Geographic overview

Divisions of the Kansas City metropolitan area

Downtown

Midtown

South Side of the Metro (or "South KC")

The Northland

East Side of the Metro ("Eastern Jackson County")

KCK and Johnson County

Cultural attractions

Metropolitan area

Anchor city

• Kansas City, Missouri – Pop: 491,918 (2018)

Counties

Associated areas

Transportation

Highways

Interstates

• I-29 – North to St. Joseph, Missouri

• I-35 – North to Des Moines, Iowa and south to Wichita, Kansas

• I-49 – South to Joplin

• I-70 – East to St. Louis and west to Topeka, Kansas

• I-435 – A bi-state loop through the city's suburbs in Missouri and Kansas. It is the second-longest single-numbered beltway in the U.S., and the fourth-longest in the world.

• I-470 – Connects South Kansas City with Lee's Summit and Independence.

• I-635 – Connects the Kansas suburbs with Kansas City, Kansas, and I-29, I-70, and I-35.

• I-670 – A southern bypass of I-70 and the southern portion of the downtown loop. The roadway is designated on road signs as East I-70, when exiting from I-35 while traveling north.

US Highways

• US 24 – Running from Independence Ave. and Winner Rd., between downtown Kansas City and Independence, Missouri, it serves as a street-level connection to Independence.

• US 40 – U.S. 40 is one of six east-west U.S.-numbered routes that run (or ran) from coast to coast. It serves as a business loop and an alternate route for I-70.

• US 50 – Enters the area in southern Johnson County, follows I-435 from the west to I-470, then splits off of I-470 in Lee's Summit to continue eastward to Jefferson City and St. Louis as a regular highway. Its former route through Raytown and southeast Kansas City was renumbered as Route 350. U.S. 50 is also one of the six east-west highways that run coast-to-coast through the United States.

• US-56 - Enters the area concurrent with I-35 until the Shawnee Mission Parkway exit. It runs east along the Parkway into the Plaza area of Kansas City before terminating at US-71.

• US 69 – Connects Excelsior Springs, Missouri, in the north and serves as a freeway in the suburbs of Johnson County.

• US 71 – In the north, concurrent with I-29 to Amazonia, Missouri, and serves as a freeway (Bruce R. Watkins Drive) south from downtown, joining with I-49 at the Grandview Triangle.

• US 169 – Connects Smithville, Missouri, in the north.

Kansas state highways

• K-5 – A minor freeway bypassing the north of Kansas City, Kansas, connecting the GM Fairfax plant with I-635. K-5 continues as Leavenworth Road west to I-435 then on to Leavenworth, Kansas.

• K-7 – A freeway linking Leavenworth, Wyandotte and Johnson Counties in Kansas.

• K-10 – A freeway linking I-435 to De Soto and Lawrence.

• K-32 – A highway that links Lawrence to Wyandotte County in Kansas.

Missouri state highways

• Route 7 - An important state highway serving the eastern suburbs of the metro. Primarily running north and south through Jackson and Cass Counties. Connecting the following communities: Independence, Blue Springs, Lake Lotawana, Pleasant Hill and Harrisonville. It is the commercial backbone for Blue Springs, Lake Lotawana and Pleasant Hill.

• Route 9 – A minor freeway northwest of North Kansas City, and serves as a commercial backbone to North Kansas City, Riverside, Platte Woods and Parkville.

• Route 45 – Known as Tom Watson Parkway in the Kansas City vicinity until it intersects with I-435, it is a highway that spans 42 miles from I-29/US-71 to US-59/MO-273 in Lewis & Clark Village, Missouri (right east of the larger city of Atchison, Kansas). It is also known as NW 64th Street from NW Klamm Drive to I-29/US-71. The highway runs through the northern part of Parkville, Missouri and across Riss Lake. The National Golf Course is located off of MO-45.

• Route 58 - A state highway serving the southern suburbs of Belton and Raymore.

• Route 92 – This narrow and hilly road crosses the northern part of the metro, connecting Platte City, Smithville, Kearney, and Excelsior Springs.

• Route 150 – A highway linking southern Lee's Summit and Grandview to the Kansas suburbs at State Line Road.

• Route 152 – A freeway contained entirely in Kansas City's Northland, stretching from Liberty in Clay County west until it intersects with I-435 near Parkville, Missouri.

• Route 210 – A minor freeway east of North Kansas City that, as a two-lane road, stretches to Richmond, Missouri.

• Route 291 – Formerly an eastern bypass route of U.S. 71, this minor freeway connects Harrisonville and Lee's Summit to Independence, Sugar Creek, Liberty and Kansas City North. The roadway is designated on road signs alongside I-470 north of Lee's Summit.

• Route 350 – This road crosses through Raytown as Blue Parkway.

Other notable roads

• 18th Street Expressway – a freeway carrying US-69 through central Wyandotte County from I-35 to I-70.

• Ward Parkway – A scenic parkway in Kansas City, Missouri, near the Kansas-Missouri state line, where many large historic mansions and fountains are located.

• Broadway – A street that runs from the west side of downtown Kansas City to Westport. The street has long been an entertainment center, with various bars, live jazz outlets, and restaurants located along it. It also forms the eastern border of Quality Hill, one of the oldest neighborhoods in Kansas City.

• The Paseo – Part of the city's original system of parks and boulevards developed beginning in the late 1880s, it is the longest of the original boulevards, and the only one that runs the entire length of the pre-World War II city boundary, from the Missouri River bluffs in the north to 79th Street on the south.

• Shawnee Mission Parkway – Former alignment of K-10 from 1929 to 1983; K-58 from 1956 to 1979; US-56 from 1957 to 1968; K-12 from 1983 to 1998. Currently serves Shawnee Mission.

• Troost Avenue – A north-south thoroughfare located 11 blocks east of Main Street, named for an early Kansas City settler and dentist, Benoist Troost. The street roughly divides the city's mostly black neighborhoods to its east from its mostly white ones to its west.

• Swope Parkway – Running on the south side of the Brush Creek valley eastward from The Paseo, then southward from its junction with Benton Boulevard, this street is the main route from the city's midtown to its largest city park, Swope Park.

• North Oak Trafficway – A major road located in the Northland. The roadway is designated as MO-283 from MO-9 to I-29. It is a major commercial road in the Northland and serves as the main street in Gladstone, Missouri.

• Barry Road – Runs along the former route of Military Road, which ran from Liberty to Fort Leavenworth. It is now a major commercial street in the Northland, although it has been paralleled by MO-152 for its entire route and effectively replaced it east of Indiana Avenue.

• 87th Street Parkway – A major parkway that extends from Overland Park to De Soto. Former alignment of K-10 from 1929 to 1983.

Air

Rail and bus

• Missouri River Runner twice daily from Kansas City to Saint Louis connecting to Chicago via the Lincoln Service;

• Southwest Chief from Chicago to Los Angeles.

Local navigation tips

Street numbers

Highways

• Kansas Citians tend to express U.S. and Missouri highway designations with the number before the word "highway," (e.g., 40 highway, 71 highway). This colloquialism tends not to apply to interstates or Kansas route numbers (e.g., "I-70", "K-10").

• 69 Highway, known as "The Overland Parkway", runs southbound on I-35 from Kansas City, Missouri towards Johnson County. There are two exits marked South 69 on the roadway. The first – or northern – exit on Metcalf Ave/I-635, is a left lane exit and leads to Metcalf, an at-grade trafficway, before turning west along Shawnee Mission Parkway, to rejoin I-35. The southern US-69 exit is a two-lane right lane exit between the 75th and 87th street exits and begins a four-lane highway known as the Overland Parkway.

• Bruce R. Watkins Drive is the name of the new section of U.S. Route 71 in Kansas City, Missouri. The old U.S. 71 ran mostly on Prospect Avenue.

• When traveling north on I-35 from Johnson County, the first signs that are designated as I-70 East actually guide drivers through the southern portion of I-670, which takes motorists into the southern part of the Downtown Freeway Loop, and runs underneath the Bartle Hall Convention Center and some downtown overpasses. This is sometimes referred to as "going under downtown".

• The Downtown Loop is a complex layout of freeways in downtown Kansas City, Missouri involving 23 exits, four Interstate highways, four U.S. highways and numerous city streets. Each exit in the freeway loop is numbered "2" and suffixed with every letter of the alphabet – except I, O and Z (which would resemble 1, 0 and 2 on the exit signs), although some of the exits are currently under construction/renovation and closed to traffic. The entire circumference of the loop is just over 4-mile (6.4 km).

Navigation landmarks

• The KCTV-Tower is a 1,042 feet (318 m) pyramid-shaped television and radio tower used primarily by local CBS affiliate KCTV (channel 5). It is located at the corner of 31st and Main Streets, next to the studio facilities of PBS member station KCPT (which formerly housed the original studios of KCTV), and is visible from many parts of the city, especially at night due to the string of lights adorning the tower.

• The twin red-brick towers of the American Century Investments complex are oriented north and south along Main at 45th Street, just north of the Country Club Plaza (the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art is located slightly east, and the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is located east and slightly south).

• Kansas City Community Christian Church, located at 4601 Main Street, has a group of lights that shoot a beam upwards to the sky at night. Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in the 1950s, it is located slightly south of and across the street from the American Century Investment Towers (the Nelson Atkins is located to the east, and the Kemper Museum is to the north and slightly east).

• Bartle Hall has a section that somewhat resembles 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.

• The Veterans Affairs Medical Center, located near the intersection of I-70, Linwood Boulevard and Van Brunt Boulevard, has a large "VA" emblem.

• The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, located at 16th Street and Broadway (just south of the downtown loop), with its tiered glass and steel half-domes, has a design reminiscent of the world-famous Sydney Opera House.

Areas of the metropolitan area

• Downtown Kansas City is a section of western Kansas City, Missouri, where a large concentration of the area's employees work, and where much of the city's entertainment facilities are located. The area has been undergoing a massive revitalization since 2000, and increased its population by over 7,000 people between 2000 and 2005. The Power and Light District and the Sprint Center are located in the downtown area.

• "The Northland" refers to a section of the metropolitan area located north of the Missouri River, comprising Clay and Platte Counties in Missouri. This area includes the northern half of Kansas City, Missouri, which is referred to as "Kansas City, North" to distinguish it from the rest of the Northland and the city of North Kansas City. The area is also referred to as "North of the River" by local residents and by local television stations in news and traffic reports.

• River Market is an area located north of downtown, south of the Missouri River and west of Highway 9, and is home to a large farmer's market.

• "North Kansas City" (abbreviated as NKC, and also known as Northtown) is a separate city that is completely surrounded by Kansas City, Missouri.

• Shawnee Mission is an area recognized by the United States Postal Service that includes many towns in Johnson County, Kansas.

• The Waldo Residential District (also known as simply Waldo) is area of Kansas City, Missouri, located near 75th Street and Wornall Road.

• Country Club Plaza (also simply known as "the Plaza") is an upscale shopping district built by the J.C. Nichols Company in 1923, and was the first suburban shopping district in the United States.^[9]

• The Country Club District is an associated group of neighborhoods built along Ward Parkway by J.C. Nichols, which is located just south of the Country Club Plaza and includes Sunset Hill, Brookside, Crestwood, and Mission Hills, Kansas.

• 39th Street (also referred to as the Volker neighborhood or "Restaurant Row") is a small section of West 39th Street between State Line Road and the Southwest Trafficway in Kansas City, Missouri. The area has many restaurants, bars and shops, and is located 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 is a curve located at the cross-section of Interstate 70 and Benton Avenue in Kansas City, Missouri; the area has long been prone to traffic accidents.

• Pendleton Heights is a historic neighborhood in the northeast side of Kansas City, Missouri, which is bordered by Cliff Drive to the north, Chestnut Trafficway to the east, Independence Avenue to the south and the Paseo Trafficway to the west. It is Kansas City's oldest surviving neighborhood, and is home to the city's largest concentration of Victorian homes.

• The Grandview Triangle is the intersection of three major highways: Interstate 435, Interstate 470, and U.S. Route 71 (Bruce R. Watkins Drive). Notorious for fatal accidents, the Triangle has undergone improvements and upgrades in recent years.

• Emanuel Cleaver II Boulevard, named for former mayor and current Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, comprises recently renamed portions of 47th Street and Brush Creek Boulevard in Kansas City, Missouri.

• 18th and Vine Historic District (known simply as 18th and Vine) is a district on Kansas City, Missouri's north side 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 in Kansas City, Missouri.^[10]

• 135th Street (Overland Park, Kansas) - Shopping area featuring several indoor and outlet malls, restaurants, and two movie theaters.

• Strawberry Hill is a historical area in Kansas City, Kansas that was home to many eastern European immigrants. Later, the neighborhood became home to many Latino/Chicano families. However, in recent years, Strawberry Hill has seen residents immigrating to the area from Eastern Europe.

• Hospital Hill is an area near 23rd Street and Holmes Avenue in Kansas City, Missouri, and consists of two major hospitals (Truman Medical Center and the Children's Mercy Hospital) and the University of Missouri-Kansas City's School of Medicine, School of Dentistry, School of Pharmacy and School of Nursing.

• Argentine is a part of Kansas City, Kansas, near 30th and Argentine Streets. It is one of the oldest Mexican/Latino neighborhoods in Kansas City, with Mexican immigration to that area dating to the 1800s.

• The Crossroads Arts District is a neighborhood in the downtown area between the Central Business District and Union Station, centered around the intersection of 19th Street and Baltimore Avenue in Kansas City, Missouri. It contains dozens of art galleries, and is considered to be the center of the arts culture in the metropolitan area. Local artists sponsor exhibits in the district on the first Friday of each month.

• Quality Hill is a residential and commercial neighborhood located atop of a western hill in the Central Business District of Downtown Kansas City, across the river from the Charles B. Wheeler Airport.

• Washington-Wheatley is a historically Black neighborhood, located southeast of the 18th and Vine Historical District.

• The Westside is a historically African American and Chicano/Latino neighborhood near Southwest Blvd. and Interstate 35.

• Westport is a historic district which is home to much of the metropolitan area's entertainment and nightlife.

• Valentine

• West Bottoms is home to many of downtown's oldest buildings and where the city's stockyards were once located. It is now known for its arts community, the American Royal, Kemper Arena, antique stores, and First Fridays events.

• Rosedale

• Union Hill^[11]

• Armordale is a residential and commercial neighborhood in Kansas City, Kansas, and is one of the historically Chicano(a) neighborhoods of the Kansas City metropolitan area.

• Sheffield

• East Bottoms Also known as the Industrial District, it is primarily known for its industrial businesses and railroad activity. There are however burgeoning cultural attractions at the intersection of Montgall and Guinotte Avenues related to handmade goods, food, music and a distillery.

• Brookside is a pedestrian-friendly district built in the 1920s, centered on the Brookside Shopping District at 63rd Street and Brookside Blvd.

• Hanover Heights is a small neighborhood in Kansas City, Kansas that was once primarily noted for the antiques shops located along 45th Street, with the neighborhood's boundaries running mainly between Rainbow Blvd. and State Line Road, running south of the KU Medical Center to the Johnson County border.

• The Historic Old Northeast District (or simply Northeast) is a working-class immigrant collection of neighborhoods, located between downtown Kansas City and the smaller city of Independence.

• The Truman Sports Complex, located at the corner of I-70 and I-435 (east of downtown Kansas City, Missouri), is home to several professional sports attractions. It is anchored by Arrowhead Stadium, home of the Kansas City Chiefs NFL franchise; and Kauffman Stadium, home of Major League Baseball's Kansas City Royals.

Educational institutions

Post-secondary

Libraries

Media

Print media

Broadcast media

Television

• WDAF-TV, channel 4 (Fox)

• KCTV, channel 5 (CBS)

• KMBC-TV, channel 9 (ABC)

• KTAJ-TV, channel 16 (TBN)

• KCPT, channel 19 (PBS)

• KCKS-LD, channel 25 (simulcast of sister station WROB-LD)

• KCWE, channel 29 (The CW)

• KSHB-TV, channel 41 (NBC)

• KMCI-TV, channel 38 (independent)

• KGKC, Channel 39 (Telemundo Kansas City)^[14]

• KUKC-LP, channel 48 (Univision)

• KPXE-TV, channel 50 (Ion Television)

• KSMO-TV, channel 62 (MyNetworkTV)

Radio

• KPRS (103.3 FM) – Urban

• KCMO-FM (94.9) – Classic Hits

• KQRC (98.9 FM) – Rock

• KRBZ-FM (96.5) – Alternative

• KMBZ (98.1 FM) – News/Talk

• WDAF-FM (106.5) – Country

• KZPT (99.7) - Adult Top 40

• KCSP (610 AM) - Sports, Kansas City Royals flagship

• KMXV (93.3) - Top 40

• KFKF (94.1) - Country

• KCFX (101.1) - Classic Rock, Kansas City Chiefs flagship

• KCHZ (95.7 FM) – Top 40/Rhythmic

Public and community radio

• KCUR (89.3 FM) – NPR affiliate

• KANU-FM (91.5) and KTBG (90.9 FM) – both college radio stations; also NPR affiliates

• KKFI (90.1 FM) – Locally owned not-for-profit station

• KGSP (1480 FM) – Park University college station

Specialty radio

• KCZZ (1480 AM) – Spanish Sports (ESPN Deportes) talk

• KDTD (1340 AM) – Mexican regional

• KYYS (1250 AM) – Classic hits

Business interests

Headquarters

• American Century Investments, an investment management firm

• AMC Theatres, a movie theater chain (Leawood, Kansas)

• Andrews McMeel Universal, a syndication and publication company which represents media/entertainment features such as Dear Abby, Garfield, Calvin and Hobbes and Doonesbury

• Applebee's, a restaurant chain (Lenexa, Kansas)

• BATS Global Markets, a stock exchange (Lenexa, Kansas)

• Black & Veatch Corporation, engineering firm (Overland Park, Kansas)

• Burns & McDonnell Engineering, an engineering and architectural firm

• CenturyLink (formerly Embarq Corporation), telecommunications company (headquarters in Monroe, Louisiana)

• Cerner, supplier of healthcare information technology solutions (North Kansas City, Missouri)

• Church of the Nazarene

• Commerce Bancshares, a bank serving Kansas, Missouri and Illinois

• Community of Christ, International Headquarters (Independence, Missouri)

• DST Systems, provider of information processing and computer software services and products

• Engineered Air, worldwide supplier and manufacturer of industrial air conditioners (De Soto)

• Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA)

• Ferrellgas, retailer and distributor of natural gas (Liberty, Missouri)

• FishNet Security, a provider of information security services and technology resale - Overland Park, KS

• Fort Dodge Animal Health, an animal health pharmaceutical and vaccine manufacturer and a division of Wyeth (Overland Park, Kansas)

• Freightquote.com, largest online third party logistics provider

• Garmin, largest maker of GPS-based electronics (Olathe, Kansas)

• Goodcents Sub's and Pasta's, notable midwest restaurant chain (De Soto)

• Hallmark Cards, largest maker of greeting cards in the U.S.

• HNTB Corporation, architectural and engineering firm

• H&R Block, financial corporation and former parent company of CompuServe, known mostly for their income tax preparation services

• Hostess Brands Maker of Twinkies and other snack cakes.

• Huhtamaki, makers of Chinet paper dinnerware (De Soto)

• Inergy, L.P., retailers and distributors of natural gas

• International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers

• J. E. Dunn Construction Group, construction contractor

• Kansas City Board of Trade, a commodity futures and options exchange

• Kansas City Power and Light Company, a regulated provider of electricity and energy-related products and services

• Kansas City Southern Industries, operators of a Class I railroad

• Lockton Companies, the largest privately held insurance brokerage in the U.S.

• Merck Health Institutions, pharmaceutical corporation (De Soto)

• MK12 Studios, a filmmaking, animation, and design studio

• National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA)

• Newport Television – privately held broadcasting company

• North Kansas City Hospital (North Kansas City, Missouri)

• People to People International, a voluntary organization founded by President Dwight Eisenhower

• Perceptive Software, makers of "Image NOW" software (Lenexa, Kansas)

• Polsinelli, AmLaw100-ranked national law firm

• Populous (formerly HOK Sport + Venue + Event), a major sports architectural firm

• Russell Stover Candies

• Sprint Nextel Corporation, a telecommunication company (Overland Park, Kansas)

• Tradebot, a high-frequency trading firm

• Triumph Structures Kansas City, An Aerospace manufacturing leader.

• UMB Financial Corporation, a commercial bank serving a multistate area of the Midwest

• Unity Church

• Veterans of Foreign Wars

• Waddell & Reed, an investment management and brokerage firm (Overland Park, Kansas)

• Walton Construction, a construction contractor

• YRC Worldwide Inc., known mostly from its former name and brand "Yellow Freight", one of the largest transportation service providers in the world (Overland Park, Kansas)

Hospitals

• Centerpoint Medical Center

• Children's Mercy Hospital

• Kansas City Orthopaedic Institute

• Kansas City Veterans Affairs Hospital

• Kindred Hospital Kansas City

• Lee's Summit Medical Center

• Menorah Medical Center

• North Kansas City Hospital

• Olathe Medical Center

• Overland Park Regional Medical Center

• Providence Medical Center

• Research Medical Center

• Shawnee Mission Medical Center

• St. Joseph Medical Center

• St. Luke's Hospital

• St. Mary's Medical Center

• Truman Medical Center-Hospital Hill

• University of Kansas Hospital (KU Med Center)

Shopping centers

• Adams Dairy Landing

• Blue Ridge Crossing

• Crown Center

• Country Club Plaza

• The Great Mall of the Great Plains (Demolished March 2017)

• Independence Center

• The Landing Mall

• Legends Outlets Kansas City

• Metcalf South Shopping Center (Demolished June/July 2017)

• Metro North Mall (Demolished 2016)

• Oak Park Mall

• Park Place

• Summit Fair

• Summit Woods Crossing

• Town Center Plaza

• Town Pavilion

• Ward Parkway Center

• Zona Rosa

Local organizations

• Irish Museum and Cultural Center

• Congregation Beth Israel Abraham Voliner

• South Kansas City Chamber of Commerce

• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Kansas City

• ArtsKC Regional Arts Council

• Central Exchange

See also

• List of people from Kansas City

• Architecture of Kansas City