from
WorldWeb.com Travel Guide
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The Kansas City Royals at Kauffman
Stadium1
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From its humble start as a trading post in 1821, Missouri's
Kansas City has grown
into a colorful city with an interesting history and bright future. With a mix
of recreational activities, museums on a selection of topics and numerous historic
districts, this riverside metropolis caters to any visitors. Kansas City may be
best known for its musical culture—specifically for its jazz, and provides a variety
of museums, restaurants and clubs dedicated to this genre of music. Guests can
get a feel of how the city once was as they stroll through the historic 18th
and Vine district, which is packed with unique shops and sites. Kansas
City also boasts several professional sports teams, including the Royals
baseball team, the Chiefs
football club and the Wizards
soccer team. Harley-Davidson
Motorcycles and Hallmark
Cards are open for guests to tour their facilities in detail.
HISTORY
Before becoming a part of the developing United States in 1802 with the Louisiana
Purchase, Missouri was shared by several European countries. The area was occupied
by the Kansa Indians, a peaceful tribe who lived off the land and who were quickly
left homeless as settlers moved into the area. While this group may have left
the area, their legacy lives on as their name was later chosen for a settlement
that formed alongside of the Missouri
River: Kansas City.
The original town site was built several miles downstream from the modern day
site by French fur trader Francois Chouteau. A flood forced him to move to a
new location where the city's roots were secured. The town of Westport was built
four miles away by businessman John C. McCoy and was competing as a trading
power with Chouteau's village. In 1835, McCoy and several other investors bought
the trader's land for $4,220 and made plans for the Town of Kansas. Within 20
years Kansas Town became Kansas City, swallowing up Westport and growing steadily
both in population and in economy.
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The Country Club Plaza2
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Since Missouri was designated as a slave state when it joined the United States
in 1820, it was torn between pro- and anti-slavery sentiments. Many problems
erupted before the start of the Civil War in 1861 and threatened to divide the
state during those four years of conflict. Parts of the state supported the
Union Army while other areas were on the Confederate Army's side. Missouri's
position in the heart of the country led it to host several significant battles
during the war. For Kansas City one skirmish in particular hit close to home.
The Battle of Westport in 1864 was the turning point for the Union Army in Missouri,
giving it control of the state after a three-day campaign that lasted from October
21 to 23.
Once the war ended, Kansas City once again flourished. Much of the growth can
be credited to the building of two rail bridges in1869—the Hannibal and the
St. Joseph—which were the first of their kind to cross any part of the Missouri
River. This helped to turn Kansas City into a hub for trading throughout the
States, giving it access to all the major centers and boosting its agriculture
industry. The city celebrated a national first in 1922 when it approved and
built the first planned shopping center, the Country
Club Plaza. It was designed by J.C. Nichols, whose memorial fountain
stands in the facility that he helped construct.
While the city had been growing at a tremendous pace economically, it was lacking
in aesthetic appeal and recreational opportunities. Kansas City newspaper editor
William Rockhill Nelson recognized the need and advocated for more green spaces.
Colonel Thomas H. Swope donated his farm property to the city, creating Swope
Park in 1896, a 1,769-acre landmark destination and popular spot in
the city today.
The city is still known for its trading industry—both nationally and internationally—
for its numerous fountains and boulevards and for its support of large corporations,
such as Hallmark Cards, Ford Motor Company and steel producer GS Technologies.
Big business, combined with its agricultural roots, gives Kansas City a strong
economic base that appeals to many people for work and play.
ORIENTATION
Kansas City is often referred to as the heart of the Midwest as it is found
in Missouri, a state centrally located in the continental United States. Kansas
City sits on the Kansas-Missouri border and is separated by Missouri River from
a city of the same name in Kansas.
Visitors of this city benefit from its location because it provides them with
easy access to many other states. Missouri shares its border with Illinois,
Kentucky, Tennessee,
Arkansas, Oklahoma
and Nebraska. Kansas
City is found 157 mi (253 km) from Jefferson
City, 250 mi (400 km) from St.
Louis, 4.5 mi (7.25 km) from Kansas
City in Kansas and 63 mi (100 km) from Topeka,
Kansas. Surrounded by communities, such as Lee's
Summit, Smithville,
Blue Springs
and Riverside,
the city is an angler's paradise as it has numerous lakes and the Missouri River
only a stone's throw away.
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Month |
Avg.
Daily Temperature |
Average
Rainfall |
|
Min |
Max |
| Jan
|
18°F
(-8°C) |
36°F
(2°C) |
29
mm |
| Feb |
23°F
(-5°C) |
43°F
(6°C) |
33
mm |
| Mar
|
33°F
(-1°C) |
54°F
(12°C) |
62
mm |
| Apr |
44°F
(7°C) |
65°F
(18°C) |
86
mm |
| May
|
54°F
(12°C) |
75°F
(24°C) |
137
mm |
| Jun
|
63°F
(17°C) |
84°F
(29°C) |
113
mm |
| Jul |
68°F
(20°C) |
89°F
(32°C) |
112
mm |
|
Aug |
66°F
(19°C) |
87°F
(31°C) |
90
mm |
|
Sep |
57°F
(14°C) |
79°F
(26°C) |
118
mm |
|
Oct |
46°F
(8°C) |
68°F
(20°C) |
85
mm |
|
Nov |
33°F
(-1°C) |
52°F
(11°C) |
58
mm |
|
Dec |
23°F
(-5°C) |
40°F
(4°C) |
42
mm |
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Climate
Data from the Midwestern
Regional Climate
Center
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CLIMATE
With warm summers and pleasant winters, Kansas City makes a great place to
visit year round.Temperatures in summer months—June, July and August—hover around
an average high of 87 F (31 C), with lows reaching 66 F (19 C). Mild Kansas
City winters—spanning the months of December, January and February—usually fluctuate
between a high of 40 F (4 C) and lows around 21 F (-6C).
TRANSPORTATION
With the Kansas
City International Airport found on its perimeter, Kansas City can support
visitors from the far corners of the world. At least 400 flights arrive each
day at the airport. From here, an array of shuttle services, car rentals, taxis
and buses are ready to bring visitors to their destinations. Amtrak
is another travel option. It has two trains making regular stops in Kansas City,
one traveling through Missouri to Chicago
and the other offering services through Illinois, Iowa,
Missouri, Kansas, Colorado,
New Mexico, Arizona,
and California. Greyhound
Lines has a station for bus travelers and offers frequent daily trips
to and from the city. There are numerous highways running through the city,
including US Route 71, US Route 169, and US Route 40, as well as several Interchanges
including I-70, I-635, I-29, giving those visitors who are driving plenty of
ways to get in and out of the city.
Once in the city, many guests use the
Kansas City Area Transportation Authority. These public buses have routes
running inside the city and to many of the outlying communities. There are also
numerous taxi and limousine services ready to drive people to city attractions.
While visitors may want to take a taxi to the tourist spots, many of these districts
are small enough that walking is the easiest way to get around once arriving
there.
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J.
C. Nichols Memorial Fountain3
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FEATURED ATTRACTIONS
Historical Attractions
Since the people of Kansas City were very conscious of their city's appearance
in its early days, there are now many historical
sites and landmarks for visitors to experience. This city is well-known
for its fountains, which range from simple neighborhood structures to a massive
geyser shooting water 30 feet in the air. Some of the most popular fountains
are the J.C.
Nichols Fountain in Country Club Plaza, the Children's
Fountain in North Kansas City, the Crown
Center Fountains. These are only a handful of the many structures found
throughout the city and which rivals many European cities in number.
Kansas City and its surrounding area boasts more than a dozen historical sites,
giving people a glimpse of the way Western Missouri once was. The area's most
interesting spots may be from its most infamous resident: Jesse James. Two of
Kansas City's outlying towns boast impressive historic sites related to this
outlaw. In Kearney,
visitors can enjoy touring the James'
family farm, which still bears the bullet holes in the door to the house,
furnishings from the family and the grave site of James himself. After seeing
his residence, guests can travel to Independence
to see the bank where the first daylight heist took place, allegedly by the
James-Younger Gang.
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The
Blue Room Music Club and Museum4 |
Cultural Attractions
Inside the city there are at least 20
museums
dedicated to all interests, but one of the most interesting is the
American
Jazz Museum, which is found in the historic 18th and Vine district. The
jazz museum houses the
Negro
Leagues Baseball Museum and the
Blue Room museum and live music club and the
Gem
Theater. While focusing on the great moments and artists of these soulful
melodies, visitors of the museum will learn how jazz developed and changed the
landscape of music and society. 18th and Vine also boasts an abundance of shops
specializing in the African-American culture, flavorful restaurants, numerous
live music clubs and other places of interest, such as the
Black
Archives of Mid-America and the
Bruce
R. Watkins Cultural Heritage Center.
After spending a day exploring, guests can take in a play at one of the many
theaters found in the city. There is the Folly
Theater with its early-1900s ambiance and the rare outdoor stage, the
Starlight
Theatre, in Swope Park, among many others, which offer a stage for numerous
theater,
opera,
and dance
companies, as well as musicians
to perform on.
Tours
Many of the big businesses have an open-door policy with visitors of the city,
such as the Harley-Davidson Assembly Plant, which offers guided tours of their
facility. Hallmark Cards also takes people through their building and educates
them on the company through films, tours and interactive displays. A fun spot
for adults is at the Boulevard
Brewing Company, where visitors can see how various lagers and ales
are created while tasting a variety of beers. Other activities for guests to
enjoy include the Fiesta
Cruises boat trip and a visit to the Lakeside
Nature Center.
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The Starlight Theatre in Swope
Park5
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Natural Attractions
Since traveling and learning can get exhausting, Kansas City offers ample natural
areas for its guests and residents to relax and recharge in. The city's Swope
Park is the largest facility. It provides people with pavilions, picnic areas,
athletic fields and playgrounds, and is the home to attractions like the Starlight
Theater, the
Kansas
City Zoo and the Lakeside Nature Center. Various gardens around the city
include
Powell
Gardens and
Penn
Valley Park. A day of fishing, boating, swimming or hiking is easily accommodated.
There are several lakes used specifically for recreation, including
Lake
Jacomo and
Blue
Springs Lake in
Fleming
Park. Camping facilities, hiking and biking trails, a marina, several
historic sites and a beach can be found here.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF:
- Kansas City CVA; The Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium; Kansas City,
MO, USA
- Kansas City CVA; The Country Club Plaza; Kansas City,
MO, USA
- Kansas City CVA; J.C.Nichols Memorial Fountain; Kansas City,
MO, USA
- Kansas City CVA; The Blue Room Music Club and Museum; Kansas City, MO, USA
- Kansas City CVA; The Starlight Theatre in Swope Park; Kansas City, MO, USA
