Kansas City, home to approximately 1.9 million people is known as the "biggest small town." With the Med Center's central metropolitan location, it's virtually 15-20 minutes from hundreds of local sites. KC offers a wide range of fine and casual dining, over 40 local museums, and numerous historic sites.
Kansas City's History - KC
played a major role as a gateway to the West in the
mid-1800s and the town became incorporated in 1850.
Railroads and livestock became the central commerce
and were tenet to its economic growth and stability in the latter
part of the 19th Century. Today many major corporations
are headquartered here, including Sprint, H&R Block,
American Century, Russell Stover Candies, Hallmark Cards,
and Marion Laboratories.
Historic Westport - It once flourished as a town on
the California, Oregon, and Santa Fe trails, it is now residence
to a popular entertainment and shopping district which is five
minutes from the Med Center. In addition to many historical
landmarks, Westport has many restaurants and live entertainment:
- Blayney's of Westport
- Live Blues six nights weekly
- McCoy's
Public House - Brew/Pub, serves fine foods
- Mill Creek
Brewery - Restaurant/Brewery
- America's Pub
- Bar with live music
- Beaumont
Club - Small concert venue
The Country Club Plaza
- Located 10 minutes from the Med Center, the Country
Club Plaza is an outdoor museum of Spanish architecture,
fountains, and sculptures. It was designed in
1922 and is the nations first shopping plaza. In addition
to many artistic
and historical treasures, you can experience a variety
of fine dining
and shopping
as well as many cultural and musical events
that run throughout the year. In addition to many
scenic areas within, Brush Creek offers scenic walkways
and romantic boat rides along the waterway. Other entertainment
includes a movie theater and romantic horse-driven carriage
rides.
For more information please see their official website at http://www.countryclubplaza.com
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art -
Located 10 minutes from the Med Center, the Nelson-Atkins
Museum of Art is internationally renowned for its rich collections
spanning diverse cultures over 5,000 years. Although
its collections of masterpieces represents every culture
and period of the world, its most notable collections are
of Asian decent. Additionally, the museum's collection
of modern sculpture is excellent and possesses the country's
largest collection of monumental bronzes by Henry Moore
as well as other modern masters. In addition to other
distinguished permanent collections, visitors can take advantage
of revolving special exhibits. For further information
please see their official website at
http://www.nelson-atkins.org/.
Union Station - Located
15 minutes from the Med Center, The Kansas City Union Station
is a historical landmark which has been recently renovated
and restored to its original beauty when it was constructed
in 1914. In addition to many restaurants and theaters,
it is home to "Science City", which offers "hands-on"
science exhibits for kids of all ages.
For further information, please see their official website:
http://www.unionstation.org/intro.cfm
Westin Crown Center -
Located 15 minutes from the Med Center, the Crown Center
is located at the international headquarters of Hallmark
Cards and is located near Kansas City's downtown commercial
district. The Center offers a three level retail mall
with shopping, fine dining, concerts, a movie theater, and
year-round exhibits.
For
further information, please see their official website:
http://www.crowncenter.com/frame.html
Kansas City Sports - Kansas City
is a major league sports town which supports the Kansas
City Chiefs (National Football League), the Kansas City
Royals (Major League Baseball), and the Kansas City Wizards
(Major League Soccer). All these teams play their
home games at the Truman Sports Complex located 20 minutes
from the Med Center. Kansas City is also central
to many colleges in the Big 12 Conference. Big 12
college sporting events are located approximately 40 minutes
away in Lawrence, Kansas where the University of Kansas
main campus is located. For more information please
see the following sites:
Kansas City Chiefs - http://www.kcchiefs.com/
Kansas City Royals -
http://www.kcroyals.com/
Kansas City Wizards - http://www.kcwizards.com/
Kansas University Athletics -
http://www.kuathletics.com/
Other Links to Websites with Tourism Information in Kansas City
Kansas City Realty
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The University of Kansas Medical Center