Kansas City is the largest city in the state of Missouri. It encompasses 318 square miles (820 km²) in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties. The city also serves as the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, second largest in Missouri and largest with territory in Kansas, though Wichita is the largest metro anchored in Kansas. Kansas City was founded in 1838 as the "Town of Kansas" at the confluence of the Missouri and Kansas rivers and was incorporated in its present form in 1850. Situated opposite Kansas City, Kansas, the city was the location of several battles during the Civil War, including the Battle of Westport. The city is well known for its contributions to the musical styles of jazz and blues as well as to cuisine (Kansas City-style barbecue).
Kansas City, Missouri, is often abbreviated as "KCMO", or simply "KC" (both abbreviations often refer to the metro area). It is officially nicknamed the City of Fountains. With over 200 fountains, the city claims to have second most in the world, just behind Rome. The city also has more boulevards than any city except Paris and has often been called "Paris on the Plains." Informal nicknames include BBQ Capital of the World, and residents are known as Kansas Citians. It is sometimes referred to colloquially as the Heart of America as it is near both the population center of the United States and the geographic center of the 48 contiguous states.
Downtown Kansas City is an area of 2.9 square miles (7.5 km²) bounded by the Missouri River to the north, 31st Street to the south, Bruce R. Watkins Drive (U.S. Highway 71) to the east and I-35 to the west.
After years of neglect and seas of parking lots, Downtown Kansas City currently is undergoing a period of change. Many residential properties recently have been or currently are under redevelopment. 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, and is nearing completion in the southern part of the downtown freeway loop. Its first tenant opened on November 9, 2007, with more openings to continue throughout 2007 and 2008. Due to a new Missouri state law passed in 2005, the Power & Light District will be one of only five places in the United States where open containers of alcohol are allowed in the street. As host of the first annual Downtown Kansas City Festival of the Arts the property gears up to be at the forefront in bringing cultural enrichment to the city.
Upcoming Festivals:
City & Partner Links:
The Power & Light District
The City of Kansas City