River Market
Encyclopedia
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
that comprises the first and oldest incorporated district in Kansas City.
Background
River Market stretches north of the downtown Interstate 70Interstate 70
Interstate 70 is an Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from Interstate 15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a Park and Ride near Baltimore, Maryland. It was the first Interstate Highway project in the United States. I-70 approximately traces the path of U.S. Route 40 east of the Rocky...
loop to the Missouri River
Missouri River
The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...
, and is bordered by the Broadway Bridge
Broadway Bridge (Kansas City)
The Broadway Bridge is a through arch bridge that spans the Missouri River in Kansas City, Missouri, in the United States. It first opened for traffic September 9, 1956 on U.S. Route 169. It was built at a cost of $12 million dollars...
on the west and the Heart of America Bridge
Heart of America Bridge
The Heart of America Bridge is a vehicular girder bridge over the Missouri River, in Kansas City, Missouri. It carries Route 9. It was the vehicular replacement for the upper level of the ASB Bridge, and runs next to it a few hundred yards downstream...
on the east. The area encompasses the location in which Kansas City was first founded
History of Kansas City
The history of the Kansas City metropolitan area dates back to the 19th century. The Kansas City metropolitan area, straddling the border between Missouri and Kansas at the confluence of the Kansas and Missouri rivers, was a good place to build several settlements...
. The market name comes from its large open air farmers' market
Farmers' market
A farmers' market consists of individual vendors—mostly farmers—who set up booths, tables or stands, outdoors or indoors, to sell produce, meat products, fruits and sometimes prepared foods and beverages...
, the southern section of which was the public square in the mid 19th century.
It derives its "Westport Landing" name because it was the dock on the Missouri River for the exchange of goods going to the community of Westport
Westport, Kansas City
Westport is a historic neighborhood in Kansas City, Missouri, USA. Originally its own town, it was annexed by Kansas City in 1897. Today, it is one of Kansas City's main entertainment districts.-Background:...
three miles to the south on higher ground that was operated by John Calvin McCoy
John Calvin McCoy
John Calvin McCoy is considered the "father of Kansas City."McCoy was born in Vincennes, Indiana. He studied at Transylvania College in Lexington, Kentucky, during 1826-1827...
. McCoy was to lead a group of settlers to created the "Town of Kansas" in the neighborhood in 1850 which in turn became the "City of Kansas" in 1853.
The Quay name was applied to the neighborhood in the 1970s by developer Marion A. Trozzolo
Marion A. Trozzolo
Marion A. Trozzolo was a pioneer, visionary, innovator, inventor, entrepreneur, and professor of business at Rockhurst University in Kansas City, Missouri...
to capitalize on the neighborhood's early French connections as a fur trading post operated by François Chouteau
Francois Chouteau
François Gesseau Chouteau was an American pioneer fur trader, businessman and community leader known as the "Founder" or "Father" of Kansas City, Missouri....
of the powerful Chouteau
Chouteau
Chouteau was the name of a highly successful French fur-trading family based in St. Louis, Missouri, members of which established posts in the Midwest and Western United States...
clan starting in 1821. Trozzolo's vision was to make this neighborhood a destination for restaurants and bohemian
Bohemian
A Bohemian is a resident of the former Kingdom of Bohemia, either in a narrow sense as the region of Bohemia proper or in a wider meaning as the whole country, now known as the Czech Republic. The word "Bohemian" was used to denote the Czech people as well as the Czech language before the word...
shops. A mob war developed and three establishments burned or were blown up and several mobsters were killed. The war was part of an overall mob war that ultimately resulted in the mob being pushed out of influence of the Las Vegas casinos that was highlighted in the movie Casino
Casino (film)
Casino is a 1995 crime drama film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is based on the non-fiction book of the same name by Nicholas Pileggi, who also co-wrote the screenplay for the film with Scorsese...
.
River Market today
The large riverfront warehouses have become increasingly developed into residential lofts, restaurants, barsBar (establishment)
A bar is a business establishment that serves alcoholic drinks — beer, wine, liquor, and cocktails — for consumption on the premises.Bars provide stools or chairs that are placed at tables or counters for their patrons. Some bars have entertainment on a stage, such as a live band, comedians, go-go...
, shops, cafes, and ethnic markets. Several major firms have recently relocated into the district, including Populous, one of the world's leading sports architecture firms.
City Market is a large farmer's market with fresh area produce and goods that operates Wednesdays and weekends.
The Steamboat Arabia Museum displays thousands of artifacts from a steamboat and its cargo that sunk nearby in 1856 and was recovered in 1987-88. The museum is among Kansas City's popular tourist attractions.
The current manager of the actual market on behalf of the City of Kansas City is Copaken, White & Blitt
Copaken, White & Blitt
Copaken & Brooks is a family-owned commercial real estate developer headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri that owns and developed some of the city's and Missouri's largest buildings.The firm was founded by Herman Copaken in 1922....
.
Downtown Neighborhood Association Kansas City is the official neighborhood association for the River Market neighborhood.