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Timeline of Kansas City, Missouri
City history timeline From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The following is a timeline of the history of Kansas City, Missouri, United States.
19th century
- 1821
- François Chouteau set up a permanent trading post.
- Missouri became the 24th state admitted to the Union.
- 1826 - Jackson County created.
- 1833 - John Calvin McCoy founded West Port.
- 1834 - Westport Landing established on the Missouri River.[1]
- 1839 - Settlement named Town of Kansas[2] after the local Kaw People.
- 1840 - City Market established.[2]
- 1846 - Population: 700.[3]
- 1849 - Cholera pandemic of 1849 killed half the settlers of the towns of Kansas and Westport.
- 1850
- June 3: Town of Kansas formally organized municipality in Jackson County.[4]
- Kelly's Westport Inn built.
- 1853
- March 28: City of Kansas incorporated by Missouri.[4]
- William S. Gregory elected as first mayor.
- 1854
- First city council president, Johnston Lykins, became second mayor.
- Kansas City Journal-Post newspaper founded by a group of city fathers and businessmen.
- Bleeding Kansas - violent confrontations 1854-1859.
- 1855 - Harris-Kearney House was built in Westport.
- 1856 - Alexander Majors House built.[5]
- 1857
- Chamber of Commerce established.[3]
- Union Cemetery founded.[6]
- Historic Quality Hill neighborhood developed by Kersey Coates
- Lykins Mansion built at 12th and Broadway. (The city's first mansion.)[7]
- 1858
- John Wornall House built.
- Fr. Bernard Donnelly hires 300 Irish workers to carve streets out from the bluffs.[8]
- 1859 - Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company sends first stagecoach to Denver.
- 1860 - Population: 4,418.[9]
- 1861 - The American Civil War begins.
- 1863
- Union Women's Prison collapses August 13, killing four women and injuring several more. Pro-Confederate bushwhackers cite this as justification for the Sacking of Lawrence.[10]
- General Order No. 11 removes settlers south of Brush Creek.
- 1864 - October 23: Battle of Westport.
- 1865
- Patrick Shannon becomes mayor.
- The American Civil War ends.
- Lincoln College Preparatory Academy founded.
- 1866 - St. Teresa's Academy established.
- 1867
- March 1: First meeting of the Kansas City Public Schools Board of Education.[11]
- Central High School established.
- The Kansas City Times was founded.
- Kansas City Fire Department established.
- 1868 - George Muehlebach Brewing Company founded. (Acquired by Schlitz in 1956.)
- 1869 - July 3: Hannibal Bridge over the Missouri River opens, first railroad bridge across the river.[2][12]
- 1870
- Elijah M. McGee becomes mayor.
- Coates Opera House built. (Burned down in 1901.)
- Population: 32,260.[13]
- Tivoli Garden,[14] a 6 acre beer garden at 24th & Main opens. (Closed 1879.)
- 1871
- Kansas City Bar Library Assoc. formed.[15]
- The Kansas City Stockyards established.
- 1872 - Elmwood Cemetery established.
- 1873 - First St. Patrick's Day parade.[16]
- 1874
- Kansas City Police Department created.
- St. Joseph Hospital opened.
- 1875
- 1879 - Lawrence F. Rieger Real Estate Broker (Now Kessinger Hunter) opens at 5th and Main.[20]
- 1880
- The Kansas City Star newspaper founded by William Rockhill Nelson and Samuel E. Morss.
- City Hospital opened.
- Population: 55,785.[9]
- 1882
- Kansas City Club founded.
- KCP&L installs electric lights.
- William Volker founded his home furnishings business.
- Saint Luke's Hospital of Kansas City opened.
- 1883 - Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception built. Golden dome added in 1960.
- 1884
- Boss James Pendergast begins his political career.
- The Barstow School founded.
- 1885
- Kansas City Art Institute founded, later attended by Walt Disney
- First overhead electric trolleys in the US used here.[9]
- 1886
- Bon Ami Company (now Faultless Brands) founded.
- Hyde Park subdivision begun.
- German Hospital (Research Medical Center) opens.
- First Hannibal Bridge severely damaged by a tornado.
- 1887
- Kansas City Southern Railway founded.
- J. Rieger & Co. distillery originally founded.
- Freight House in the Crossroads was built.
- Original Chouteau Bridge completed.
- St. Mary's Episcopal Church building built. (Church formed 1857.)
- 1888
- Forest Hill Cemetery founded.
- The Savoy Hotel opened.
- Original 8th Street cable car tunnel opened.[21]
- 1889
- Shook, Hardy & Bacon law firm founded.
- The city of Kansas City formed by merger of Westport and City of Kansas.[2]
- Electric streetcars begin replacing cable cars.
- Kansas City Public Library building opens.[22]
- Unity Church founded.
- 1890
- Benjamin Holmes became mayor.
- New York Life Insurance Building becomes the city's first skyscraper.
- Population: 132,716.[9]
- 1892
- August Meyer appointed president of the city's first park board.
- Kansas City's Parks and Boulevard system is designed by George Kessler.
- First Court House built.[9]
- Pencoyd Railroad Bridge built.
- 1893
- City Hall built.[9]
- Kansas City Athletic Club founded.
- The Progress Club built in Quality Hill as a social club for prominent Jewish gentlemen.[23][24]
- 1895 - Kansas City School of Law founded.
- 1896
- Kansas City Country Club founded.
- Swope Park created.
- 1897
- City workhouse castle opened, old workhouse abandoned.[25][26]
- Westport and Hyde Park annexed.
- Children's Mercy Hospital founded.[27]
- 1898 - Burns & McDonnell founded.
- 1899
- The American Royal began as a cattle show in the Kansas City Stockyards.
- Dr. Generous Henderson House completed.
- The Independent, Kansas City's society journal was founded.[28]
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20th century
1900s-1940s
- 1900
- 1900 Democratic National Convention held. [9]
- Federal Building constructed.[9]
- Folly Theater opened.
- Population: 163,752.[9]
- 1902
- Sunshine Biscuits (formerly The Loose-Wiles Biscuit Company) founded.
- First Orthodox synagogue built.[29]
- Imperial Brewing Company Brewery opened on Southwest Boulevard.
- 1903
- Flood of 1903: Kansas River flooded the West Bottoms.
- Automobile Club of Kansas City active.
- 1904
- Penn Valley Park created.
- Improved 8th Street streetcar tunnel opened. (Closed 1956.)[30]
- Mineral Hall residence completed in Hyde Park.
- 1906 - J.C. Nichols begins developing Country Club District neighborhoods.
- 1907
- Lewis and Clark Viaduct built above the West Bottoms and over the Kaw River.
- Waddell & Harrington bridge engineering company founded.
- Electric Park opened at 46th and Paseo.
- R.A. Long Building completed at 10th and Grand.
- Westport High School established.
- 1908
- General Hospital built.[9][31]
- Henry Perry "Father of Kansas City barbecue" began business.
- 1909
- Kansas City Zoo opens in Swope Park
- Waldo neighborhood annexed.
- 1910
- Hall Brothers (Hallmark Cards) founded.
- Corinthian Hall was built by lumber baron Robert A. Long.
- Rockhurst University founded by Fr. Michael Dowling, S.J.
- Population: 248,381.[9]
- 1911
- Kansas City Star Building built.[32]
- Stuart Hall Building built.
- ASB Bridge completed.
- Union Pacific Intermodal Bridge over the Kaw River completed.
- George Washington statue installed at Washington Square.[33]
- 1912 - Grand Avenue Temple United Methodist Church built.[34] (Church formed 1865.)
- 1913
- City Center Bank founded (UMB Financial Corporation).
- Cook Paint and Varnish Company founded.
- 1914
- Western Auto Building built.
- Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and Paseo YMCA[35] open.
- Union Station opens, replacing the Union Depot.[36]
- Mack B. Nelson mansion built at 55th and Ward Parkway.
- Katz Drug Store founded.
- 1915
- HNTB Corporation founded.
- Helzberg Diamonds founded.
- Black & Veatch founded.
- Kansas City Polytechnic Institute established.[37]
- The Hotel Muehlebach opened.
- 1916 - Argentine Carnegie Library built.
- 1917
- Rockhurst College opens.[2]
- Second Hannibal Bridge opens.
- 1918 - William Thornton Kemper Sr. acquires City Center Bank.
- 1919
- Prohibition of alcohol begins. (1919-1933)
- Truman and Jacobson's haberdashery opens downtown.[38]
- The Call African-American newspaper founded by Chester A. Franklin.
- Guadalupe Center founded.[39]
- Donnelly Garment Company founded.
- The Imperial Brewing Company Brewery became the Boulevard Mill after Prohibition.
- 1920
- Kansas City Monarchs baseball team established in the Negro National League.
- University of Kansas Medical Center established.
- AMC Theatres founded. (Originally Dubinsky Bros.)
- Brookside Shopping District opens.
- Population: 324,410.[2]
- 1921
- First annual installation of the Easter Bunnies on Country Club Plaza.[40]
- Laugh-O-Gram Studio founded by Walt Disney (closes 1923)
- Monroe Hotel built.[41]
- 1922
- WPE radio begins broadcasting.
- The Scout statue in Penn Valley Park is dedicated as a permanent memorial to local Indian tribes.
- Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church built.[42]
- 1923
- Country Club Plaza opens.
- Russell Stover Candies founded.
- Fairyland Amusement Park opens at 75th & Prospect.
- 1924
- New Rialto Theater opened 18th & Vine (Boone Theater)[43]
- J.E. Dunn Construction founded.
- 1925
- Political boss Tom Pendergast becomes Chairman of the Jackson County Democratic Party.
- Hotel President built.
- Loose Park created.
- Electric Park burned down after 18 years.
- 1926
- Country Club Christian Church built at 61st & Ward Parkway. (Church formed 1920.)[44]
- Blues shouter and KC native Big Joe Turner performs and tends bar at The Sunset.[45]
- Ararat Shrine Temple and Bagdad Theatre[46] open.
- Liberty Memorial dedicated to World War I veterans, opens
- 1927
- Downtown Airport opens, dedicated by Charles Lindbergh
- Pioneer Mother Memorial in Penn Valley Park dedicated.[47]
- Southwest High School established.
- 1928
- Uptown Theater opened.
- June: 1928 Republican National Convention.
- The Blue Room jazz club opened in the Street Hotel at 18th and Paseo. (Closed 1954)[48]
- Villa Serena Apartments (later, The Raphael Hotel) opened on the Country Club Plaza.
- F. W. Woolworth Building constructed.
- 1929 - Count Basie joins the Bennie Moten Orchestra to play Kansas City jazz.[49]
- 1930
- Bryce B. Smith became mayor.
- First official Plaza Lighting Ceremony took place on Thanksgiving night.
- Kansas City Scottish Rite Temple completed.
- 1931
- Kansas City Power and Light Building constructed.
- Hotel Phillips built across from the Hotel Muehlbach.
- Prominent businesswoman, Nell Donnelly Reed was abducted.
- The Calvin Company began producing educational films.
- 1932 - First annual Plaza Art Fair held on the Country Club Plaza.[50]
- 1933
- Stroud's Restaurant opened.
- The Sunset Jazz Club opened. (Closed 1938)[48]
- Kansas City Philharmonic established. (Dissolved 1982.)
- May 27: Mary McElroy, daughter of City Manager Henry F. McElroy, was kidnapped for ransom.
- June 17: Kansas City massacre at Union Station.
- Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art opened.
- Jackson County Courthouse built.
- 1934
- March 27: Election day violence leaves 4 dead, 11 wounded.[51]
- Crime boss Johnny Lazia gunned down in front of his home.[52]
- Swope Memorial Golf Course opens.
- 1936 - Holy Land Christian Mission founded.[27]
- 1937
- Kansas City City Hall rebuilt.
- Southeast High School established.
- Charlie "Bird" Parker played jazz with Jay McShann in Kansas City.[53]
- 1939 - Tom Pendergast convicted of income tax evasion and served 15 months.
- 1940
- John B. Gage becomes mayor.
- Kansas City Museum opens.
- 1942 - Hogan Preparatory Academy established.
- 1944 - Midwest Research Institute founded.
- 1945
- Mining of SubTropolis underground storage began[54]
- Harry S. Truman Bridge (railroad bridge) completed.
- Vice President Harry S Truman sworn in as President after Franklin Roosevelt dies.
- 1946
- Linda Hall Library established.
- William E. Kemp becomes mayor.
- Gates Bar-B-Q founded by George and Arzelia Gates.
- 1948
- Harry S Truman wins 1948 United States presidential election
- First national leadership conference of the Future Homemakers of America (FHA), now Family Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA).
- 1949
- The Golden Ox restaurant, originator of the Kansas City strip steak, opened.
- Crest Drive-In cinema active (approximate date).[46]
- Richard Walker Bolling becomes U.S. representative for Missouri's 5th congressional district.[55]
- Industrial Bearings Transmission, now IBT, Inc. founded at 1625 Grand
1950s-1990s
- 1950 - Starlight Theatre opened in Swope Park.
- 1951
- July: Great Flood of 1951.[56]
- J.C.Hall commissions illustrator Norman Rockwell to paint The Kansas City Spirit in response to the flood.[57]
- 1952 - Nell Donnelly Reed donates land for the James A. Reed Memorial Wildlife area.[58]
- 1953 - The Donnelly Garment Company was the largest manufacturer of women's clothing worldwide.
- Kidnapping and murder of Bobby Greenlease.
- 1954
- U.S. Weather Bureau Severe Local Storms Unit relocated to Kansas City.
- Paseo Bridge opens. (1954-2010)
- First annual Jewel Ball is held.
- 1955
- H&R Block founded
- Philadelphia Athletics of the American League relocate becoming the Kansas City Athletics.
- H. Roe Bartle becomes mayor.
- TWA Corporate Headquarters Building was built in the Crossroads.
- 1956
- First runway opens at Kansas City Industrial Airport, now KCI
- Interstate Highway System begun.
- Broadway Bridge built.
- Robert Altman's first film The Delinquents shot in Kansas City.
- The Carriage Club was founded.[59]
- 1957
- Kansas City Ballet founded.
- Ruskin Heights Tornado (F-5).
- Last electric streetcar retired.
- Russ Fiorella opens Smoke Stack Barbecue.
- KCUR-FM radio went on the air.
- Blue Ridge Mall opened.
- 1959
- Five KC firefighters killed in gas tank explosion on Southwest Blvd.[60]
- Ward Parkway Center opened.
- 1960 - Mill Creek Fountain (created in 1910) installed on the Country Club Plaza.[61]
- 1961
- Freedom, Inc. founded.
- Hickman Mills annexed.
- 1963
- Lamar Hunt relocates the Dallas Texans to become the Kansas City Chiefs
- University of Missouri–Kansas City established.
- Ilus W. Davis becomes mayor.
- Bruce R. Watkins elected as first African-American city council member.
- Martin City annexed.
- 1964 - Kansas City Repertory Theatre founded[62]
- 1966 - Lockton insurance founded.
- 1967
- Kansas City Chiefs lose the first Super Bowl to the Green Bay Packers
- Kansas City Athletics relocate to Oakland at the conclusion of the season
- The Giralda Tower constructed on the Country Club Plaza.[63]
- Sister city relationship established with Seville, Spain.[64]
- 1968 - April: 1968 Kansas City, Missouri riot.
- 1969
- Kansas City Royals baseball team formed.,[65]
- Kansas City Chiefs win Super Bowl IV
- 1970
- Universal Press Syndicate founded.
- Missouri State Representative Leon Jordan was assassinated.
- Population: 507,330.[2]
- 1971
- Charles Wheeler becomes mayor.
- Satchel Paige of the Kansas City Monarchs inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
- Crown Center opens.
- 1972
- Arrowhead Stadium opens
- NBA Cincinnati Royals became the Kansas City Kings
- Kansas City International Airport becomes the city's primary passenger airport
- Sister city relationship established with Kurashiki, Japan.[64]
- 1973
- Worlds of Fun opens.
- Kauffman Stadium opens as Royals Stadium.
- Andrews McMeel Publishing founded.
- City of Fountains Foundation founded.[66]
- Sister city relationship established with Morelia, Mexico.[64]
- 1974
- Revival of the Kansas City St. Patrick's Day Parade[67][16]
- First Hospital Hill Run takes place with 99 runners.[68]
- Kemper Arena opens.
- NHL comes to Kansas City with the establishment of the Scouts as an expansion team
- Black Archives of Mid-America founded by Horace M. Peterson III.[69]
- Sister city relationship established with Freetown, Sierra Leone.[64]
- 1975
- Kansas City Kings basketball team comes to Kemper Arena.
- Mid America Heart Institute opens.
- 1976
- Bartle Hall Convention Center opened
- 1976 Republican National Convention held in Kemper Arena.
- World Science Fiction Convention held.
- 1977
- River Quay bombings[70]
- Fairyland Park closes after extensive damage by windstorm.
- 1978
- Coates House Hotel fire claimed 20 lives.[71]
- Artist Christo installs "Wrapped Walk Ways" in Loose Park.
- Sister city relationship established with Tainan, Taiwan.[64]
- 1979
- Richard L. Berkley becomes mayor.
- The Coterie Theatre is founded.
- Kansas City Comets indoor soccer team. (1979-1991)
- Kemper Arena roof collapsed.
- 1980
- Hyatt Regency hotel opens.
- The Kansas City Royals lose World Series to the Philadelphia Phillies
- The Pitch alternative newspaper founded.
- Bannister Mall opened.
- 1981 - July 17: Hyatt Regency walkway collapse.
- 1982
- Kansas City Symphony established.
- Kansas City Business Journal founded.
- Oceans of Fun opens
- National Museum of Toys and Miniatures opens
- Kansas City Chorale founded.
- 1983 - Bobby Bell of the Kansas City Chiefs inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
- 1985
- World Series won by Kansas City Royals with Manager Dick Howser
- Harris-Kearney House opens as a museum.
- 1986 - Town Pavilion hi-rise built.
- 1987 - Len Dawson of the Kansas City Chiefs inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
- 1988
- ACT UP chapter founded.[56]
- One Kansas City Place built.
- Serial killer Bob Berdella apprehended as "Kansas City Butcher"
- Professional golfer Tom Watson inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.
- November 29: Construction site explosion kills 6 firefighters
- 1989
- Boulevard Brewing Company founded
- Sister city relationship established with Xi'an, China.[64]
- 1990
- Mr. & Mrs. Bridge filmed in Kansas City starring Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward released.
- The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum founded.
- Buck Buchanan of the Kansas City Chiefs inducted into Pro Football Hall of Fame.
- The Kansas City Times ceased publication.
- Kansas City Blades hockey team founded. (1990-2001)
- Population: 435,146.[13]
- 1991
- Emanuel Cleaver becomes mayor.
- Kansas City Stockyards close.
- Firefighters' Memorial Fountain dedicated at 31st & Broadway
- The Arabia Steamboat Museum opens in the River Market.
- Sister city relationship established with Guadalajara, Mexico.[64]
- 1993
- Great Flood of 1993
- Sister city relationships established with Hannover, Germany and Port Harcourt, Nigeria.[64]
- 1994 -
- Artist Claes Oldenburg installs Shuttlecocks at the Nelson-Atkins Museum.[72]
- Sky Stations sculptures installed on pylons of Bartle Hall.
- Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art opens.
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research established.
- 1995
- Kansas City Wiz soccer team founded by Lamar Hunt.
- Sister city relationship established with Arusha, Tanzania.[64]
- 1996
- Hilton Flamingo Riverboat Casino opened. (Now Bally's Kansas City)
- Kansas City, a Robert Altman crime film is released.
- 1997
- Station Casino opened. (Now Ameristar Casino.)
- City website goes online (approximate date).[73][chronology citation needed]
- American Jazz Museum opens.
- Sister city relationship established with San Nicolás de los Garza, Mexico.[64]
- 1998
- Lidia's Kansas City opened in the Freight House.
- Sister city relationship established with Ramla, Israel.[64]
- 1999
- Kay Barnes becomes mayor.
- Union Station reopens after restoration.
- George Brett of the Kansas City Royals inducted into Baseball Hall of Fame.
- Pro wrestler Owen Hart falls 70 feet to his death at Kemper arena.
- Randie Carver, North American Boxing Federation super-middleweight died defending his title.
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21st century
- 2000
- Ewing and Muriel Kauffman Memorial Garden opened.[74]
- Population: 441,545.[75]
- 2001
- New Chouteau Bridge completed.
- Regional Kansas City SmartPort economic development group established.
- 2002 - First Fridays began in the Crossroads Art District[76]
- 2003 - First Kansas City Irish Fest at Crown Center.
- 2004
- 2005
- 2006
- Modern glass Kansas City Star Building built.[78]
- Historic Pencoyd Railroad Bridge moved to Union Station to become the Freight House Pedestrian Bridge.
- 2007
- Sprint Center (arena) opens.
- H&R Block World Headquarters built.
- Irish Museum and Cultural Center opens.
- Mark Funkhouser becomes mayor.
- The Bloch Building addition of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art opens.
- 2008 - Kansas City Power & Light District completed.
- 2009 - Andrews McMeel Syndication founded.
- 2010
- The Big Slick, an annual celebrity fundraiser for Children's Mercy Hospital.[79]
- Christopher S. Bond Bridge opens, replacing demolished Paseo Bridge
- Population: 459,787.[80]
- 2011
- Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts opens.
- Todd Bolender Center for Dance and Creativity opened. (Remodeled from Union Station Power House, built in 1914.)
- Sly James becomes mayor.
- Population: 463,202; metro 2,052,676.[81]
- 2012
- Google Fiber service begins.[82][83]
- Legendary Kansas City broadcaster, Walt Bodine dies.
- Kansas City Startup Village established.[84]
- 2013
- Kansas City Sculpture Park renamed to honor Donald J. Hall, Jr.[85]
- JJ's Restaurant on the Plaza destroyed by gas explosion; 1 fatality, 15 injured.[86]
- 2014
- Liberty Memorial officially designated The National World War I Monument and Museum.
- J. Rieger & Co. distillery re-established after 95 years
- 2015
- World Series won by Kansas City Royals
- Knuckleheads Saloon music venue opened in the East Bottoms.
- 2016
- KC Streetcar entered service.
- Broadway Bridge renamed Buck O'Neil Bridge.
- 2019
- Quinton Lucas elected mayor
- Artist Andy Goldsworthy installs "Walking Wall"[87] at Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.
- 2020 - Kansas City Chiefs win Super Bowl LIV
- 2021 - Chiefs lose Super Bowl LV
- 2022
- Buck O'Neil of the Kansas City Monarchs inducted into Baseball Hall of Fame.
- Kansas City Public Schools regain full accreditation.
- 2023
- Chiefs win Super Bowl LVII
- New KCI airport terminal opens.[88]
- New Kansas City flag design adopted.
- 2024
- Chiefs win Super Bowl LVIII
- Kansas City Parade Shooting
- 2025
- Chiefs win AFC Championship.
- Chiefs lost Super Bowl LIX.
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See also
References
Bibliography
External links
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