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84-550: The Stowers Institute for Medical Research is a biomedical research organization that conducts basic research on genes and proteins that control fundamental processes in living cells to analyze diseases and find keys to their causes, treatment, and prevention. It is located in Kansas City, Missouri adjacent to the University of Missouri–Kansas City main campus. The Institute has spent over 1.8 billion $ US on research. The Institute

168-531: 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

252-516: 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

336-568: 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

420-614: 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,

504-418: 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

588-508: A legendary tenor-saxophone battle at the cherry blossom, he noted that the Kansas City musician played more creatively. In Kansas City, Missouri, Bennie Moten was born on December 13, 1893, the beginning of the story of the 1923 recording session. During his first gigs, Moten played house rent parties and brothels operating from private homes, according to long-time Kansas City native Fred Hicks. Between 1916 and 1918, Moten began performing with

672-615: 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 )

756-474: 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

840-570: 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

924-506: 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

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1008-489: A national reputation was the Coon-Sanders Original Nighthawk Orchestra , a white group which broadcast nationally in the 1920s. However, the Kansas City jazz school is identified with the black bands of the 1920s and 1930s, including those led by Bennie Moten , Andy Kirk , Harlan Leonard , George E. Lee , Count Basie , and Jay McShann . Kansas City in the 1930s was very much the crossroads of

1092-404: 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

1176-543: A style that was inspired by traditional jazz but unique in its own right. Much has been made of the influence of the Kansas City tradition on modern jazz though Charlie Parker helped bridge the two styles of jazz that's not the only similarity of the two styles. The lineage of the Kansas City saxophone provides a direct connection to young Charlie Parker as a pioneering figure. For instance, in his award-winning book on Charlie Parker titled Kansas City Lightning , Stanley Crouch described Kansas City this way: “People came to guzzle

1260-693: 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 ,

1344-546: 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

1428-624: 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

1512-528: Is the largest city in 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

1596-632: 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

1680-614: The Associated Press in 2003: "You'd hear some cat play, and somebody would say 'This cat, he sounds like he is from Kansas City.' It was Kansas City Style. They knew it on the East Coast. They knew it on the West Coast. They knew it up North and they knew it down South." Claude "Fiddler" Williams described the scene: "Kansas City was different from all other places because we'd be jamming all night. And [if] you come up here [...] playing

1764-685: 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

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1848-519: 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

1932-600: The 1920s as Kansas City's top instrumental jazz ensemble". During 1924, the Moten Orchestra became the primary entertainers at Kansas City's elite black ballroom, the Paseo Dance Hall, at 15th Street and Paseo. Over the next two decades, the Moten band grew in success and prominence. Kansas City jazz is distinguished by the following musical elements: Early jazz and swing era music: Each year Kansas City celebrates Jazzoo,

2016-548: The 1930s, including the 13 Original Blue Devils and the King Oliver and Count Basie bands". He gained recognition for his signature whistling sound and his impact on jazz has been recognized by jazz historians. Redefining the role of the tenor sax was only the first of Young's achievements. In this way, he profoundly changed jazz melodic improvisation, offering a counterpoint to Armstrong's hot, syncopated style. His unique sound initially faced criticism, but in 1936, when Basie's band

2100-426: 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

2184-557: 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

2268-665: 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

2352-667: 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

2436-475: 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

2520-467: The Hey-Hay. Kansas City became known for "small, intimate" clubs that hosted frequent, "long-lasting jam sessions". Becker said that Kansas City "drew its vitality from the political corruption which made nightlife possible". Kansas City's concentration of outstanding jazz talent had made it a potential competitor to New York and Chicago by the middle of the 1930s. The first band from Kansas City to acquire

2604-413: 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

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2688-465: 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

2772-464: 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. Kansas City jazz Kansas City jazz is a style of jazz that developed in Kansas City, Missouri during the 1920s and 1930s, which marked the transition from the structured big band style to

2856-573: 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

2940-644: 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

3024-654: 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

3108-504: 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

3192-433: The United States, resulting in a mix of cultures. Transcontinental trips by plane or train often necessitated a stop in the city. The era marked the zenith of power of political boss Tom Pendergast . Kansas City was a wide open town with prohibition era liquor laws and hours totally ignored, and was called the new Storyville . Most of the jazz musicians associated with the style were born in other places but got caught up in

3276-517: 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,

3360-422: The alleyways behind nightclubs that lined Twelfth Street. He was an influential jazz saxophonist and composer whose playing style impacted jazz. Like Louis Armstrong, who mastered his native New Orleans idiom before breaking free, Parker was refined in the Kansas City jam sessions and never challenged his foundation. By pushing the boundaries of the traditional jazz style, he created an entirely new sound that became

3444-553: 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

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3528-570: 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

3612-455: The blues away, to chase the night long, to take the risk of leaving in a barrel as they laid bet after bet, and, as ever, there were those who came to involve themselves in the mercantile eroticism of the high to low courtesans”. As a member of Bennie Moten's Kansas City band in 1929, Count Basie honed his skills in traveling shows. However, the blues eventually became an even more influential source for Basie. "I had never paid much attention to

3696-421: The blues or played them myself. My first encounter with real blues was during a burlesque show I performed in after moving from New York City to Kansas City." According to Gray Giddins, Basie "is the only major jazz figure to realize his individuality by paring down his technique" because he discovered his style through a search for identity. "From his first session with Bennie Moten to those with his own band in

3780-457: 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

3864-567: 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

3948-466: 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

4032-517: 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

4116-477: 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

4200-602: The decade due to its fluidity, rhythmic phrasing, and creativity. The Count Basie band and Young were most commonly associated with Kansas City. The connection between Young's ideas, his music, and his jive can be clearly understood through the role of music and language in Afro-American culture. In the Southwest, a tradition of storytelling is as strong in music as it is in speech, according to bassist Gene Ramey of Kansas City. When he explained how Young dethroned Coleman Hawkins in

4284-441: 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

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4368-670: The development of jazz and blues and hosted some of the era's most pivotal musicians. Edward Murrow wrote in the Omaha World-Herald : "If you want to see sin, forget about Paris and go to Kansas City". A variety of clubs and cabarets, dance halls, and jazz venues arose in Kansas City, including the Paseo Room, Pla-Mor Ballroom, Reno Club, Amos 'n' Andy, Boulevard Lounge, Cherry Blossom, Chocolate Bar, Lone Star, Elk's Rest, Old Kentucky Bar-B-Que, Sunset, Subway, Spinning Wheel, Hawaiian Gardens, Street's Blue Room, Hell's Kitchen, The Hi Hat, and

4452-458: 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,

4536-475: The drummer Dude Langford. According to Langford, "[When] I first met Bennie, he was playing around town, little old joints here, some of 'em just little fronts, a bar and a gambling room in the back". Kansas City, like the rest of the country, experienced a similar change in listening habits as a result of vaudeville blues recordings in the early 1920s, and the Moten Orchestra capitalized on the trend (289 rice). "The Bennie Moten Orchestra would eventually emerge in

4620-760: 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

4704-414: 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

4788-508: 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

4872-440: The foundation of modern jazz. Due to Parker's dubious musical reputation, Oliver Todd reluctantly allowed him to join his Hottentots band: "I tried to take him under my wing. He was very green. If you had told me then that he would be famous I wouldn't have believed it. He had a lot to learn. He was very determined. [...] He worked hard". Parker was able to improvise, which allowed him to explore new melodies and harmonies creating

4956-489: The friendly musical competitions among performers that could keep a single song being performed in variations for an entire night. Often members of the big bands would perform at regular venues earlier in the evening and go to the jazz clubs later to jam for the rest of the night. In the 1930s, a hybrid style between Kansas City jazz and big band was the most popular form of jazz music in the United States, often being played in popular venues and ballrooms. Jay McShann told

5040-634: 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

5124-413: 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

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5208-562: 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

5292-459: The late 1930s, Basie could be heard in various settings responding to musical challenges as a committed ensemble player, making choices that might serve others as well". Jo Jones, a member in Basie's band accounts: "It has to do with what I will try to explain to you about head arrangements in the Basie band and how we didn't have to rehearse back in Kansas City. It was just there, and we played it. Now it

5376-521: 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

5460-500: The much more improvisational style of bebop . The hard- swinging , bluesy transition style is bracketed by Count Basie , who in 1929 signed with Bennie Moten 's Kansas City Orchestra, and Kansas City native Charlie Parker , who promoted the bebop style in America. Kansas City is known as one of the most popular "cradles of jazz". Other cities include New Orleans , Chicago , St. Louis , Philadelphia , and New York City . Kansas City

5544-507: 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

5628-476: 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

5712-476: The organization employs more than 500 scientists, research associates, technicians and support staff, including more than 140 postdoctoral research associates and graduate students. The Institute is recognized by the IRS as a medical research organization. It is a Missouri not-for-profit corporation, and is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri ( KC or KCMO )

5796-563: 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

5880-573: 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

5964-430: 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

6048-616: 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

6132-557: 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

6216-425: The vice district expanded within black neighborhoods of Kansas City, resulting in economic success for jazz musicians. Many musicians from the Southwest moved to Kansas City for its plentiful jobs. "Nightclubs in Kansas City served up prostitution, gambling, and narcotics along with liquor". The city hosted a vibrant jazz and blues music scene, attracting musicians from across the country. The city prominently shaped

6300-400: The wrong thing, we'd straighten you out." Kansas City influence overtly transferred to the national scene in 1936 when record producer John Hammond discovered Count Basie on his car radio. Pendergast was convicted of income tax fraud in 1940 and the city cracked down on the clubs effectively ending the era. Born in Kansas City, Kansas, Charlie Parker learned about music by spending time in

6384-433: 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

6468-489: Was a very strange thing in this city. Nobody ever got in nobody's way. No finger and say: 'You take it now. You take the next chorus'". The success of Count Basie nationally and internationally led bookers, managers, and record producers to come to Kansas City in search of similar talent. Tenor saxophonist Lester Young was a hero among writers and musicians. "Known as 'president' of the saxophone, he gained recognition for his musical genius while playing leading swing bands of

6552-614: 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

6636-588: 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

6720-459: Was established, Lester Young became a jazz star. His music with Basie, Holiday, and various small groups such as the Kansas City Seven is among the greatest and most consistent bodies of recorded work in jazz history (174 icons of music). On "Oh, Lady Be Good", Lester Young has a solo often imitated by later jazz generations. It is regarded as one of the most forward-thinking improvisations of

6804-501: 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,

6888-608: Was incorporated with an initial donation of $ 500 million in 1994 by James E. Stowers founder of American Century Investments and his wife Virginia Stowers, both cancer survivors. Over the next decade, the couple endowed the institute with gifts totaling almost $ 2 billion. The Institute opened its doors in November 2000 on the former site of Menorah Hospital . In 2008, there were 25 independent research programs plus core facilities in bioinformatics , proteomics , microarray , molecular biology , flow cytometry , and microscopy . In total,

6972-605: Was known for the organized musicians of the Local 627 A.F.M., which controlled a number of venues in the city. Almost every jazz history depicts Kansas City jazz as a fertile ground for the development of big bands, virtuosic performances, and legendary performers. In the 1920s was a Great Migration from the south and the search for musical work in Kansas City, Missouri, where the Black population rose from 23,500 to 42,000 between 1912 and 1940. Russell, Diggs, and Pearson have well documented how

7056-550: 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

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