123-532: The Bentley Film Festival , also known as The Bentley's , is a film festival held annually on December 3 in Kansas City , Missouri . The festival encourages short, uncut films to be shown as original productions. The Bentley Film Festival first started on December 3, 1993, in Kansas City , Missouri . It is a project that is funded by Independent Filmmaker's Coalition of Kansas City. The IFC requires contestants to use Super 8 mm film and Bentley Cameras (hence
246-620: A courthouse , city market, and chamber of commerce in 1857. In 1858, however, the local violence had grown so fierce that the Kansas Territorial Governor and the State of Missouri both asked U.S. President James Buchanan to send in federal troops. The president agreed, and with the troops' presence the violence seemed quelled. Missouri stayed in the Union during the Civil War. However, since
369-471: A slave state . The area of the confluence of the two rivers, alternately known as the village of Kansa, Chouteau's, Quindaro , Westport Landing, Missouri River Quay, Town of Kansas, City of Kansas, and finally Kansas City, has been subject to several floods and river course changes. Since 1800, the confluence has moved about a quarter mile up the Missouri River. Missouri joined the Union in 1821 and, after
492-474: A Colony in 1713 and The Route to Be Taken to Ascend the Missouri River in 1714. In the documents, he describes the junction of the "Grande Riv[ière] des Cansez" and Missouri River, as the first adoption of those names. French cartographer Guillaume Delisle used the descriptions to make the area's first reasonably accurate map. The Spanish took over the region in the Treaty of Paris in 1763, but were not to play
615-516: A Confederate triumph. Once again their victory proved hollow, as Price was decisively defeated in the pivotal Battle of Westport the next day, effectively ending Confederate efforts to regain Missouri. General Thomas Ewing , in response to a successful raid on nearby Lawrence, Kansas , led by William Quantrill , issued General Order No. 11 , forcing the eviction of residents in four western Missouri counties – including Jackson – except those living in
738-630: A Confederate victory, but the Southerners were not able to follow it up in any meaningful way, as the City of Kansas was occupied by Union troops and proved too heavily fortified for them to assault. In 1863, William Quantrill sacked and burned Lawrence, killing 168 people in what was called the Lawrence Massacre . The collapse of a makeshift prison in Kansas City holding women associated with bushwhackers
861-572: A Native American attack on the fort. He lived with a Native American wife in the Missouri village about 90 miles (145 km) east near Brunswick, Missouri , and illegally traded furs. To clear his name, Bourgmont wrote "Exact Description of Louisiana, of Its Harbors, Lands and Rivers, and Names of the Indian Tribes That Occupy It, and the Commerce and Advantages to Be Derived Therefrom for
984-486: A bar with money he won from betting on a longshot horse (Climax) at a local race track. From his new bar, Pendergast began networking with local leaders and soon built a powerful faction in the Jackson County Democratic Party. Pendergast's faction was called the "Goats", because they were backed by those living in the hills above the river. His chief rivals were the "Rabbits" because they tended to come from
1107-679: A cattle judging contest in a tent in the stockyards. That event soon became the annual American Royal two-month-long livestock festival. The Kansas City Stockyards were destroyed in the Great Flood of 1951 and never fully recovered. In 1887, John G. Braecklein constructed a Victorian home for John and Margaret Scroggs in the area of Strawberry Hill . It is a fine example of the Queen Anne Style architecture erected in Kansas City, Kansas. The Pendergast era, under Democrat big city bosses James and Tom Pendergast from 1890 to 1940, ushered in
1230-552: A colorful and influential era for the city. The Pendergasts presided over an era in which many outsized personalities shaped the city and contributed to the whole country. During this period, the Pendergasts ensured that national prohibition was meaningless in Kansas City; the Kansas City boulevard and park system was developed; the Country Club Plaza , Country Club District , and Ward Parkway were created; TWA made Kansas City
1353-568: A historically Italian American neighborhood , the UMKC area and in River Market, in northern Kansas City. The Historic Kansas City boundary is roughly 58 square miles (150 km ) and has a population density of about 5,000 inhabitants per square mile (1,900/km ). It runs from the Missouri River to the north, 79th Street to the south, the Blue River to the east, and State Line Road to the west. During
SECTION 10
#17328444631601476-614: A landing point for West Port, with Lykins as the first postmaster. He found it more convenient to have his goods offloaded at the Prudhomme landing next to Chouteau's landing than in Independence. Several years after Gabriel Prudhomme's death, a group of fourteen investors purchased his land at auction on November 14, 1838. By 1839, the investors divided the property and the first lots were sold in 1846 after legal complications were settled. The remaining lots were sold by February 1850. In 1850,
1599-418: A legal discovery of living outside city boundaries, he was soon succeeded by Johnston Lykins as the second (but first legally elected) mayor. The city had an area of 0.70 square miles (1.8 km ) and a population of 2,500. The boundary lines extended from the middle of the Missouri River south to what is now Ninth Street, and from Bluff Street on the west to a point between Holmes Road and Charlotte Street on
1722-615: A long-term commuter rail plan. For the time being, the line is being converted to a trail while county officials negotiate with railroads for access to tracks in Downtown Kansas City. On November 7, 2017, Kansas City voters overwhelmingly approved a new single terminal at Kansas City International Airport by a 75% to 25% margin. The new single terminal replaced the three existing "Clover Leafs" at KCI Airport on February 28, 2023. The city has an area of 319.03 square miles (826.28 km ), of which, 314.95 square miles (815.72 km )
1845-474: A major role other than taxing and licensing Missouri River ship traffic. The French continued their fur trade under Spanish license. The Chouteau family operated under Spanish license at St. Louis , in the lower Missouri Valley as early as 1765 and in 1821 the Chouteaus reached Kansas City, where François Chouteau established Chouteau's Landing. After the 1803 Louisiana Purchase , Lewis and Clark visited
1968-570: A marked uptick in late spring and summer. Kansas City is located in Tornado Alley , a broad region where cold air from Canada collides with warm air from the Gulf of Mexico, leading to the formation of powerful storms, especially during the spring. The Kansas City metropolitan area has experienced several significant outbreaks of tornadoes in the past, including the Ruskin Heights tornado in 1957 and
2091-596: A more powerful position as chairman of the Jackson County Democratic Club with its headquarters at 1908 Main Street. In 1925, Kansas City, Missouri, voted in favor of establishing a city manager-based government with one city council of 12 members instead of two chambers of 32 members total, giving Tom an easier road to gaining majority control. By 1925, the Pendergast machine had established a majority, appointing
2214-506: A name change to Kansas City in 1889, and the city limits to be extended south and east. Westport became part of Kansas City on December 2, 1897. In 1900, Kansas City was the 22nd largest city in the country, with a population of 163,752 residents. Landscape architect George Kessler shaped Kansas City into a leading example of the City Beautiful movement, with a network of boulevards and parks. New neighborhoods like Southmoreland and
2337-657: A passive mayor and powerful city manager Henry F. McElroy . Pendergast's power grew during the Great Depression , creating a Ten-Year Plan bond plan aimed at putting unemployed Kansas Citians to work building civic structures that still stand, including City Hall, Municipal Auditorium , and the Jackson County Courthouse. These structures, sporting art deco architecture, were built with concrete supplied by Pendergast's Ready-Mixed Concrete company and other companies that provided kickbacks to Pendergast. At its peak,
2460-404: A residential corridor nicknamed Millionaire Row. It is now widely seen as one of the city's most prominent racial and economic dividing lines due to urban decay, which was caused by white flight . During the civil rights era the city blocked people of color from moving to homes west of Troost Avenue, causing the areas east of Troost to have one of the worst murder rates in the country. This led to
2583-506: A result of the new potential for slavery in Kansas, pro-slavery activists infiltrated Kansas Territory from the neighboring slave state of Missouri. To abolitionists and other Free-Staters, who desired Kansas to be admitted to the Union as a free state, they were collectively known as Border Ruffians . Pro-slavery Missourians flocked to Kansas in force, electing a pro-slavery Kansas Territorial Legislature. In response, abolitionists began arriving in
SECTION 20
#17328444631602706-518: A trading post in the hills three miles south of the river. McCoy named it "West Port" because it was the last place to get supplies before travelers went into Kansas Territory on the California Trail , Santa Fe Trail , and Oregon Trail . McCoy got supplies from boats that docked at a rocky outcropping on the river at what is Main Street and the river; the area was called "Westport Landing". McCoy's landing and Chouteau's trading post drove traffic to
2829-633: Is composed of several neighborhoods , including the River Market District , 18th and Vine District , and the Country Club Plaza . Celebrated cultural traditions include Kansas City jazz ; theater, as a historical center of the Vaudevillian Orpheum circuit in the 1920s; the nickname City of Fountains ; the Chiefs and Royals sports franchises; and cuisine such as Kansas City–style barbecue and strip steak . The town of Kansas, Missouri ,
2952-537: Is known as the Union Station massacre . The gangsters had spent the prior evening at the Hotel Monroe, adjacent to Pendergast's office, and had received assistance in eluding a bribed police force from John Lazia , a major underworld figure with connections to Pendergast. In 1880, James Pendergast, the oldest son of Irish immigrants, moved to Kansas City's West Bottoms. He worked at a local iron foundry until he bought
3075-546: Is land and 4.08 square miles (10.57 km ) is water. Bluffs overlook the rivers and river bottom areas. Kansas City proper is bowl-shaped and is surrounded to the north and south by glacier -carved limestone and bedrock cliffs. Kansas City is at the confluence between the Dakota and Minnesota ice lobes during the maximum late Independence glaciation of the Pleistocene epoch . The Kansas and Missouri rivers cut wide valleys into
3198-624: Is the headquarters of Hallmark Cards and a major downtown shopping and entertainment complex. It is connected to Union Station by a series of covered walkways. The Country Club Plaza , or "the Plaza", is an upscale, outdoor shopping, and entertainment district. It is the first suburban shopping district in the United States, designed to accommodate shoppers arriving by automobile, and is surrounded by apartments and condominiums, including several high rise buildings. The associated Country Club District to
3321-509: Is well known for Ward Parkway , a wide, divided, and manicured boulevard that goes north and south through the neighborhood. The parkway is lined with several large homes. In the 1920s, Nichols created the Country Club Plaza, a shopping district and neighborhood along Brush Creek modeled after the city of Seville, Spain . "The Plaza" is the world's first shopping center specifically designed to accommodate shoppers arriving by automobile. It
3444-553: The White Feather Spring marker notes the location). The language of the first European settlement in Kansas City was French. In 1821, 24-year-old François Gesseau Chouteau , nephew of René Auguste Chouteau , set up a permanent trading post in the great bend in the Missouri River that makes up the Northeast Industrial District (crossed today by Chouteau Trafficway). He referred to the post as "the village of
3567-632: The 37th most-populous city in the United States , as well as the sixth-most populous city in the Midwest . Kansas City was founded in the 1830s as a port on the Missouri River at its confluence with the Kansas River from the west. On June 1, 1850, the town of Kansas was incorporated; shortly after came the establishment of the Kansas Territory . Confusion between the two ensued, and the name Kansas City
3690-534: The Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and the subsequent Volstead Act , Kansas City remained essentially unaffected, mostly due to the Pendergast machine. Due to Pendergast, prohibition simply "never existed in Kansas City" because he kept the bars open, the liquor supplied, and Kansas City's federal prosecutor on his payroll to never bring a single felony prosecution under
3813-617: The Kansas City City Hall and the Jackson County Courthouse. During this time, he aided one of his nephew's friends, Harry S. Truman , in a political career. Truman eventually became a senator, then vice president, then president . The machine fell in 1939 when Pendergast, riddled with health problems, pleaded guilty to tax evasion after long federal investigations. His biographers have summed up his uniqueness: Pendergast may bear comparison to various big-city bosses, but his open alliance with hardened criminals, his cynical subversion of
Bentley Film Festival - Misplaced Pages Continue
3936-517: The Kansas City Missouri Temple on May 6, 2012. Over the next years, the character of Kansas City was defined by those who wanted to live close to the river (who were referred to as "Rabbits") and those who wanted to live in the hills (the "Goats"). John Calvin McCoy , who is considered the "father of Kansas City", had a hand in establishing settlements in both locations. In 1833, he opened
4059-506: The Kansas Territory in 1854, the violence along its border with Missouri was a prelude to the American Civil War . The first documented French visitor to the Kansas City area was Étienne de Veniard, Sieur de Bourgmont , who was also the first European to explore the lower Missouri River. Bourgmont was on the lam from French authorities after deserting his post as commander of Fort Detroit , after being criticized for his handling of
4182-562: The Kansas–Nebraska Act , which rejected the 1820 Missouri Compromise and allowed new territories to choose to allow slavery, whereas the Missouri Compromise had prohibited slavery in any new states to be created north of latitude 36°30'. Thus, according to the Missouri Compromise, Kansas Territory (located immediately to the west of the City of Kansas, Missouri) had been a free territory but now could choose to permit slavery. As
4305-666: The Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art . William became president of Commerce. One of his sons, R. Crosby Kemper , controlled United Missouri Banks while the other son, James Madison Kemper, took over Commerce. William Rockhill Nelson founded the Kansas City Star in 1880, and was to eventually take over its prime competitor, the Kansas City Times . Nelson was a major supporter of the Democratic Party and an urban booster. At
4428-602: The Louisiana Purchase in 1803, and Americans began settling there in greater numbers after the organization of the Missouri Territory in 1812. In 1838, Kansas City was founded and eventually surpassed neighboring Westport to become the predominant city west of St. Louis. The area was also a focal point in the westward expansion of the United States, as both the Santa Fe and Oregon trails ran nearby. After formation of
4551-519: The May 2003 tornado outbreak sequence . The region can also experience ice storms during the winter, such as the 2002 ice storm duringin which hundreds of thousands of residents lost power for days or weeks. Kansas City and its outlying areas are also subject to flooding, including the Great Floods of 1844 , 1951 , and 1993 . Kansas City has the second largest Somali and Sudanese populations in
4674-587: The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints under the leadership of Joseph Smith III and members of other factions , several of whom had established their headquarters in nearby Independence, Missouri. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) is the largest sect in the Latter Day Saint movement and is headquartered in Salt Lake City , Utah . The LDS Church opened
4797-737: The Treaty of St. Louis in 1825, the 1,400 Missouri Shawnees were forcibly relocated from Cape Girardeau to southeastern Kansas , close to the Neosho River . In 1826, the Prophet Tenskwatawa established a village in Argentine, Kansas . During 1833, only chief Black Bob's band of Shawnee resisted the relocation efforts. They settled in northeastern Kansas, near Olathe and along the Kansas River in Monticello , near Gum Springs . Tenskwatawa died in 1836 at his village in Kansas City, Kansas (ed.,
4920-455: The U.S. state of Missouri by population and area. Most of the city lies within Jackson County , and other portions spill into Clay , Platte , and Cass counties. It is the central city of the Kansas City metropolitan area , which straddles the Missouri – Kansas state line and has a population of 2,392,035. As of the 2020 census , the city had a population of 508,090, making it
5043-499: The United States Government sought to create government posts all throughout the area. In 1808, Fort Osage was established 20 miles from the confluence of the Missouri and Kansas Rivers near present-day Sibley, Missouri . In 1812, after Louisiana officially became a state, the remaining portions of the original Louisiana Territory north of Arkansas were renamed the Missouri Territory . As plans were made to divide up
Bentley Film Festival - Misplaced Pages Continue
5166-426: The 1960s and 1970s, Kansas City annexed large amounts of land, which are largely undeveloped. Between the 2000 and 2010 census counts, the urban core of Kansas City continued to drop significantly in population. The areas of Greater Downtown in the center city, and sections near I-435 and I-470 in the south, and Highway 152 in the north are the only areas of Kansas City, Missouri, to have an increase in population, with
5289-557: The American Midwest, linking growers and small businesses to the community. More than 30 full-time merchants operate year-round and offer specialty foods, fresh meats and seafood, restaurants and cafes, floral, and home accessories. The City Market has the Arabia Steamboat Museum , which houses artifacts from a steamboat that sank near Kansas City in 1856. Downtown Kansas City is 2.9 square miles (7.5 km ) bounded by
5412-665: The Black Marble H&;R Block fountain in front of Union Station, which features synchronized water jets; the Nichols Bronze Horses at the corner of Main and J.C. Nichols Parkway at the entrance to the Plaza Shopping District; and the fountain at Hallmark Cards World Headquarters in Crown Center . Since its inception in 1857, City Market has been one of the largest and most enduring public farmers' markets in
5535-536: The Blue River, and proved a source of resentments that lingered long after the war. The city's first mayor was exiled to St. Louis. In 1864, Price invaded Missouri in a last-gasp Confederate offensive called Price's Raid . He pushed Union troops out of Independence in the Second Battle of Independence and into the City of Kansas, resulting in the pivotal Battle of Westport in October of that year near Brush Creek. Price
5658-667: The Central Business District. The Power & Light District , a new, nine-block entertainment district comprising numerous restaurants, bars, and retail shops, was developed by the Cordish Company of Baltimore, Maryland . Its first tenant opened on November 9, 2007. It is anchored by the T-Mobile Center , a 19,000-seat sports and entertainment complex. Kansas City is in the Midwestern United States , near
5781-428: The City of Kansas. At the first municipal election in 1853, there were 67 voters from an estimated population of 2,500. The initial incorporated area was about 10 blocks west to east and five blocks north to south. It was bordered by Bluff Road (about the location of what became Interstate 35 ) on the west, Independence Avenue on the south, Holmes Street on the east, and the Missouri River on the north. William S. Gregory
5904-475: The Commerce Bank Tower into residential and hotel space has helped to fulfill the demand. New apartment complexes like One, Two, and Three Lights, River Market West, and 503 Main have begun to reshape Kansas City's skyline. Strong demand has led to occupancy rates in the upper 90%. The residential population of downtown has boomed, and the office population has dropped significantly from the early 2000s to
6027-553: The Establishment of a Colony" in 1713, and in 1714, "The Route to Be Taken to Ascend the Missouri River". In these documents, he described the junction of the Kansas and Missouri rivers, as the first to refer to them by those names. French cartographer Guillaume Delisle used the descriptions to make the first reasonably accurate map of the area. The French rewarded Bourgmont by giving him their highest honors and naming him commander of
6150-653: The Golden Age of Aviation, the 1930s and 1940s, TWA was known as "The Airline Run by Flyers". With about 300 employees prior to World War II, the airline eventually employed more than 20,000 people from the metropolitan area. William T. Kemper became the scion for a powerful financial family that had controlling interest of the city's two biggest banks, Commerce Trust Company (now Commerce Bancshares ) and City Center Bank (later City National Bank, now UMB Financial Corporation ). The family has influenced financial endeavors throughout Missouri and Kansas, including Kemper Arena and
6273-482: The Kansa". In 1825, after natives agreed to leave the westernmost six miles of Missouri to the confluence of the Kansas, the area was referred to as "Chouteau's". In 1826, Chouteau moved his trading post to higher ground, Troost Avenue and the river, following a flood. He also financed the first Catholic church, which was built on Quality Hill. The area was soon populated by trappers, scouts, traders, and farmers, leading to
SECTION 50
#17328444631606396-556: The Kansas City fairgrounds at 12th Street and Campbell, all the while living at various places throughout the metropolitan area. In 1865, the Missouri Pacific railroad reached Kansas City. At the time, Kansas City was similar in population to Independence and Leavenworth, Kansas . That was to change in 1867, when Kansas City defeated Leavenworth (then over twice Kansas City's size) for the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad bridge over
6519-413: The Missouri River to the north, 31st Street to the south, Troost Avenue to the east, and State Line Road to the west. Areas near Downtown Kansas City include the 39th Street District , which is known as Restaurant Row, and features one of Kansas City's largest selections of independently owned restaurants and boutique shops. It is a center of literary and visual arts, and bohemian culture . Crown Center
6642-465: The Missouri River. He established a home for his wife, Josephine, and six children. He operated a ferry on the river. In 1833, John McCoy , son of Baptist missionary Isaac McCoy and brother-in-law of Johnston Lykins , established West Port along the Santa Fe Trail , 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) south of the river. In 1834, McCoy established Westport Landing on a bend in the Missouri to serve as
6765-426: The Missouri River. The Hannibal Bridge, designed by Octave Chanute , opened in 1869. With that, the city's population quadrupled in fifty years. In 1889, with a population of around 130,000, the city adopted a new charter and changed its name to Kansas City. In 1897, Kansas City annexed Westport. The initial meeting of tracks occurred in the West Bottoms an area that had previously been used to outfit travellers on
6888-415: The Missouri. He built the first fort (and first extended settlement in Missouri) in 1723 at Fort Orleans , near his Brunswick home. In 1724, Bourgmont led a group of Native Americans probably up the Kansas River en route to the southwest to set up an alliance with the Comanche to fight the Spanish, thereby creating a New France empire extending from Montreal through Missouri to New Mexico . To celebrate
7011-424: The Northland population growing the most. Even so, the population of Kansas City as a whole from 2000 to 2010 increased by 4.1%. In February 2022, the city had an estimated 3,000 homeless people. Town of Kansas The history of the Kansas City metropolitan area relates to the area around the confluence of the Kansas and Missouri Rivers and the modern-day city of Kansas City, Missouri . Before
7134-404: The Oregon and Santa Fe trails who had followed the Kansas River. The biggest outfitting facility was the Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company . That company went out of business following the collapse of the Pony Express . Its facilities were to become the Kansas City Stockyards . The city has since been the second to Chicago as busiest train center in the country. In 1914,
7257-466: The River Market, Downtown, Union Station, Crown Center and the Country Club Plaza. The KCATA continues to expand MAX with additional routes on Prospect Avenue, Troost Avenue, and Independence Avenue. In 2013, construction began on a two-mile streetcar line in downtown Kansas City (funded by a $ 102 million ballot initiative that was passed in 2012) that runs between the River Market and Union Station, it began operation in May 2016. In 2017, voters approved
7380-400: The Rockhill District were conceived to accommodate the city's largest residencies of palatial proportions. The obsolescence of Union Depot in West Bottoms in favor of the new Union Station in 1914, and the opening of the Liberty Memorial in 1923, provided two of the city's most identifiable landmarks. Robert A. Long , president of the Liberty Memorial Association, was a driving force in
7503-400: The Safdie-designed Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts opened in 2011. The Power and Light Building is influenced by the Art Deco style and sports a glowing sky beacon. The new world headquarters of H&R Block is a 20-story all-glass oval bathed in a soft green light. The four industrial artworks atop the support towers of the Kansas City Convention Center ( Bartle Hall ) were once
SECTION 60
#17328444631607626-439: The United States Congress. Kansas City is home to significant national and international architecture firms including ACI Boland, BNIM , 360 Architecture , HNTB , Populous . Frank Lloyd Wright designed two private residences and Community Christian Church there. Kansas City hosts more than 200 working fountains, especially on the Country Club Plaza. Designs range from French-inspired traditional to modern. Highlights include
7749-402: The United States. The Latino/Hispanic population of Kansas City, which is heavily Mexican and Central American , is spread throughout the metropolitan area, with some concentration in the northeast part of the city and southwest of downtown. The Asian population, mostly Southeast Asian, is partly concentrated within the northeast side to the Columbus Park neighborhood in the Greater Downtown area,
7872-452: The Volstead Act. Dr. George Miller , the editor of the Omaha Herald , even remarked, "If you want to see some sin, forget about Paris . Go to Kansas City." So, when prohibition finally was repealed in 1933 by means of the Twenty-first Amendment , very little changed in Kansas City. The Liberty Memorial , which houses The National World War I Museum, was dedicated on November 11, 1926, by U.S. President Calvin Coolidge . In attendance at
7995-432: The area around the rivers. The lead of this faction was Joe Shannon . Just prior to winning his first of nine terms on the city council in 1892, James summoned his youngest brother Tom from nearby St. Joseph . As Jim's health deteriorated, Tom began to utilize many of his brother's connections to lead the "Goat" faction after Jim's death in 1910. Tom succeeded Jim in the council too, but left after three terms and assumed
8118-446: The area's tribal inhabitants include the Hopewell tradition , Mississippian culture , Kansa , Osage , Otoe , and Missouri . The first documented European visitor to the eventual site of Kansas City was Étienne de Veniard, Sieur de Bourgmont , who was also the first European to explore the lower Missouri River. Criticized for his response to the Native American attack on Fort Détroit , he had deserted his post as fort commander and
8241-430: The area, and in 1855 they declared the Kansas Territorial Legislature "bogus" and elected their own representatives to form a new territorial government in Lawrence, Kansas (approximately 35 miles (56 km) west of the City of Kansas). The newly established City of Kansas soon found itself in the middle of a dispute known as Bleeding Kansas . During the conflict, the City of Kansas continued to grow rapidly. It gained
8364-409: The areas east of Troost. The Hyatt Regency walkway collapse was a major disaster that occurred on July 17, 1981, killing 114 people and injuring more than 200 others during a tea dance in the 45-story Hyatt Regency hotel in Crown Center . It is the deadliest structural collapse in US history other than the September 11 attacks . In 2015 a memorial called the Skywalk Memorial Plaza was built for
8487-427: The arrival of European explorers, the area was inhabited at various times by peoples of the Hopewell tradition and later the Mississippian culture , as well as the Kansa , Osage , Otoe and Missouri tribes. In the early 18th century, Frenchmen from St. Louis, Missouri moved up the Missouri River to trap for furs and trade with the local Native Americans . The area was acquired by the United States from France in
8610-411: The center of North America, far removed from a significant body of water, there is significant potential for extreme hot and cold swings throughout the year. The warmest month is July, with a 24-hour average temperature of 81.0 °F (27.2 °C). The summer months are hot and humid, with moist air riding up from the Gulf of Mexico , and high temperatures surpass 100 °F (38 °C) on 5.6 days of
8733-417: The city and nearby communities and those whose allegiance to the Union was certified by Ewing. After the Civil War, Kansas City grew rapidly. The selection of the city over Leavenworth, Kansas , for the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad bridge over the Missouri River brought significant growth. The population exploding after 1869, when Hannibal Bridge, designed by Octave Chanute , opened. The boom prompted
8856-466: The city and was one of the largest systems in the country. In 1903 the 8th Street Tunnel was built as an underground streetcar system through the city. The last run of the streetcar was on June 23, 1957, but the tunnel still exists. At the start of the 20th century, political machines gained clout in the city, with the one led by Tom Pendergast dominating the city by 1925. Several important buildings and structures were built during this time, including
8979-517: The city covered approximately 316 square miles (820 km ), more than five times its size in 1940. Aggressively annexing the surrounding suburbs and undeveloped land spared Kansas City from the severe population loss suffered by cities like St. Louis and Detroit, similar cities which both lost over 50% of their population in the postwar era. In the most neglected neighborhoods, however, the same pattern of abandonment occurred and left behind massive numbers of vacant lots and abandoned homes, especially in
9102-606: The city's Union Station in the West Bottoms became outdated and the new Union Station was built. In 1871, the Kansas City Stockyards boomed in the West Bottoms because of their central location in the country and their proximity to trains. They became second only to Chicago's in size, and the city itself was identified with its famous Kansas City steak . In 1899, the American Hereford Association hosted
9225-561: The city's first settlers had arrived via the Missouri River from the South, considerable tension existed there between pro-Union and pro-Confederate sympathizers. Missourian Sterling Price was to fight battles in the area at the beginning and end of the war, hoping to incite residents to join the Southern cause. Thus, the City of Kansas and its immediate environs became the focus of intense military activity. The First Battle of Independence resulted in
9348-428: The confluence of the Kansas and Missouri rivers, noting it was a good place to build a fort. In 1831, a group of Mormons from New York state led by Joseph Smith settled in the area. They built the first school within what became Kansas City, but were forced out by mob violence in 1833. In 1831, Gabriel Prudhomme Sr., a Canadian trapper and partner of François Chouteau , purchased 257 acres (104 ha) fronting
9471-423: The confluence of the Kansas and Missouri rivers. During their stay there, they met French fur traders and mapped the area of Quality Hill in what would eventually become Kansas City, Missouri, calling it "a fine place for a fort". This became Kansas City, Kansas, memorialized at Kaw Point Park . Because of the burgeoning trade up the Missouri River from St. Louis, especially following Lewis and Clark's expedition,
9594-441: The democratic process, his monarchistic style of living, his increasingly insatiable gambling habit, his grasping for a business empire, and his promotion of Kansas City as a wide-open town with every kind of vice imaginable, combined with his professed compassion for the poor and very real role as city builder, made him bigger than life, difficult to characterize. Troost Avenue was once the eastern edge of Kansas City, Missouri and
9717-422: The democratic process, his monarchistic style of living, his increasingly insatiable gambling habit, his grasping for a business empire, and his promotion of Kansas City as a wide-open town with every kind of vice imaginable, combined with his professed compassion for the poor and very real role as city builder, made him bigger than life, difficult to characterize. Walt Disney moved to Kansas City with his family in
9840-458: The dominating economic success of neighboring Johnson County . In 1950, African Americans represented 12.2% of Kansas City's population. The city's most populous ethnic group, non-Hispanic whites, declined from 89.5% in 1930 to 54.9% in 2010. In 1940, the city had about 400,000 residents; by 2000, it had about 440,000. From 1940 to 1960, the city more than doubled its physical size, while increasing its population by only about 75,000. By 1970,
9963-416: The early 20th century, by first selling Valentine's Day cards. He expanded the corporate headquarters into Crown Center shortly before he died in 1982. Charles Lindbergh helped lure the newly created Transcontinental & Western Airline (TW&A) – later Trans World Airlines ( TWA ) – to locate its corporate headquarters in Kansas City, because of the city's central location. During the latter part of
10086-547: The early 20th century. He attended weekend classes at the Kansas City Art Institute and was said to have been inspired to make the affectionate depiction of a mouse after seeing one in his office in Kansas City. After World War I , Disney ran his first animation studio at the Laugh-O-Gram Studio from 1921 to 1923 Kansas City. J.C. Hall founded greeting card company Hallmark Cards with his brother Rollie in
10209-760: The east. During the Civil War , the city and its immediate surroundings were the focus of intense military activity. Although the First Battle of Independence in August 1862 resulted in a Confederate States Army victory, the Confederates were unable to leverage their win in any significant fashion, as Kansas City was occupied by Union troops and proved too heavily fortified to assault. The Second Battle of Independence , which occurred on October 21–22, 1864, as part of Sterling Price 's Missouri expedition of 1864 , also resulted in
10332-478: The era was marked by considerable violence and corruption. Pendergast was ultimately defanged with a 1939 income tax evasion charge. Kansas enacted statewide prohibition on February 19, 1881. In Kansas City, however, residents on the Kansas side of the area who wished to drink simply went across the state line to Kansas City, Missouri, to the many saloons and taverns there. 12th Street in Downtown Kansas City
10455-501: The eviction of the Latter Day Saints from Jackson County in 1833 and then the 1838 Mormon War . Despite their expulsion, many Mormons continued to believe that their New Jerusalem (or " city of Zion ") would be located at Independence, Missouri. Years later, various groups of Latter Day Saints returned to Jackson County, the first of whom were members of the diminutive Church of Christ (Temple Lot) , quickly followed by adherents to
10578-414: The families of the victims of the disaster, across the street from the hotel which is now a Sheraton. In the 21st century, the Kansas City area has undergone extensive redevelopment, with more than $ 6 billion in improvements to the downtown area on the Missouri side. One of the main goals is to attract convention and tourist dollars, office workers, and residents to downtown KCMO. Among the projects include
10701-508: The formation of a TDD to expand the streetcar line south 3.5 miles from Union Station to UMKC's Volker Campus. Additionally in 2017, the KC Port Authority began engineering studies for a Port Authority funded streetcar expansion north to Berkley Riverfront Park. Citywide, voter support for rail projects continues to grow with numerous light rail projects in the works. In 2016, Jackson County, Missouri, acquired unused rail lines as part of
10824-634: The funding for construction. Long was a longtime resident and wealthy businessman. He built the R.A. Long Building for the Long-Bell Lumber Company , his home, Corinthian Hall (now the Kansas City Museum ) and Longview Farm . Further spurring Kansas City's growth was the opening of the innovative Country Club Plaza development by J.C. Nichols in 1925, as part of his Country Club District plan. The Kansas City streetcar system once had hundreds of miles of streetcars running through
10947-413: The geographic center of the country, at the confluence of the Missouri and Kansas rivers. The city lies in either the humid continental zone when using the 0 °C (32 °F) isotherm, or in the humid subtropical zone when using the −3 °C (27 °F) isotherm. The city experiences roughly 104 air frosts on average per annum. The city is part of USDA plant hardiness zones 5b and 6a. In
11070-630: The groundbreaking ceremony on November 1, 1921, were Lieutenant General Baron Jacques of Belgium , Admiral Lord Earl Beatty of Great Britain , General Armando Diaz of Italy , Marshal Ferdinand Foch of France and General John Pershing of the United States . In 1935, bas reliefs by Walker Hancock of Jacques, Beatty, Diaz, Foch and Pershing were unveiled. Violence and gangster activity proliferated during this time. On June 17, 1933, three gangsters attempted to free Frank Nash from FBI custody, but wound up killing him and four unarmed agents. This
11193-455: The hub of national aviation; most of the downtown Kansas City buildings were built; its inner city culture blossomed with contributions to Negro league baseball , Kansas City jazz music, and Kansas City-style barbecue cuisine; the stockyards and train station were second only to Chicago; and Harry S Truman, from nearby Independence, became President . Much of the construction during these "wide open days" used Pendergast Readi-Mix Concrete, and
11316-567: The incorporation of Jackson County, Missouri , in December 1826 and the founding of the town of Independence a few months later, located approximately 10 miles (16 km) from the river junction, as its county seat . As the number of farmers increased, the fur traders retreated northward. In 1831, Moses Grinter established a ferry on the Kansas River on the old Indian trail by the Kaw's water. Grinter
11439-465: The landing area was incorporated as the town of Kansas, Missouri . By that time, the towns of Kansas, Westport, and nearby Independence , had become critical points in the westward expansion of the United States. Three major trails – the Santa Fe , California , and Oregon – all passed through Jackson County. On February 22, 1853, Kansas was reincorporated and renamed the City of Kansas with its first elected mayor, William Samuel Gregory . Due to
11562-472: The landing was stifled because it was a farm mostly owned by Gabriel Prudhomme. In 1838, McCoy, Chouteau, and other merchants formed the Town of Kansas Company and purchased Prudhomme's 271-acre (1.1 km ) farm for US$ 4,220 (equivalent to about $ 121,000 in 2023). The investors had rejected other names for the new town including Port Fonda, Rabbitville, and Possum Trot. The next year, in 1839, Chouteau died, and
11685-460: The last outpost before settlers traveled up the Kansas River or Missouri River. The road connecting Westport with the trading post and Westport Landing followed Broadway. In 1834, the steamboat John Hancock , which was laden with goods for McCoy, became the first steamboat to dock at the Westport Landing and opened up a new era of communication and transportation for the area. Expansion around
11808-847: The machine wielded considerable influence on state politics, handily electing Platte County judge Guy Brasfield Park governor of Missouri in 1932 when the Democratic candidate Francis Wilson died two weeks before the election. Also during this time, Kansas City also became a center for nightlife and music, with jazz by musicians such as Count Basie and Charlie Parker , and blues flourishing in areas such as 18th and Vine . Pendergast's machine became synonymous with inflating election results by bringing in out-of-town hoodlums to vote for machine candidates repeatedly. The March 27, 1934, municipal elections (dramatized in Robert Altman 's 1996 film Kansas City ) resulted in nine deaths. Tom Pendergast's power
11931-521: The mid-2010s. Top employers like AMC moved their operations to modern office buildings in the suburbs. High office vacancy plagued downtown, leading to the neglect of many office buildings. By the mid-2010s, many office buildings were converted to residential uses and the Class A vacancy rate plunged to 12% in 2017. Swiss Re, Virgin Mobile, AutoAlert, and others have begun to move operations to downtown Kansas City from
12054-411: The name) so that everyone has an equal opportunity to show their work. The contestants are required to have a three-minute, unedited, and undeveloped film which incorporates original and creative work. This article about an American film festival is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri ( KC or KCMO ) is the largest city in
12177-507: The official record lowest is −23 °F (−31 °C), set on December 22 and 23, 1989. Normal seasonal snowfall is 13.4 inches (34 cm) at Downtown Airport and 18.8 in (48 cm) at Kansas City International Airport. The average window for freezing temperatures is October 31 to April 4, while for measurable (0.1 in or 0.25 cm) snowfall, it is November 27 to March 16 as measured at Kansas City International Airport. Precipitation, both in frequency and total accumulation, shows
12300-526: The operator. From 2007 to 2017, downtown residential population in Kansas City quadrupled and continues to grow. The area has grown from almost 4,000 residents in the early 2000s to nearly 30,000 as of 2017 . Kansas City's downtown ranks as the sixth-fastest-growing downtown in America with the population expected to grow by more than 40% by 2022. Conversions of office buildings such as the Power & Light Building and
12423-563: The redevelopment of the Power & Light District into a retail and entertainment district; and the Sprint Center, an 18,500-seat arena that opened in 2007, funded by a 2004 ballot initiative involving a tax on car rentals and hotels, designed to meet the stadium specifications for a possible future NBA or NHL franchise, and was renamed T-Mobile Center in 2020; Kemper Arena, which was functionally superseded by Sprint Center, fell into disrepair and
12546-519: The region in the Treaty of Paris in 1763, but were not to play a major role in the area other than taxing and licensing all traffic on the Missouri River. The French continued their fur trade on the river under Spanish license. Following the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, the Lewis and Clark Expedition left St. Louis on a mission to reach the Pacific Ocean . In 1804, Lewis and Clark camped for three days at
12669-464: The saloons on 12th Street and smash liquor bottles with her hatchet. When she entered Flynn's Saloon on April 15, she promptly was arrested, hauled into Police Court (known today as the Municipal Court of Kansas City), fined US$ 500 (equivalent to $ 18,312 in 2023), and ordered by a judge to leave Kansas City and never return. When prohibition finally was imposed on Missouri in 1919 by means of
12792-627: The south includes the Sunset Hill and Brookside neighborhoods, and is traversed by Ward Parkway , a landscaped boulevard known for its statuary, fountains, and large, historic homes. Union Station is home to Science City , restaurants, shopping, theaters, and the city's Amtrak facility. After years of neglect and seas of parking lots, Downtown Kansas City is undergoing a period of change with over $ 6 billion in development since 2000. Many residential properties recently have been or are under redevelopment in three surrounding warehouse loft districts and
12915-600: The subject of ridicule, but now define the night skyline near the T-Mobile Center along with One Kansas City Place (Missouri's tallest office tower), the KCTV-Tower (Missouri's tallest freestanding structure) and the Liberty Memorial , a World War I memorial and museum that flaunts simulated flames and smoke billowing into the night skyline. It was designated as the National World War I Museum and Memorial in 2004 by
13038-616: The suburbs and expensive coastal cities. The area has seen additional development through various transportation projects, including improvements to the Grandview Triangle , which intersects Interstates 435 and 470, and U.S. Route 71 . In July 2005, the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA) launched Kansas City's first bus rapid transit line, the Metro Area Express (MAX), which links
13161-694: The success of the venture, he took the Native American chiefs on a junket to Paris to hunt with Louis XV and see the glory of France at Versailles and Fontainebleau . Bourgmont got promoted to official noble status and stayed in Normandy , not accompanying the chiefs back to the New World. According to legend, the Native Americans then slaughtered everybody in the Fort Orleans garrison. The Spanish took over
13284-557: The terrain when the glaciers melted and drained. A partially filled spillway valley crosses the central city. This valley is an eastward continuation of the Turkey Creek Valley. It is the closest major city to the geographic center of the contiguous United States, or "Lower 48". Kansas City comprises more than 240 neighborhoods, some with histories as independent cities or as the sites of major events. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art opened its Euro-Style Bloch addition in 2007, and
13407-480: The territory for the entry of Missouri into the union, it was determined that the western border of the new state would run from Iowa along the Missouri River to the confluence of the Kansas River (Kaw) and the Missouri River, then as a straight line running south to the northwest corner of Arkansas. As part of the Missouri Compromise in 1821, Congress admitted Missouri to the union as the 24th state and as
13530-557: The town of Kansas, Missouri on June 3, 1850, traditionally viewed as the retrospective founding date for what became Kansas City. Kansas's population was approximately 1,500 people. In 1851 or 1852, its first newspaper was called Public Ledger , was soon defunct, and in October 1854 was succeeded by the first permanent local newspaper, the Kansas City Enterprise . It was soon followed by the first telegraph service. On March 28, 1853, Missouri officially incorporated it, renaming it
13653-561: The town outside of Westport Landing was named Kansas. Throughout the 1840s, the population and importance of Kansas swelled as it and nearby Independence and Westport became starting points on the Oregon, Santa Fe, and California trails for settlers heading west. Between St. Louis and California , one of the few substantially populated areas was around Kaw Point at the confluence of the Missouri and Kansas rivers. The first railroad came to Kansas in 1847. Jackson County formally incorporated
13776-597: The urging of his paper, the city built Memorial Hall in 1899 to attract the 1900 Democratic National Convention . The hall burned in early 1900 was rebuilt in 90 days in time for the convention. Nelson left provisions that his house ultimately be torn down to create the Nelson-Atkins Gallery of Art . Beginning in 1906, developer J. C. Nichols created a planned upscale community called the Country Club District, located south of Brush Creek. This development
13899-433: The year, and 90 °F (32 °C) on 47 days. The coldest month of the year is January, with an average temperature of 31.0 °F (−0.6 °C). Winters are cold, with 22 days where the high temperature is at or below 32 °F (0 °C) and 2.5 nights with a low at or below 0 °F (−18 °C). The official record highest temperature is 113 °F (45 °C), set on August 14, 1936, at Downtown Airport, while
14022-614: Was assigned to distinguish them soon after. Sitting on Missouri's western boundary with Kansas , with Downtown near the confluence of the Kansas and Missouri Rivers, the city encompasses about 319.03 square miles (826.3 km ), making it the 25th largest city by total area in the United States. It is one of Jackson County's two seats along with the major satellite city of Independence ; and its other major Missouri suburbs include Blue Springs , Lee's Summit , Raytown , and Liberty . Its major Kansas suburbs include Overland Park , Olathe , Lenexa , and Kansas City, Kansas . The city
14145-410: Was avoiding French authorities. Bourgmont lived with a Native American wife in a village about 90 miles (140 km) east near Brunswick, Missouri , where he illegally traded furs . To clear his name, he wrote Exact Description of Louisiana, of Its Harbors, Lands and Rivers, and Names of the Indian Tribes That Occupy It, and the Commerce and Advantages to Be Derived Therefrom for the Establishment of
14268-429: Was brought down by health ailments and a determined effort by The federal treasury department along with local reform leaders, capped by Tom pleading guilty to tax evasion on May 24, 1939. Remnants of the machine lingered until the 1950s. His biographers have summed up Pendergast's uniqueness: Pendergast may bear comparison to various big-city bosses, but his open alliance with hardened criminals, his cynical subversion of
14391-614: Was decisively defeated and forced out of the state, ending all significant Confederate military operations in the area. After the war, Kansas City remained a hotbed for former pro-Southerns. John Newman Edwards founded the Kansas City Times to stringently object to Republican rule. He also created the Jesse James anti-hero myth, with James as a modern-day Robin Hood fighting an unjust Republican Reconstruction . Jesse James went on to rob
14514-464: Was elected the first mayor but had to resign within 10 months when it was discovered that the mayor actually had to live within the city limits, so Johnston Lykins became the first legal mayor. At the time of the City of Kansas's incorporation, Missouri was still a slave state. However, the population was deeply divided over the issue of slavery . In 1854, the United States Congress passed
14637-501: Was incorporated on June 1, 1850, reincorporated and renamed City of Kansas on March 28, 1853, and renamed Kansas City in 1889. The area straddles the border between Missouri and Kansas at the confluence of the Kansas and Missouri rivers , and was considered a good place to settle. The Antioch Christian Church , Dr. James Compton House , and Woodneath are listed on the National Register of Historic Places . In past centuries,
14760-410: Was known for its large number of taverns. During the ongoing temperance movement , however, Missouri never enacted statewide prohibition. Missourians actually rejected statewide prohibition in three separate referendums in 1910, 1912, and 1918, all of which were brought by citizens' initiative petitions. In April 1901, famous temperance crusader Carrie A. Nation came to Kansas City and began to enter
14883-434: Was one of Quantrill's motivations for the massacre. Union General Thomas Ewing, Jr. , believing that the raid was rooted in the four Missouri counties on the Kansas border south of the Missouri River, promulgated his General Order No. 11 which ordered the eviction of all those living in rural areas outside of designated urban areas, regardless of their loyalty. This order affected those living south of Brush Creek and east of
15006-612: Was one of the earliest permanent white settlers in the Kansas City, Kansas, area. In 1831, members of the Church of Christ , the original name of the Latter Day Saint church founded by Joseph Smith , came from Kirtland, Ohio , and New York State and purchased about 2,000-acre (8.1 km ) of land in the Paseo and Troost Lake areas. Conflict between the Saints and other Missouri residents led to
15129-550: Was sold to private developers. By 2018, the arena was being converted to a sports complex under the name Hy-Vee Arena . The Kauffman Performing Arts Center opened in 2011 providing a new, modern home to the KC Orchestra and Ballet. In 2015, an 800-room Hyatt Convention Center Hotel was announced for a site next to the Performance Arts Center & Bartle Hall. Construction was scheduled to start in early 2018 with Loews as
#159840