what is known as the River Landing, a wide piece of land that would be the site for the supply of the new city. The Landing would serve the growth of the West as it was a destination for people seeking to go West on the trails that ran through the area. Eventually, as boat travel diminished, the area around the landing would develop into a diverse spot for immigrants to live and work in, thus paving the way for its current situation in the area.

Spanning the Missouri River with a rail line was the problem, and Leavenworth, Kansas 35 miles upriver of Kansas City were the city booster’s biggest competitor for these rights. In 1866 through slick maneuvering by Kearney with eastern railroad investors, and even slighter of hand by Van Horn in Congress to secure federal authorization, Kansas City would outdo Leavenworth. Now all the city leadership had to do was secure the design and capital required to span the river that many predicted could not be crossed.They persisted and construction of the Hannibal Bridge started in 1867 and its quarter mile span was completed in 1869. The bridge, the only one crossing the Missouri until 1870, was designed by the French engineer Octave Chanute who would also go on to design the Kansas City Stockyards and later become a pioneer in aviation. Considered at the time state of the art engineering, the rail and pedestrian bridge was a swing configuration that could open in under two minutes to allow steamboat traffic to pass. Construction cost $1 million (equivalent to $21.8 million in today’s dollars). Severely damaged in a tornado in 1886, a second Hannibal was built near the first. Despite the construction of many other bridges across the Missouri, the lower deck of the second Hannibal Bridge is still used today for railroad traffic and is the first bridge visible downstream from the site of the Riverfront Streetcar Station. At the bridge's opening booster Kersey Coates bragged, “One day Kansas City is going to home of the most important industrial and shipping centers in the nation …. because that is what we are going to make her.”

Welcome to the Jackson County Historical Society’s walking tour of Kansas City’s historic riverfront. Here the streetcar line begins at the base of Grand Avenue. Looking north to the river is the original rocky ledge landing that was called Westport Landing. Here between 1837 and 1865 steamboats would pull up to the levee and offload the people and goods heading westward overland on the Santa Fe, California, and Oregon Trails. The starting point of this combined trail system of more than 5000 miles, was the town of Westport, three miles to the south of this point. (For more on the period, read the historic markers located along Riverfront Park beginning in front of you at the station.)

The National Archives at Kansas City is located in the old Adams Express Building and is one of the thirteen regional archives in the United States. This branch holds historical documents from Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota, and North Dakota. The records include maps, journals, artifacts, and drawings from close to one hundred federal agencies. The archives are open to visitors at no charge, and it is also filled with interactive exhibits for people of all ages. Researchers can make an appointment in the facility's research rooms to explore the treasure trove that exists in the archives.

A group of local African American investors established Lincoln Electric Park in 1915 and the park operated for four or five years. During that time, this small amusement park offered a respite from the discrimination that prevented African Americans from enjoying Electric Park, Kansas city's other amusement park at 46th and the Paseo. Lincoln Electric Park was centered around a large pavilion and bandstand that offered a variety of events and entertainments, and also included a Ferris wheel, pool, and merry-go-round. On August 14, 1916, the park was home to one of the first and only public showings of Lincoln Motion Picture Company's signature film, "Realization of a Negro's Ambition." The film was a response by the Black-owned film company to the "Birth of a Nation," which presented former slaves as unworthy of full citizenship or equal rights.

Founded in 1946 by George W. Gates as "Gates' Famous Old Kentucky Bar-B-Q," Gates' Bar-B-Q is widely regarded as a Kansas City institution. The restaurant's original location was within what is now the 18th and Vine neighborhood. With the growing popularity of their food and barbeque sauce, the company acquired this location which is located near the company's headquarters. This location features a statue of the company's "Struttin' Man" logo, and similar to all Gates locations, guests should expect an enthusiastic "HI, MAY I HELP YOU" greeting from staff when they enter the service line. Gates has seen many iterations over its nearly 70-year history. The first location was opened at 19th and Vine, before moving several times and opening numerous other locations. Now boasting five restaurants across the Kansas City metro area, Gates' Bar-B-Q is a pillar of the culinary and social fabric of Kansas City. This restaurant at 12th and Brooklyn has been in operation since 1954.

Completed in 1973, the Crown Center Square Fountain is the centerpiece of the Crown Center business and shopping district. The 2,000 square-foot playful fountain is situated in the center of a landscaped courtyard across from the entrance of the Crown Center Shops. Its ground-level surface is made of checkerboard patterned pavers with dozens of jets that shoot water spouts 60 feet into the air. Water shows are performed daily and synchronized to music recorded by members of the Kansas City Symphony.

The Kansas City workhouse is an 1897 limestone structure that resembles a castle. The workhouse was designed by local architects A. Wallace Love and James Oliver Hog, and since the Romanesque revival style was in style at the end of the 19th century, the architects chose the medieval castle design. Although it may look like it was built for royalty, the four-story Kansas City Workhouse was originally a city jail for petty offenders, vagrants, and debtors. As such, this historic workhouse put its prisoners to work. Women sewed prison uniforms while the men labored for the city’s public works department. Prisoners even quarried the limestone used for the workhouse’s construction. By 1924, the workhouse closed and the castle served many purposes until the building was abandoned in 1972.

From the time Walt Disney’s family moved to Kansas City in 1911 until the young animator left for California in 1923, Disney’s path often led him to and through Kansas City’s train stations. Walt arrived at Union Depot in the West Bottoms in 1911, and he departed Kansas City in 1923 from Union Station with a dream, a film, and not much else in his suitcase. This building played an important role in Walt’s life, from welcoming and saying goodbye to family members to one of his first jobs selling sodas and newspapers to passengers. Union Station shaped many of Walt's early memories in Kansas City influencing Disney productions and theme parks in surprising ways.

Henry Perry is widely regarded as the "Father of Kansas City BBQ," and this was the location of the last restaurant he operated. Given the long and storied tradition of barbecue in this city, the fact that leading restaurants from Gates to Arthur Bryant's draw their roots to Perry's shop here at 19th and Highland is a tribute not only to Perry's craft, but his influence on the next generation of cooks and restaurant operators. The practice of barbequing meats in the city can be traced all the way back to the era after the Civil War when Southern migrants came to the city looking for work. The massive Kansas City Stockyards provided huge quantities of affordable meat to the area’s residents. Henry Perry began selling barbecue wrapped in a newspaper from a cart in 1907. A few years later, he opened Perry’s Barbecue, the city’s first barbecue restaurant. Encouraged by his success, more entrepreneurs opened their own restaurants, which were frequently concentrated around the African-American community of the 18th and Vine District. Perry operated a restaurant at 17th and Lydia, about three blocks northwest before moving to 1514 East 19th Street and operating his final restaurant at 1900 Highland Avenue. Today, Kansas City is well-known for its delicious barbecue from about 100 different vendors, including Arthur Bryant’s Barbeque and Gates Bar-B-Q, who both trace their methods to Perry. The city also hosts the American Royal, the largest annual barbecue competition in the world.

The third-largest railroad station in the country when it was completed in 1914, Kansas City's Union Station has been restored to its former grandeur and offers a variety of educational and cultural attractions, including Science City, theaters, restaurants, retail shops, office space, and museum exhibits. The Beaux-Arts style building, noted for its colossal size and fine ornamentation, was part of the "City Beautiful Movement" to develop more green spaces and aesthetically pleasing public facilities in Kansas City. The station served as the heart of city's booming transportation industry in the early twentieth century, when the Kansas City was at the intersection of multiple railroads. During its peak, over 200 trains passed through the Union Station daily. The facility experienced a period of decline and deterioration from the 1950s to the 1980s as passenger rail traffic collapsed. Community efforts starting in the 1990s led to a $250 million project to restore the station and revitalize it as a major commercial and educational center. It serves as a model for the potential of adaptive reuse in historical structures. Union Station was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.

For decades, Union Station’s Grand Plaza was the first and last glimpse of Kansas City travelers saw as they arrived and departed by train. This earned the sprawling room, and the station as a whole, the title of “Kansas City’s Front Porch.” Following the restoration of Union Station, the Grand Plaza has become one of the most sought-after event spaces in town. 

People referred to Kansas City's West Bottoms neighborhood as "Hell's Half Acre" around the turn of the twentieth century because of its crime, bars, brothels, and otherwise bad reputation. The community started as Kansas City's first African American enclave and later home to European immigrants. Both groups mainly worked as low-paid laborers. Many took part in constructing the Hannibal Bridge, the first railroad bridge across the Missouri River. The bridge opened on July 3, 1869, and became a critical component of the city's growth, especially its meatpacking industry. However, the neighborhood transformed into a place for outlaws, prostitutes, and gangs, eventually pushing out the African Americans and immigrants by the early twentieth century.

Located near the founding site of the Negro Leagues, this museum preserves and shares the history of African Americans in baseball from the Civil War to the Civil Rights Movement when MLB teams and Southern minor league teams began to hire Black players, coaches, and front office personnel. The museum includes a replica of Kansas City's Muehlebach Stadium with statues of the game's greatest players. Visitors begin their tour with a documentary film narrated by actor James Earl Jones that shares the general history of Black baseball and the Negro Leagues. The museum then follows a timeline, created by historian and co-founder Larry Lester, that places the history of the Negro Leagues within the larger narrative of American history. Other founders included Phil Dixon, Buck O'Neil, Alfred Surratt, Sr., Bob Motley and Horace Peterson. Static exhibits include original equipment, jerseys, photographs, and several interactive displays. The museum concludes with exhibits about the hiring of Black coaches and managers, and a gift shop that includes replica jerseys, books, pennants, and posters.

Since opening in 1997, the American Jazz Museum has offered a blend of traditional museum experiences centered on artifacts and interpretation along with performances and educational programs. The museum is located in the 18th and Vine Historic District, and its exhibits and programs are centered on the historical and artistic contributions of the musicians who lived and worked in this part of Kansas City. The museum includes interactive exhibits and educational programs that are connected to the Blue Room, a working jazz club with nightly performances that are open to all. The Museum also operates the neighboring Gem Theater, a historic 500-seat performing arts center. In addition, staff work closely with area music educators and Mutual Musicians Foundation, a union that dates back to 1917. As a Smithsonian Affiliate, the American Jazz Museum also presents music-related exhibits from the Smithsonian Institute.

After Hannibal Bridge was built in 1869, Kansas City needed a larger train station to manage growing railroad traffic while supporting passengers travel. City leaders saw this project as an opportunity to impress travelers and sought out several land developers, architects, and others in the construction trades to help create a grand new depot. The city purchased a piece of land on Union Avenue across from the bridge for this purpose and invested so heavily in the project that some doubted whether the new Union Depot, which was completed in 1878, would ever reach capacity. The project was a success and supported Kansas City's claim to being a center of commerce until it was replaced by Union Station.

This historical marker in Kansas City's West Bottoms district shares the history of the first railroads that transported goods and people through Kansas City in the 1860s and 1870s, culminating with the construction of Union Depot which operated from 1878 to 1915 and its replacement, Union Station. In 1863, Lawrence and Kansas City were connected by a new line operated by the Union Pacific. After the Civil War, this part of Kansas City was selected for the first railroad bridge to cross the Missouri River. Within just five years of the completion of the Hannibal Bridge, there were five railroad companies operating in the West Bottoms including the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe, Missouri Pacific, St. Louis-San Francisco, and Chicago, Burlington & Quincy. These railroads led to the rapid development of the West Bottoms area and connected Kansas City to markets across the country. As a result, Kansas City was able to "grow into more than just a way station for livestock" - it became a hub of transport for live cattle, meat, and other agricultural products by way of the railroads.

This iconic Kansas City restaurant is also one of the city's most historic, dating back to a restaurant that opened at 24th and Broadway in 1937 by Claude Sparks and Heywood Billings. This stand-alone building followed shortly after, serving up hamburgers for a nickel modeled after White Castle, a chain established in Wichita where Billings and Sparks had worked. By 1940, this small building with the words "Eat-More Hamburgers" was offering quick service 24 hours a day. Sparks added several more locations in the 1940s and 1950s, and today this restaurant and its sister location at 19th and Baltimore continue the tradition.

Fiorella’s Jack Stack Barbecue in the renovated Freight House is a Kansas City barbecue establishment over sixty years in the making. Set in the Crossroads Arts District, with impressive architectural features such as twenty-five-foot ceilings and a fireplace bar, Jack Stack Freight House captures the spirit of its founder, Russ Fiorella, who loved barbecue and hospitality. Three generations later, the Fiorella family is still serving phenomenal food and has become a Kansas City barbecue staple.

The Town of Kansas bridge connects the River Market to the Berkley Riverfront Park and the Riverfront Heritage Trail. From the bridge, you can see relics and remainders of the initial settlement that would become Kansas City as well as a sprawling view of the Missouri River. Along the bridge and observation deck are a handful of markers indicating specific sites and providing context. If you stand long enough at the observation deck, you are likely to see pedestrians, trains, river barges, planes, and automobiles; a reminder of the intersecting routes that allowed Kansas City to grow.

One of the iconic symbols of Kansas City, this building was completed in 1915 and designed to fit the pie-shaped piece of land that Coca-Cola acquired in 1913. Company executives Asa G. and Charles H. Candler selected Kansas City as an ideal location for a regional headquarters that year as they expanded operations from Atlanta to the Midwest. The building changed hands several times before Western Auto Supply Company acquired the structure in 1951. The downtown landmark has been known as the "Western Auto Building" since 1952, when the rooftop sign was added. Subsequent owners recognized the sign's importance to Kansas Citians, and it remained in place long after Advance Auto Parts acquired the company and sold the building. Now a residential building called the Western Auto Lofts, the 12-story building was designed to be “fireproof” by utilizing brick and steel, minimizing the use of combustible materials, and adding a sprinkler system. In 2018, the condo owner's association funded repairs and new lights to the rooftop sign.

This historical marker pays tribute to a former intersection within one of the most bustling communities in Kansas City in the early and mid-20th century that was immortalized by the 1959 hit "Kansas City" by Wilbert Harrison that was covered and adapted by musicians from Little Richards to the Beatles. The song references a prior era when this area hosted some of the leading jazz clubs, theaters, and dining spots in the city, a "wide Open" period of pre-Depression era Kansas City immortalized by ragtime composer Euday Bowman's 12th Street Rag in 1914." Bowman's song inspired numerous additional songs about Kansas City, including "Kansas City," written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller in 1952 and made popular by Wilbert Harrison in 1959. The intersection was no longer the city's hot spot for music and entertainment by 1959, and it no longer exists following urban renewal programs of the 1970s that replaced this section of Vine Street with an urban green space. While 12th and Vine may be a memory, the history of the area is kept alive with this memorial space designed to resemble a piano and treble clef, a nod to the still-popular song that expresses excitement to be "going to Kansas City" for its women and wine and plans to "be standing on the corner of Twelfth Street and Vine."

This monument was dedicated in 2000 as part of Kansas City's celebration of the city's founding. On September 15, 1806 the Lewis and Clark expedition, on its return journey from the Pacific Ocean, arrived at this location and camped nearby for two days before continuing down the river. The leaders, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, noted that this spot, which is on a bluff overlooking the Missouri River and surrounding landscape, would be a good place for a fort. This was one of their last stops during the expedition, which concluded on September 23 in St. Louis. In April 2000 Kansas City placed a statue at West Terrace Park to commemorate the expedition's journey through the area. It depicts Lewis, Clark, and Sacagawea, along with York, a man who was enslaved by Clark, and Lewis' dog Seaman. The area includes a stone wall constructed as part of the Works Progress Administration along with numerous markers that share information about the human and natural history of the area at the time of Lewis and Clark's expedition. The inclusion of Clark and Sacagawea in this monument reflects a historiographical trend towards a more inclusive and complete past, perhaps best demonstrated by another recent statue in nearby Olathe that depicts pioneers of diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds.

With the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the fledgling United States was expanding into former French territory. After being sent to explore the newly American territory, Lewis and Clark employed several Frenchmen native to the territory as guides, trappers, boatmen, and translators. Most of the Frenchmen along for the journey were recruited around St. Louis, and turned back after the group wintered in Mandan land in the Dakota territories. Other French trappers and frontiersmen joined up with the expedition along the way. The marker is placed right next to the Lewis and Clark : Corps of Discovery Statue in downtown Kansas City.

The Quality Hill neighborhood is the oldest, continuously inhabited residential area in Kansas City. West Terrace Park is located on what is now the far west edge of the neighborhood and offers a stunning overlook from the bluff which includes the Kansas and Missouri River valleys. The neighborhood was first platted as an upscale neighborhood around 1857 by prominent businessman Kersey Coates (1823-1887). The name of the neighborhood reflects its one-time reputation as the most prestigious neighborhood in the city, a reputation that continued until the decades after World War I. West Terrace Park was created in the early 1900s and included the stone towers at both sides of the overlook. Many leading figures, including wealthy transplants from the east coast, resided here in homes designed in a variety of styles. The neighborhood also includes religious, commercial, educational, and apartment buildings. Two of its prominent landmarks are the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (the seat of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph) and the Progress Club building, which is now a YMCA. Quality Hill saw outmigration and was later the site of housing projects, many of which have been replaced in recent years as the neighborhood experiences another transition that has followed the return of residents and businesses to the downtown area. This park was reduced in size in the 1960s as part of the effort to construct I-35, but the historic overlook remains. The neighborhood was added to the National Register in 1978 and a smaller part of the neighborhood was added to the National Register as the Quality Hill Center Historic District in 2017.

And now we have arrived at the end of our journey, the end of the tour. The statue in front of you is of Merriwether Lewis and William Clark, along with Sacagawea, and an African American slave named York. They stood here, what is widely regarded as the second best view in the city, on their return from the Pacific Coast. As is noted on the plaque, Lewis thought it would make an excellent location for a fort, given how clearly one could sight the approaches and defend from its heights. And there you have it. Two men widely regarded as explorers, pioneers and American heroes, noting the importance of strategic military placements during their otherwise relatively peaceful journey of discovery. With a Native American and a slave at their side, no less. In fairness, they were both military men. Maybe they couldn’t help themselves.Okay, one more spot to see. Head to greenspace just east of the statue - that’s the opposite direction that Lewis & Clarke are facing - toward the the big building that says “State Street.” and head to the low stone wall. Go right up to it. Walk along it. It’s worth the view.Like most people in the 19th century, Lewis and Clark were just passing through what would become Kansas City. Coming from somewhere else and on their way to somewhere else. But they changed the place, for those who would pass through themselves and for those who would ultimately stay. They didn’t know that at the time though. How could they? At every stage of its history, it’s hard not to feel like Kansas City was just reacting, just changing, never really sure where it was going but determined to get there. Always moving forward, to wherever that was. And the consequences be damned. Much like the country as a whole. Again, Mr. Twain would have only sighed and shrugged. Go West Young Man. Change this great continent. Take it in whatever direction you please. So many of them did. And so many of them, on their journey’s, passed through here. 

Great. Now turn right and follow the sidewalk north. There’ll be stairs on your left. Take them and head to the small statue you’ll see among the trees.The “City of Fountains” moniker has persisted, but “cow town,” “little Dixie,” and “river town” lie buried. And so does another: The Paris of the Plains. You don’t hear that around much anymore, unless it’s a branding thing. Once upon a time though, it was the siren call of Kansas City, the thing that made it what it was. For a while, just for a while. There’s an old joke that among the major cities in the United States, Kansas City is the only one that didn’t “do” prohibition. But the reputation that Kansas City built during the roaring 20’s is preceded by a much more humble and populist politics that built it. It could only roar because its hind legs were dead set already. Up to the top of the hill. Before we arrive at the great reveal, let’s take a look at one last curiosity, a literal monument to the idea of change without direction, this time brother to brother. Walk so you see the front of the statue.

The explosion on May 27, 1977 in the heart of what is today's Kansas City's River Market destroyed two bars in a lively area of Kansas City, permanently destroying the River Quay's reputation. Hiding behind the explosion is the secret history of the KC Mafia. While Kansas City’s presence of the Mafia is less prevalent than that of cities like New York and Chicago, their presence has still been pronounced in the history of Kansas City, Missouri. The River Quay was an incredibly popular area within Kansas City, originally viewed as family friendly and a great place to spend time. The infiltration of the mafia and the business they brought in slowly killed the popular area, and the explosion was the final nail in the coffin.

Constructed in 1926, this building served as the headquarters of the Jackson County Democratic Club which was led by Thomas Joseph Pendergast, the penultimate "boss" of the infamous political machine that controlled Kansas City between 1926 and 1939. Referred to by many as "Boss Tom," Pendergast took over and expanded the political machine his brother built, choosing candidates for office who returned the favor by voting in line with the wishes of Boss Tom. As a result, Pendergast's businesses won prized city contracts and he wielded enormous influence over almost every aspect of Kansas City's political, economic, and cultural life.As the Jackson County Democratic Party chair, Pendergast controlled the city's government through patronage, notably by providing jobs and government contracts in exchange for political support. Although Pendergast's corruption became well known by the 1930s, many residents continued to support Pendergast and his candidates because they believed his leadership had ameliorated many of the worst aspects of the Great Depression. Others appreciated Pendergast's refusal to enforce prohibition, leading to a vibrant jazz scene and Kansas City's reputation as a "Wide Open Town" where liquor and vice lived alongside strong financial support for civic institutions like schools and hospitals. Pendergast launched the political career of Harry S Truman, but his reign as a political boss ended in 1939 when he was convicted of income tax evasionToday, the financial crimes and violence that occurred under Boss Tom's watch are sometimes overshadowed by nostalgia for the Jazz Age. and a perception that Pendergast and his men were supporters of integration. In reality, the advances for the Black Community had more to do with neighborhood leaders within the Pendergast orbit and the pragmatism of the political machine that traded funding for Black schools and hospitals for votes. At the same time, Kansas City was home to "Black-and-tan-clubs" that accepted all races than any American city beyond New York in an era otherwise dominated by segregation.

Up we go. Just follow the stairs to the top.And depending on the time of year, we may get to enjoy one of Kansas City’s true and unique delights: the fountain. As you ascend this switchback staircase, please note the calming, soothing ripples of water falling down the wall. The city’s interest in fountains rose out the City Beautiful movement, during the turn of the last century. It was a rare time in which aesthetic interests overtook functional concerns, and beauty became a core tenet of the city fathers and mothers. For whatever reason, this aesthetic stuck. All throughout Kansas City you can find fountains at intersections, within parks, at corners and even adorning centrally planned shopping centers, such as the plaza. It is a point of pride for the city, and one that has endured irrespective of the whims of commerce. Today Kansas City is proudly known as the city of fountains. Yet, while the wealthy pursued movements like the City Beautiful, for the rest of America the period between the rise of the railroad conglomerates and the First World War was one of mass civil unrest. Militant labor unions began forcefully pushing back against the capitalist class in the form of labor strikes. Kansas City saw its fair share of the action, and the garment district was often ground zero for that action. The first major garment worker strike was borne of desperation, at a time when factory working conditions were so bleak that militancy was less a question of dignity and more a question of survival. Follow the stairs to the top.

The packet steamboat Arabia sank in the Missouri River near Kansas City on September 5, 1856, taking down 200 tons of valuable cargo with it. The ship carried many Mormon settlers traveling westward, so the cargo included many everyday items that they would have used after establishing homes. After its sinking, the Arabia vanished; the changing currents of the Missouri River buried it in mud and silt. In 1988, the ship was discovered buried 45 feet underneath a corn field, and half a mile from the present course of the river. The excavation that followed found well-preserved clothes, tools, guns, dishware and other artifacts. The Arabia Steamboat Museum opened in 1991 to preserve and display these items to illustrate 1850s settler life. The museum also includes a recreation of the historic steamboat, displays about river transportation, and the early history of Kansas City.

Prior to the bustling city following the construction of the stockyards and railroads, this site near the confluence of the Missouri and Kansas Rivers was a hub for commerce and trade. Located between the original French village of Chez les Canses and Francois Chouteau's Trading Post, this location was once the center of Gabriel Prudhomme's land, who was an early resident of the Kansas City area. Prudhomme owned and operated some of the first businesses in the Square, including a tavern and general store. Little remains of the original structures of Kansas City's original marketplace as they were subject to many floods over the years. City Market continues to offer an array of merchants, eclectic shops, and dining.

The performance home of the Lyric Opera of Kansas City and Kansas City Ballet, this 1800-seat theater was designed to mirror the audience experience of the world's finest opera houses and hosts numerous touring performances each year. Kansas City philanthropist Muriel McBrien Kauffman began the effort that would culminate in the 2011 dedication of this performing arts center in 1994. Today, the Kaufman Center serves as the home of the Kansas City Ballet and the Kansas City Symphony while also hosting special events throughout the year. The Kauffman Center is also home to Helzberg Hall, which is home to the Kansas City Symphony. In addition to this performing arts center, Muriel Kauffman is remembered for her many years of service to the community through many philanthropic endeavors, and her legacy continues today through the Muriel McBrien Kauffman Foundation which supports the arts in the Kansas City area.

That’s certainly how it often seemed to the figure seated before you; Missouri’s own native son, and as fine a writer as this nation has ever produced. Mr. Samuel Langhorn Clemens, better known as Mark Twain. Let’s pause next to him for a moment. While Twain is best known for his books about children, Tom Sawyer, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in particular, the breadth of his opinion of America was decidedly un-childlike. A tireless critic of our national hubris and its consequent folly, he spent his later years increasingly befuddled, ultimately settling in on a point of view that has never gained much traction in the American personality. Pessimism. Twain, for all his travels and experiences and successes, found himself ultimately confounded by America and Americans. All while being one of its most celebrated sons. His scorn didn’t stop at the water’s edge however; he was always careful to extend his ominous view of human nature to the whole of the species. But he couldn’t help but be hardest on his fellow countrymen, likely out of a familial sense of comradely love. “Why,” he seemed to ask over and over again, “do American’s always learn things the hard way, but then forget the lesson? Why, after all our history has taught us about ourselves, are we so quick to forget? And forget again. And again. And again. And again.” Optimism. It’s that damned American optimism. Just as likely to tell you a bad thing is good as a good thing is bad. Let’s keep heading west. Up ahead on the corner is the Coates Hotel, and the story it tells is one that encapsulates those bizarre American contradictions so well. Cross Central street, and we’ll walk along 10th for a block.The hotel is across the street at the end of the block. Red bricks with dark green window accents. This is the second iteration of the Coates Hotel, the first lost to progress. Of course. At its heyday it was a prestigious meeting place for the political and business elite in town. Theodore Roosevelt once stayed here. As did Grover Cleveland. The man who built the hotel, Kersey Coates, was a moral savior of sorts in Kansas City’s history, a self appointed praetorian in service of emancipation. Before Kansas City was Kansas City, it was the town of Kansas, and the westernmost reach of what was called “little dixie”. Little Dixie was a slave expansion project, an attempt to extend the South’s hegemony both North and West by settlers into the Missouri Territory. Throughout the early part of the 19th century, Little Dixie spread like a red smear across the center of Missouri, and southern sympathies were strong in the town at the outbreak of the Civil War, due in no small part to the vicious border war waged by Quantrill’s raiders and the righteous abolitionist Jayhawkers of Kansas. 

The historic Folly Theater is Kansas City’s oldest theater and entertainment venue, dating back to 1900. It still operates as a functional theater today (showing live theater, jazz performances, national touring shows, and other programs) and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Although the Folly Theater is seen as a place of quality, family entertainment, the theater’s origins were based in vaudeville, burlesque, and, later, striptease performances, showcasing nationally acclaimed artists such as Gypsy Rose Lee and Tempest Storm. In the 1920s, however, the Folly Theater (then named the "Shubert's Missouri”) produced dramatic productions and even featured the Marx Brothers and a young Humphrey Bogart. After falling into disrepair in the 1970s, the KCMO community took up the cause and saved the Folly Theater, and it is now one of the most important theatrical and historical sites in the downtown area.

The Municipal Auditorium, nicknamed the Municipal, is a historic event center in Kansas City. The Art Deco structure was built in the 1930s as part of a Ten Year Plan to revive the city’s economy with construction jobs and new public buildings. Over the decades it has hosted many community and national events, including national basketball championship games and two speeches by Martin Luther King, Jr. Today, the historic structure is part of the overall Kansas City Convention Center Complex.

This large fountain was built in 1985 as part of a redesign of the Barney Allis Plaza, and urban park located above a parking garage at the site of the city's first convention hall which was built to host the Democratic National Convention of 1900. That convention hall was used until the 1930s and today, the plaza where it once stood is a tree-lined urban park that features several statues and is named after the manager of the former Muehlebach Hotel which was located across the street. That historic hotel is now part of the Marriott Hotel. Barney Allis managed the hotel for three decades beginning in 1931. Despite his short stature of 5 foot 3 inches, Allis had a tremendous presence and ran the hotel in a way that left a positive impression on visitors to the city. Allis earned a reputation as a perfectionist and his leadership bolstered the hotel's reputation which compelled a number of celebrities, including the Beatles, Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope, and future President Harry Truman, to choose to stay at the Muehlebach. The fountain is on the north end of the plaza and features 112 water jets. The plaza was first created in 1956.

Also known as the David Woods Kemper Memorial, the Muse of the Missouri sculpture and fountain was dedicated in 1962 to the memory of David Woods Kemper, who was killed in action during World War II in Italy. It was a gift to the city by his parents Mr. and Mrs. James Kemper. Artist Wheeler Williams created the sculpture and designed the fountains. The sculpture depicts a muse, a Greek goddess of arts and sciences, with a fishing net from which fish fall to the the pool below. The water fountain consists of three pools that are filled by two hundred water spouts.

The Community Bookshelf installation spanning the south façade of the Central Library parking garage has become a frequently photographed downtown landmark. Standing 2½ stories high, it depicts 22 towering book spines that bear the names of 42 classic titles suggested by the public. Another art installation on the east side of the garage, The Kansas City Connection by local artist Bob Price Holloway, features notable figures in the city’s history. In the early 20th century, the garage location on West Ninth Street was home to the Sam S. Shubert Theater, which operated from 1906-1935. It was razed in 1936 to make way for a parking structure.

Located on the fifth floor of the Central Library, the Missouri Valley Special Collections serves as the history arm and archives of the Kansas City Public Library. The department’s mission is to acquire and preserve materials documenting the history of Kansas City and the surrounding region and make them accessible to researchers and others in the general public. Thousands of books, manuscripts, photographs, maps, postcards, and other records comprise the Special Collections. Core collections focus on topics such as Kansas City’s built environment and social history, African American history and culture, Native Americans and the American West, and the Civil War on the western Missouri border. These materials are accessible to researchers in the Missouri Valley Room, which features an extensive local history browsing collection, a hand-drawn 1855 map of Westport, Missouri, and other displayed art and artifacts.

Based on 20th-century reading rooms, the room has a 34-foot-high glass skylight ceiling, mahogany paneling, and custom reading lamps. To construct the Reading Room, a hole was cut from the fourth level slab, and steel girders running east to west were removed. The girders were each 30 inches tall and 30 feet long and weighed 18,000 pounds. They were cut into thirds for easier removal by cranes.

The Kansas City Power & Light Building is a leading historic landmark in the city’s Power & Light District. The building was constructed in 1931 and served as the headquarters for the Kansas City Power & Light Company for six decades. The building’s Art Deco style and ornate rooftop lantern quickly made it a Kansas City icon, and to this day, the lantern appears as a symbol within logos for the Power & Light District. KCP&L occupied the first nineteen floors of the building's thirty-six stories when their new headquarters was complete, renting the other half until 1957, when they sold the property and became a tenant. The company continued to rent space here until 1991. In 2014, the KCP&L Building was sold after its last tenant left. The historic office tower underwent refurbishments and reopened in 2016 as a luxury apartment complex. The building was the tallest in Missouri for nearly fifty years and remains the fourth-tallest in the city.

Located in the historic former headquarters of First National Bank, the Central Library serves as the major resource library for the Kansas City Public Library system. Offering breathtaking galleries and reading rooms, and an ingenious parking garage that looks like a bookshelf, the Central Library is consistently included in lists of the most beautiful public libraries in the United States. The former bank vault is now home to the Stanley H. Durwood film collection, while the old bank's 35-foot ceilings add grandeur to the main reading room. Located on the fifth floor of the Central Library, the Missouri Valley Room is the premiere collection of rare books and one-of-a-kind historical records related to the history of Kansas City. Patrons may use the reading room to view archival and genealogical materials that do not circulate beyond the library.

From the time of its construction in 1915 to mid-century, the Muehlebach Hotel was one of the centers of Kansas City social life. The luxurious hotel was built by the son of the city's famous brewer and hosted celebrities, famous athletes, and even presidents and foreign dignitaries. The hotel is also the site of the first band performance to be broadcast over the radio, the birthplace of the Barbershop Harmony Society, and the place where Harry Truman stayed while waiting for the 1948 presidential election results. The Muehlebach, along with several other downtown hotels, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1981. After closing in 1986, the Muehlebach was acquired by Marriott Hotels and incorporated into the Kansas City Marriott Downtown. In 2018 it was announced that Platform Ventures will convert the historic hotel into an apartment building.

Hi there. I’m Nathaniel, and I’m thrilled to get to be your guide through Quality Hill, the oldest residential neighborhood in Kansas City. The journey you’re about to take is not a straight line. It will bounce around, between the 19th century and the 21st, as it attempts to trace a weary line through the city’s past. The winding is intentional. As much as Kansas City is its own unique place, with its own particular history, it also is not. KC is a bellwether, and a rearguard, and a rough reflection, mirroring the twists and turns that America has made over the last 200 odd years of revolution and retreat. A quick bit of house-keeping before we begin. First, you’ll be walking for most of this 40 minute tour, and you’ll have about a 20-minute walk back afterwards. So if you don’t have something to drink with you, it may be worth hopping to the coffee shop in the Library to buy something. Okay. Back to the tour.Let’s open with a question. Why is Kansas City located where it is? Why is it here? The short answer is that you’re standing towards the end of a highway of sorts. This is the confluence of the Kansas and Missouri Rivers, near the end of the line for major westward river traffic this side of the Mississippi. Which meant it was the jumping off point for both the Oregon & Santa Fe trails. When there’s no more water, you gotta hoof it. Later on, the first railroad crossing for the Missouri River was located here, and eventually it became the westernmost industrial outpost ahead of the great grass seas of the high plains. In other words, Kansas City saw a lot of through traffic. Its rapid expansion is represented in the way the city looks today. At points beautiful, and in other places barren. The logical and practical set beside the absurd and the bizarre. A lot like America as a whole. Let’s set off. With 10th street on your right, walk up the sidewalk, away from Main Street. Westward-ho!As you walk, look across the street to the beautiful building of columns and limestone.This is the Kansas City Public Library’s Central Branch. Restored and remodeled in 2004 from the old bones of the First National Bank Building. It’s a relic of the gilded age, and the architectural grandeur, some might even say hubris, that marked that period in American history. It’s also an oddity, a hybrid, a 20 year old building stacked on top of a 100 year old building. While the front reflects the grandiose neo classical style of the gilded age, the top two floors are a modern hodgepodge of hard right angles and passive solar design. It’s a fitting monument to the confused American ethic, with one foot in the past and the other always pressing towards the future. 

This past exhibit, titled Harry S. Truman: Kansas City’s Commander in Chief, was created in partnership with the Truman Presidential Library and Museum. The show ran from September 6 - October 25, 2019.On April 12, 1945, Missouri-born Vice President Harry S. Truman unexpectedly became president in the final months of World War II. President Truman went on to lead our nation through eight of the most explosive years in history—establishing postwar peace, desegregating the military, recognizing the state of Israel, and entering the Korean War. Harry S. Truman: Kansas City’s Commander in Chief explores the challenges Truman faced, the decisions he made to shape our democracy, and the milestones that sealed his place in history as one of our nation’s greatest Presidents. Discover Truman’s life in Kansas City through photographs, documents, and a downtown walking tour, and preview the renovations currently underway at the Truman Presidential Library and Museum.

The Midland Theatre is a historic entertainment venue in the Power & Light District of Kansas City. It first opened in 1927 as Loew’s Midland Theater; at the time it was the third-largest theater in the United States. It became well known for its opulent interior, which included features such as gold leafing, hand-cut crystal chandeliers, and other ornamentations. After the original theatre closed in 1961, it was acquired and operated by AMC for a number of years. It underwent extensive renovations and restorations in 2008. Today the theatre is sponsored by Arvest Bank, and is formally known as the Arvest Bank Theatre at the Midland. It hosts a number of live shows and performances throughout the year. The theatre was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.

The National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Kansas City, Missouri, occupies about one-third of the College Basketball Experience at the Sprint Center. This hall of fame compliments the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame by recognizing coaches, players, and teams that have made significant contributions to college basketball. Visitors can honor college basketball legends and learn about the history of the game by not just observing but by experiencing college basketball for themselves.

Now a parking lot for the Kansas City Police Department, this was the site of one of the 12th Street Reno Club which was operated by Tom Pendergast. One of Kansas City's leading jazz clubs of the 1930s and home to influential bands like the Count Basie Orchestra, this was one of the most successful jazz clubs during the era when Kansas City's jazz scene thrived under the "protection" of the political machine that dominated the city. When "Boss" Tom Pendergast was sent to prison and reform elements took control of Kansas City, the club closed. But starting in 1931, patrons could see jazz legends such as Count Basie, Charlie Parker, Hot Lips Page, and Mary Lou Williams perform. This was also the location of experimental radio broadcasts that shared the unique form of Kansas City jazz with audiences nationwide. Like many other establishments in the city, the Reno Club was segregated, with the main floor being reserved for white patrons while African Americans were seated in the balcony.

City Hall is 29-stories tall and offers an outdoor observation deck above the top floor that offers panoramic views of Kansas City. The tallest building in the city at the time of its construction, City Hall remains one of the tallest in the city and it is located at one of the highest points of the downtown area. When the observation deck is open, visitors and residents may request the opportunity to enjoy this view without charge.

This is the former site of Kansas City's Central Library and the headquarters of the Board of Education, which opened in 1960. Edward Tanner designed the new building for the "Space Age," taking inspiration from the modernist movement in architecture at that time. The multistory building was an important public fixture for the rest of the century until the library moved to the former First National Bank building in 2004. The Board of Education relocated in 2017, and the empty building was marked for demolition due to the cost of maintenance and required updates for ventilation and air conditioning systems. The building was torn down in 2020.