Kansas City, MO Attractions

Not for nothing does it enjoy national renown as the "Barbecue Capital" and jazz metropolis - this is where Charlie "Bird" Parker created "bebop".

History Kansas City, Kansas (pop. 186,000) developed in the mid-19th c. out of a small town established by white settlers. For a time it was the eastern terminus of the first transcontinental railroad and thus gained importance as a commercial center. Kansas City, Missouri (pop. 450,000), grew out of a settlement of French fur traders and a Jesuit mission and during the 19th c. rapidly developed into a lively economic and cultural center.

In the center of Kansas City, the Country Club Plaza, the oldest shopping mall in the United States, which opened in 1922, extends along several blocks. It has many inviting shops, restaurants and theatres, and its fountains and statues give it something of an Andalusian air.