Kansas City Fun Facts

Kansas City is known for its fascinating history, barbecue, fountains & sports team,
but there are many other unique facts that make Kansas City special!

• Kansas City's beloved Country Club Plaza, which was modeled after Seville, Spain, opened in 1922 as the nation's FIRST outdoor shopping district!
   
  
• Located in the Historic West Bottoms, The Golden Ox restaurant was opened in 1949 in the Kansas City Livestock Exchange Building. They are credited with inventing the "KC Strip", also known as the "New York Strip". The Golden Ox was visited consistently by both Harry S. Truman & Dwight D. Eisenhower.
  
  
  
• In the 1920's, Walt Disney opened his first animation company, Laugh-O-Gram, right here in Kansas City! At the time, Disney was a commercial artist for an advertising company in Kansas City. He convinced Frank Newman, Kansas City's leading exhibitor, to include his short snippets of animation in Newman's series of weekly newsreels.
  
  
  
• The largest greeting card maker in the world - Hallmark - was founded right here in KC in 1910. Founder J.C. Hall sold postcards out of two shoeboxes at the local YMCA. Hallmark has interactive displays & exhibits for you to experience at the Hallmark Visitors Center in Crown Center!
  
  
  
• Our beloved baseball team, The Kansas City Royals, got their name from the livestock show "The American Royal". This famous show has been held in KC since 1899.
  
  
  
• The famous Plaza Christmas lights tradition, which is now a 15-block spectacle, started with a strand of 16 lights over a doorway in 1925! Four electricians from Capital Electric begin stringing the lights right after Labor Day.
  
  
  
• City Market in River Market is the regions largest farmer's market. They have a wide range of shops & boutiques, flavors from all around the world, and of course, fresh food & imported ingredients.
  
  
  
• Many interesting things were invented in KC, including the Happy Meal! The founder of local advertising agency Bernstein-Rein, Bob Bernstein, came up with the idea when he saw his son staring at a cereal box during breakfast one morning.
  
  
  
  
• As of Sep. 29, 2014, Arrowhead holds the Guinness World Record for the loudest crowd roar at a sports stadium, 142.2 dbA. Arrowhead Stadium was also the first to transmit instant replay on a scoreboard.
  
  
  
• Russell Stover Chocolates started in 1923, and all company operations were moved to Kansas City in 1932. Two years later, the Stovers opened a drive in store, ice cream parlor & ice cream factory here in KC. You can also view the beautiful Stover Mansion in Mission Hills, KS!
  
  
  
• Kansas City was the home base for the Jesse James gang. Their first daytime bank robbery was in Liberty, MO. This bank is now the Jesse James Bank Museum and is available for the public to tour!
  
  
• Kansas City is the home of many famous inventions, but I bet you didn't know other KC inventions include the fire pole, the Bomb Pop, the bumper sticker, Rival crockpot & Wishbone salad dressing!
  
  
  
• Union Station is a famous historical landmark in KC. It opened in 1914 & an estimated one million travelers passed through the station during WWII! It closed in the 1980's, but was renovated & reopened in 1999.
  
  
  
• Kansas City is home of The National WWI Museum & Memorial - the second largest collection of World War I artifacts. Liberty Memorial, a 217 foot tall tower, is located here & it overlooks Downtown KC. The tower was completed in 1926 and the museum opened in 2006.
  
  
  
• Kansas City is home of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. There are wonderful displays of memorabilia & exhibits about African-American baseball in the U.S. The Kansas City Monarchs are part of this league & boasted legendary player's such as Satchel Paige, Buck O'Neil & Jackie Robinson. 
  
  
  
  
• Kansas City has 220 parks, 134 miles of trails and bikeways, 29 lakes, 103 playgrounds & 119 monuments. There is plenty of nature & outdoor activities in our beautiful metropolitan city!
  
  
  
  
• Our beloved Kansas City Chiefs didn't actually start in Kansas City. They originated in Dallas, Texas as the Texans. They relocated to Kansas City in 1963 and moved forward as the Kansas City Chiefs!
  
  
  
• Swope Park is the city's largest green space (over twice the size of Central Park in NY) at 1,805 acres! It encompasses soccer fields, a golf course, tree top adventures & plenty of space for picnics and walking.
  
  
  
• In the mid 1800's, millions of people headed west to find their dreams along the Santa Fe, California & Oregon Trails. These 3 historic trails share an origin in one city... Kansas City! "Queen City of the Trails" - Independence, MO holds a festival every year called the SantaCaliGon Festival celebrating the brave pioneers journey westward.