River Market, Kansas City
River Market | |
|---|---|
Neighborhood | |
 A City Market farmers' market entrance is at Walnut Street & West 5th Street | |
 | |
| Coordinates: 39°06′45″N 94°35′03″W / 39.112414°N 94.58413°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Missouri |
| County | Jackson |
| Population (2018)[1] | |
• Total | 1,345 |
| Website | thecitymarketkc |
The River Market (formerly known as Westport Landing, the City Market, and River Quay) is a riverfront neighborhood in Kansas City, Missouri that comprises the first and oldest incorporated district in Kansas City. It stretches north of the downtown Interstate 70 loop to the Missouri River, and is bordered by the Buck O'Neil Bridge on the west and the Heart of America Bridge on the east. As of September 2018[update], the population was 1,345.[1]
History
Starting in 1821, the area was an early French fur trading post operated by François Chouteau of the powerful Chouteau clan. The name "Westport Landing" is derived from having been the dock on the Missouri River for the exchange of goods destined for the community of Westport three miles to the south on higher ground that was operated by John Calvin McCoy. He was to lead a group of settlers to create the Town of Kansas in this location in 1850 which in turn became the City of Kansas in 1853. This made it the first and oldest incorporated district in what is now Kansas City. In the mid 1800s, the public square was located in what became the southern section of the large farmers' market.
1970s River Quay revitalization and mob violence
In 1971, Rockhurst University professor Marion A. Trozzolo began redeveloping historic buildings on the riverfront and nicknamed the area River Quay. In contrast to its long-standing reputation for organized crime and other illicit activity, Trozzolo envisioned the revitalized River Quay as a family-friendly commercial district. With the increase of popular shops, restaurants, and attractions, the city began a marketing campaign for shoppers, with free shuttle bus rides from downtown. In 1972, Fred Bonadonna, son of an organized crime member connected to the operations of Nicholas Civella, was allowed to open a restaurant in the River Quay. Tensions between Bonadonna's desire to follow Trozzolo's family-friendly vision for the River Quay and the mob's desire for adult establishments led to the murder of Bonadonna's father, and a series of bombings that destroyed two bars.[2] This and other mob violence ended Trozzolo's River Quay revitalization project.[3]
Since 2000s
The large riverfront warehouses have become increasingly developed into residential lofts, restaurants, bars, shops, cafes, and ethnic markets. Since its inception in 1857, the City Market has been one of the largest and most enduring public farmers' markets in the Midwest, linking growers and small businesses to the Kansas City community. More than 40 full-time independently owned shops and restaurants are open year-round. The farmers' market features local vendors every weekend. The Arabia Steamboat Museum at 400 Grand Blvd. is a tourist attraction displaying thousands of artifacts from a steamboat and its cargo that had sunk nearby in 1856 and was recovered in 1987–88.
KC Commercial Realty Group manages the market on behalf of the City of Kansas City. The official neighborhood association for the River Market neighborhood is the River Market Community Association.
See also
References
- ^ a b "Population of River Market, Kansas City, Missouri (Neighborhood)". September 14, 2018. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ United States Congress Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (1989). Organized Crime and Use of Violence: Hearings Before the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Committee on Governmental Affairs, United States Senate, Ninety-sixth Congress, Second Session. U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
- ^ Isenberg, Alison (May 15, 2009). Downtown America: A History of the Place and the People Who Made It. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-38509-9. Retrieved October 8, 2023.