Travel in Kansas City (Missouri)
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Informations on Kansas City Missouri : history, politics, economy, culture, Did you mean: Kansas City Missouri
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Kansas City is in Missouri.
| Table of contents |
Understand
Kansas City is a great city that tends to hide itself from tourists. Having reportedly more boulevards than Paris and more fountains than Rome, it can be a beautiful city, too. It is also unique, in that it is split down the middle by the state line of Kansas and Missouri.
Urban sprawl takes place mostly south of the city, though north of the city (known locally as the northland) is beginning to experience growth similar to the south. All streets are numbered beginning at the Missouri river. The east/west division is marked by Main Street. Going straight down the center and using Wornall as the guide street; Westport can be found around the 40th Street, the Plaza at 47th Street, Brookside/Waldo beginning around 70th Street.
Downtown can be characterized by the Crossroads district, populated mainly by a vibrant art community. Also found here is an Italian district around Columbus park and the City Market. Further south begets Crown Center at midtown, a premier shopping center owned by Hallmark. Then comes Westport, primarily a bar and party scene of the city. Just south of Westport is the Plaza, one of the finest outdoor shopping centers in America, modeled after Seville, Spain. Even further south is the Waldo/Brookside area marked by more bars and a wonderful pre-war neighborhood. Further south, particularly to the west on the Kansas side, is mile after mile of suburbs.
Get in
By plane
Kansas City International (MCI), serves the Kansas City area and is located in the northland. Taxi service is expensive. Take the bus downtown.
By train
Amtrak runs trains through the recently renovated and cavernous Union Station.
By car
I-435 forms a ring around the city. Notably I-70 goes east to St. Louis and west to Denver. I-35 is a major corridor running northeast and southwest. U.S. Highway 71 runs north and south and roughly follows Prospect Avenue. North of the River, U.S. 71 is paired with I-29. For more information about navigation in the metro area see the Kansas City Metropolitan Area Wikipedia Article (http://www.did-you-mean.com/Kansas_City_Metropolitan_Area.html))
By bus
Kansas City is serviced by commercial bus service, which arrives and departs from the depot at 10th and Troost.
Get around
First, purchase a good book style map. The national map companies produce book style maps that can be purchased in Wal-Mart, Home Depot and many grocery and book stores. Local real estate agents and delivery drivers use a book map produced by a local company in the crossroads district but it is hard to find. The one inside the Feist directory is good and can often be obtained locally for free but the directory itself may be too bulky to carry.
Businesses that deliver, e.g. pizza, usually know the city well and have large maps on their walls.
For more information about navigation in the metro area see the :WikiPedia_Kansas City Metropolitan Area
Street Numbers
Addresses on east-west streets are numbered from Main Street in Kansas City, and on north-south streets from St. John Avenue (or the Missouri River, in the River Market area). The direction 'South' in street and address numbers is generally implied if 'N' is not specified, except for numbered 'avenues' in North Kansas City. In most of Wyandotte_County, Kansas the north-south streets are numbered and the address numbers are measured from Riverview Avenue.
Navigation Landmarks
- The KCTV pyramid shaped tower can be seen from many parts of the city and is well lit at night. It is next to KCPT studios at the corner of 31st and Main.
- The twin red brick towers of American Century Investments are oriented north and south along Main at 45th street. They are just north of the Country Club Plaza. The Kemper Museum is slightly east. The Nelson Atkins is east and slightly south.
- Kansas City Community Christian Church at 4601 Main has a group of lights that shoot a beam straight up at night. It is slightly south of and across the street from the American Century Investment Towers. The Nelson Atkins is to the east and the Kemper Museum is to the north and slightly east.
- Bartle Hall has a section that looks somewhat like a north-south suspension bridge crossing over I-670 at the southwest corner of the downtown loop. It has four towers with metal sculptures on top of each tower.
Places and notes
- Waldo refers to the Waldo Residential District in Kansas City, Missouri near 75th St. and Wornall Rd.
- The Country Club Plaza (called "the Plaza" by locals) is an upscale shopping district built by the J.C. Nichols Co. in the 1920s.
- 39th St. usually refers to the small section of West 39th St. between State Line Road and Southwest Trafficway. It has many restaurants, bars and shops, and is just across the state line from the University of Kansas Medical Center.
- University of Kansas Hospital (KUMED) is the corporate name of the hospital on the KU Medical Center campus.
- Benton Curve, a site of many accidents, is a curve on Interstate 70' where it crosses Benton Ave.
- Grandview Triangle' is the intersection of three major highways: Interstate 435, Interstate 470, and U.S. Highway 71 (Bruce R. Watkins Drive). Notorious for fatal accidents, as of February 2005, improvements and upgrades on the Triangle have mostly been completed
- Emanuel Cleaver II Blvd., named for former mayor and current Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, comprises recently renamed portions of 47th St. and Brush Creek Blvd.
- 18th and Vine Historic District is the Historic District that contains the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and the American Jazz Museum.
- The Library District is a recently defined district around the new Central Library at 14 West 10th Street
- Strawberry Hill is a historical area in Kansas City (Kansas).
- Hospital Hill is the area near 23rd and Holmes.
- Argentine is a part of Kansas City, Kansas near 30th and Argentine.
- The Crossroads Arts District is a Downtown neighborhood between the Central Business District and Union Station, centered around the intersection of 19th St. and Baltimore. It contains dozens of art galleries and is considered by many to be the center of the arts culture in the metropolitan area. Local artists sponsor exhibits there on the first Friday of each month.
- Quality Hill is an upscale residential and commercial neighborhood on top of a hill in Downtown Kansas City, across the river from the Kansas City Downtown Airport|Charles B. Wheeler Airport.
- Washington-Wheatley is a historically African American|Black neighborhood southeast of the 18th and Vine District.
Bus Service
The Metro
The Metro bus is feasible within the urban core, where most of the tourist destinations are located. The MAX (Metro Area eXpress) and #57 buses connect Downtown, Crown Center, Westport, the Plaza, Brookside, and Waldo. There are other lines that can drop you fairly close to your door in KCMO as well as limited stops in outlying suburbs such as Kansas City, KS, Independence, Blue Springs, Lee's Summit, the Northland, etc. There is pretty good service to the Casinos.
Standard fare is $1.00/trip with transfers available from the bus driver that expire two hours after issue. Some lengthy and express routes may cost more. You may purchase a One Day Pass on the bus. The Day Pass is good for local service only. It is issued at the farebox and expires at midnight. Upon boarding, request a Day Pass before depositing the $3 exact change into the farebox.
Most major routes use buses that are equipped with bike racks.
The JO
If you are needing bus service in Johnson County, KS (Overland Park, Mission, Fairway, Leawood, Olathe, Lenexa, Westwood, Merriam, Shawnee) you can access "The JO" bus service. It also has lines that run from downtown KCMO to Johnson County and vice versa. The stops are limited and far apart.
Service on "The JO" is limited mostly to morning rush hour, mid-day, and evening rush hour. Fares are $1.25 for trips that begin and end in Johnson County, $1.75 for trips that go start or end in Downtown KCMO. Transfers are available.
Most buses are equipped with bike racks.
Downtown
After years of neglect and decay that happened in the 1980's and 1990's, downtown Kansas City is making a comeback. Many once-abandoned buildings in downtown have been (or are in the process of being) rebuilt into high-dollar condiminiums and loft apartments. The demand for residences downtown is quite high. In 2007, the Sprint Center sports arena will be completed, bringing a modern sports venue to the downtown core. This development in-progress has already sparked several other major developments, including the new headquarters for H&R Block. The "Downtown Council" (see link) operates security and cleaning/maintenance crews, who keep downtown's streets clean, and serve as a security presence. Downtown is one of the safest areas of the city, day and night.
Downtown Kansas City is generally defined as the areas including the River Market, the banking district (the "loop") the Crossroads Art District, Crown Center and Union Station.
See
- Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
- Union Station
- Liberty Memorial
- Crossroads district
- The Country Club Plaza. Upscale shopping. High quality chain restaurants.
- Brookside (http://www.brooksidekc.org/) local non-chain shops and non-chan restaurants. Grocery stores, bar, sandwiches.
- Ward Parkway
- Plaza
- 39th Street Corridor between State Line Road and Southwest Trafficway many local shops and non-chain restaurants.
Do
- Swope Park Zoo
- Kansas City Royals baseball
- Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art
- Kansas City Chiefs Football - tailgating
- Kansas City Comets (Indoor Soccer)
- Kansas City Wizards (Outdoor Soccer)
- Kansas City Knights (Basketball)
- Kansas City T-Bones (Independent League Baseball)
- Plaza Art Fair
- American Royal BBQ contest (Largest in the world)
- First Fridays in the Crossroads Arts District, (gallery crawl between Downtown and Crown Center), 1 (http://www.crossroadscommunityassociation.org/). 7pm to 9pm on the first Friday of each month. Many art galleries are open late on these Fridays, attracting a growing crowd of art enthusiasts. You can walk between galleries, or hop the free trolley. Summer months are typically the most busy and entertaining. Entry to most galleries is free. Some charge for refreshments.
Learn
Near the Plaza
- Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
- Kemper Gallery of Art
- Community Christian Church (http://www.community-christian.org) Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright visible from the plaza.
18th and Vine District
- Negro Leagues Baseball Museum
- American Jazz Museum
Museum District
- Science City at Union Station
- Arvin Gotleib Planetarium at Union Station
Work
- Sprint (Overland Park, KS)
- General Motors (Fairfax, KS)
- Ford (Claycomo, MO)
- Hallmark
- Aquila
- Yellow Roadway
- Cerner Corporation
Buy
- The Plaza
- Halls
- Crown Center
- Great Mall of the Great Plains (in Olathe, KS)
- Zona Rosa
Eat
- Stroud's - Best fried chicken (85th and Troost, and I-35 Frontage/Outer Road north of Vivion Road)
Diners
- Town Topic - famous small diner. Low prices. The original is at 2021 Broadway just north of Broadway and Southwest Blvd. It is open 24 hours. Souviner T-shirts available.
- Nichols Lunch, 39th & Southwest Trf - Open during the day, but frequented by the after 3:00 AM bar closing crowd. You could see a drag queen from Missy B's next door.
- Chubby's, 3756 Broadway St - Greasy spoon that attracts the after 3AM bar closing crowd.
Barbecue
- LC's - 5800 Blue Parkway in Kansas City, Mo. (just head east on Ward Parkway from the Plaza), and at 95th Street and Interstate 435 in Lenexa, Kan. http://www.lcsbar-b-que.nv.switchboard.com/
- Rosedale - One block west of Rainbow (aka 7th St.) on Southwest Blvd.
- Arthur Bryant's - http://www.arthurbryantsbbq.com/ The original at 1727 Brooklyn is the best. It has pictures on the wall of presidents and other famous people who have visited. The sandwich consists of a large pile of brisket and two pieces of butternut bread. One sandwich could feed three people. If you get an order to go make sure you ask for sauce. There is a security guard in the parking lot at night.
- Gates - http://www.gatesbbq.com/ (If you're eating in, grab a tray ASAP if you don't want to be yelled at)
- Haywards - http://haywardsbbq.com/
- Fiorella's Jack Stack
- Oklahoma Joe's
- Zarda
Italian
- V's Restaurante
- Lidia's
- Anthony's
Splurge
- American Restaurant
- Bluestem
- Jaspers
- Savoy Grill
- Skies
Drink
- Westport
- Brookside
Sleep
Budget
Mid-range
Splurge
- The Fairmont on the Plaza
- Hyatt Regency Crown Center
- The Westin Crown Center
Contact
Stay safe
Despite a slight surge in homicides that is making headline news in 2005, Kansas City is generally a safe city. Nearly all violent crime is concentrated in poor "inner city" neighborhoods southeast of downtown, and almost always occurs in the middle of the night. Downtown and the Country Club Plaza (the two main centers of attractions in Kansas City) are generally safe day and night. Common sense and exercising normal caution should keep you out of trouble. During the summer months, the Westport district sometimes becomes a hotspot for trouble from teenagers and young adults during the evening and nighttime hours.
Cope
Kansas Citians are used to extreme temperatures. You just have to go with it. Some people will shut themselves in for a few months during the cold season where a one or two complete freeze-overs are common. Winter is over before you know it and everyone comes out for a beautiful spring. Summer can be as hot as winter is cold. Expect 90 degrees F when traveling the city July and Auguest.
Get out
Kansas City is one of those places where hidden in darker corners, you will find the gems, the places to visit and go. Rarely do things jump out at you and say, come visit this attraction, food, shopping, or historical establishment. Pick up a Pitch Weekly for nightlife information. If you want to relax and enjoy a walk, check out Loose park just south of the Country club plaza. During the spring and fall, it's one of the most beautiful places to stroll.
External links
VisitKC.com: Kansas City's Official Travel and Tourism Web site (http://www.visitkc.com)