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Kansas City, Missouri
Population: 441,545
Located in Jackson County
Kansas City offers a wealth of attractions. The striking landscape includes wide boulevards, beautiful parks, fantastic architecture and more than 200 fountains. The city's diversions includes world-class museums, a vibrant arts scene, superb shopping and great blues and jazz clubs.
More than $7 billion in major improvements are underway across Kansas City?$3 billion in downtown development. This includes the $135 million renovation and expansion of our Convention Center. Most projects will open by 2007. After being closed for 25 years, the historic Hotel President in the downtown Kansas City, Mo., has made an exciting comeback. The hotel reopened on Jan. 5, as the new Hilton President Kansas City following a $45 million restoration.
On the eastern edge of Kansas City?s new entertainment district, a state-of-the-art, 18,000- to 20,000-seat arena will open in 2007. The $276 million Sprint Center is part of Downtown redevelopment efforts that will transform the area into a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week district featuring restaurants and retail activity.
Imagine a 67-story office building lying on its side, and you?ll get an idea of how large the expansion of Kansas City?s premier art museum will be when it opens in 2007. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, ranked among the top art museums in the nation, is in the midst of a $200 million expansion. This is the first expansion of the museum since it opened in 1933. The first phase of the project, a new parking garage, entry plaza and reflecting pool, opened in August 2002. The expansion also includes the new Ford Learning Center, dedicated in September 2005, and the Bloch Building.
Phase I of The Legends at Village West is now open which includes over 35 stores and restaurants. The open-air shopping and entertainment district is one of the most highly anticipated developments in Kansas City . The 750,000-square-foot shopping and entertainment district is located in the growing Village West development near Kansas Speedway in Wyandotte County, Kan. The unique shopping district will feature a 150-foot smokestack tower, a dancing water fountain that shoots 60 feet in the air, outdoor fireplaces and lush landscaping.
Arts & Culture
Kansas City and the visual arts truly go hand in hand. Internationally known museums, dynamic gallery districts, educated collectors and admired artists create a colorful palette that attracts locals and visitors.
Best known is the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. This esteemed collection includes works large and small, from 5000-year-old Egyptian pottery to the latest contemporary sculpture. The Nelson, widely known for one of the world?s finest Asian art collections, soon will boast a 160,000-square-foot, glass-wall addition created by the internationally recognized architect, Steven Holl.
The Nelson?s expansive grounds also feature the Kansas City Sculpture Park, highlighted by one of the largest collections of Henry Moore sculptures outside of England and four gigantic shuttlecock sculptures by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen. The grounds are open year-round to the public for free viewing during daylight hours.
Contemporary art also thrives nearby, at the 11-year-old Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art. There, visitors enjoy the works of Georgia O?Keeffe, Jasper Johns, Willem de Kooning, Frank Stella, Robert Mapplethorpe and Nancy Graves, among many others.
The Crossroads Arts District is just one of the many contemporary art neighborhoods flourishing in Kansas City. The first friday of each month, thousands of art enthusiasts gather along the trendy gallery district from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Attractions
Kansas City attractions offer an endless variety of things to see and do. Explore 175 acres of fun at Worlds of Fun. Let curiosity guide you at Union Station. Or, walk in the steps of America's 33rd President in Independence, MO. Kansas City knows how to entertain. After all, from its beginnings this city has a rich history of delighting travelers with flashy amusement parks and innovative shopping areas. Whether you are visiting the home of Hallmark Cards or watching a ?hog? being assembled at the Harley-Davidson Final Assembly Plant, today?s traveler will find a multitude of diverse and fun attractions.
Thrill-seekers of all ages love the side-by-side theme parks, Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun. Modeled after the tale, Around the World in Eighty Days, Worlds of Fun features more than 50 rides, shows and attractions. Catch more than 60-acres of surf, sand and fun at Oceans of Fun, the Midwest?s largest tropically-themed water park.
For a wild time, head to the Kansas City Zoo where hundreds of exotic animals reside in their natural habitats. Or, get a speed-rush at one of many Kansas Speedway racing events.
Kids can?t get enough of Union Station?s theater district and the interactive museum, Science City. Nearby Kaleidoscope allows children to explore their creativity during free workshops.
The city?s casinos - Argosy Riverside, Harrah?s North Kansas City, Isle of Capri and Ameristar Casino - offer traditional gaming, dining, live entertainment and movie theaters.
One-of-a-kind boutiques and fashion?s favorite labels can be found at Kansas City?s shopping attractions. However, they offer so much more than fabulous finds. Take an architectural tour of the Country Club Plaza. See live theater at Crown Center, a development of Hallmark Cards. People watch at the City Market, one of the Midwest?s largest farmers markets. After the shops close, Westport becomes a nightlife hotspot.
Entertainment
Live performances are bountiful in Kansas City. KC-style jazz is featured nightly at clubs across the city. You'll also discover a mix of choices from comedy clubs and casinos to opera and symphonic concerts.
As in the days of old, you can still listen and fall in love with live jazz in the 18th & Vine Historic Jazz District. Both the Blue Room and the renovated Gem Theater offer an array of local and national talent. Dinner theater delights audiences at The New Theatre Restaurant in Overland Park, Kan.
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