# Timeline of Kansas City, Missouri

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.
* 1839 - Settlement named Town of Kansas after the local Kaw People.
* 1840 - City Market established.
* 1846 - Population: 700.
* 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.
** Kelly's Westport Inn built.
* 1853
** March 28: City of Kansas incorporated by Missouri.
** 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.
* 1857
** Chamber of Commerce established.
** Union Cemetery founded.
** Historic Quality Hill neighborhood developed by Kersey Coates
** Lykins Mansion built at 12th and Broadway. (The city's first mansion.)
* 1858
** John Wornall House built.
** Fr. Bernard Donnelly hires 300 Irish workers to carve streets out from the bluffs.
* 1859 - Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company sends first stagecoach to Denver.
* 1860 - Population: 4,418.
* 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.
** 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.
** 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.
* 1870
** Elijah M. McGee becomes mayor.
** Coates Opera House built. (Burned down in 1901.)
** Population: 32,260.
** Tivoli Garden, a 6 acre beer garden at 24th & Main opens. (Closed 1879.)
* 1871
** Kansas City Bar Library Assoc. formed.
** The Kansas City Stockyards established.
* 1872 - Elmwood Cemetery established.
* 1873 - First St. Patrick's Day parade.
* 1874
** Kansas City Police Department created.
** St. Joseph Hospital opened.
* 1875
** Old St. Patrick Oratory built.
** Fetterman Circulating Library.
** Gallup Map founded.
* 1879 - Lawrence F. Rieger Real Estate Broker (Now Kessinger Hunter) opens at 5th and Main.
* 1880
** The Kansas City Star newspaper founded by William Rockhill Nelson and Samuel E. Morss.
** City Hospital opened.
** Population: 55,785.
* 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.
* 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.
* 1889
** Shook, Hardy & Bacon law firm founded.
** The city of Kansas City formed by merger of Westport and City of Kansas.
** Electric streetcars begin replacing cable cars.
** Kansas City Public Library building opens.
** Unity Church founded.
* 1890
** Benjamin Holmes became mayor.
** New York Life Insurance Building becomes the city's first skyscraper.
** Population: 132,716.
* 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.
** Pencoyd Railroad Bridge built.
* 1893
** City Hall built.
** Kansas City Athletic Club founded.
** The Progress Club built in Quality Hill as a social club for prominent Jewish gentlemen.
* 1895 - Kansas City School of Law founded.
* 1896
** Kansas City Country Club founded.
** Swope Park created.
* 1897
** City workhouse castle opened, old workhouse abandoned.
** Westport and Hyde Park annexed.
** Children's Mercy Hospital founded.
* 1898 - Burns & McDonnell founded.
* 1899
** The American Royal began as a cattle show in the Kansas City Stockyards.
** Dr. Generous Henderson House completed.

## 20th century
### 1900s-1940s

* 1900
** 1900 Democratic National Convention held.
** Federal Building constructed.
** Folly Theater opened.
** Population: 163,752.
* 1902
** Sunshine Biscuits (formerly The Loose-Wiles Biscuit Company) founded.
** First Orthodox synagogue built.
** 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.)
** 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.
** 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.
* 1911
** Kansas City Star Building built.
** Stuart Hall Building built.
** ASB Bridge completed.
** Union Pacific Intermodal Bridge over the Kaw River completed.
** George Washington statue installed at Washington Square.
* 1912 - Grand Avenue Temple United Methodist Church built. (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 open.
** Union Station opens, replacing the Union Depot.
** 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.
** The Hotel Muehlebach opened.
* 1916 - Argentine Carnegie Library built.
* 1917
** Rockhurst College opens.
** 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.
** The Call African-American newspaper founded by Chester A. Franklin.
** Guadalupe Center founded.
** 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.
* 1921
** First annual installation of the Easter Bunnies on Country Club Plaza.
** Laugh-O-Gram Studio founded by Walt Disney (closes 1923)
** Monroe Hotel built.
* 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.
* 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)
** 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.)
** Blues shouter and KC native Big Joe Turner performs and tends bar at The Sunset.
** Ararat Shrine Temple and Bagdad Theatre 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.
** 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)
** 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.
* 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.
* 1932 - First annual Plaza Art Fair held on the Country Club Plaza.
* 1933
** Stroud's Restaurant opened.
** The Sunset Jazz Club opened. (Closed 1938)
** 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.
** Crime boss Johnny Lazia gunned down in front of his home.
** Swope Memorial Golf Course opens.
* 1936 - Holy Land Christian Mission founded.
* 1937
** Kansas City City Hall rebuilt.
** Southeast High School established.
** Charlie "Bird" Parker played jazz with Jay McShann in Kansas City.
* 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
** 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).
** Richard Walker Bolling becomes U.S. representative for Missouri's 5th congressional district.
** 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.
** J.C.Hall commissions illustrator Norman Rockwell to paint The Kansas City Spirit in response to the flood.
* 1952 - Nell Donnelly Reed donates land for the James A. Reed Memorial Wildlife area.
* 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)
* 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.
* 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.
** Ward Parkway Center opened.
* 1960 - Mill Creek Fountain (created in 1910) installed on the Country Club Plaza.
* 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
* 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.
** Sister city relationship established with Seville, Spain.
* 1968 - April: 1968 Kansas City, Missouri riot.
* 1969
** Kansas City Royals baseball team formed.,
** Kansas City Chiefs win Super Bowl IV
* 1970
** Universal Press Syndicate founded.
** Missouri State Representative Leon Jordan was assassinated.
** Population: 507,330.
* 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.
* 1973
** Worlds of Fun opens.
** Kauffman Stadium opens as Royals Stadium.
** Andrews McMeel Publishing founded.
** City of Fountains Foundation founded.
** Sister city relationship established with Morelia, Mexico.
* 1974
** Revival of the Kansas City St. Patrick's Day Parade
** First Hospital Hill Run takes place with 99 runners.
** 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.
** Sister city relationship established with Freetown, Sierra Leone.
* 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
** Fairyland Park closes after extensive damage by windstorm.
* 1978
** Coates House Hotel fire claimed 20 lives.
** Artist Christo installs "Wrapped Walk Ways" in Loose Park.
** Sister city relationship established with Tainan, Taiwan.
* 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
* 1883 - 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.
** 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.
* 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.
* 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.
* 1993
** Great Flood of 1993
** Sister city relationships established with Hannover, Germany and Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
* 1994 -
** Artist Claes Oldenburg installs Shuttlecocks at the Nelson-Atkins Museum.
** 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.
* 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).
** American Jazz Museum opens.
** Sister city relationship established with San Nicolás de los Garza, Mexico.
* 1998
** Lidia's Kansas City opened in the Freight House.
** Sister city relationship established with Ramla, Israel.
* 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.

## 21st century

* 2000
** Ewing and Muriel Kauffman Memorial Garden opened.
** Population: 441,545.
* 2001
** New Chouteau Bridge completed.
** Regional Kansas City SmartPort economic development group established.
* 2002 - First Fridays began in the Crossroads Art District
* 2003 - First Kansas City Irish Fest at Crown Center.
* 2004
** Zona Rosa urban shopping district opened.
** Sister city relationship established with Metz, France.
* 2005
** Penn Valley skatepark opens.
** Emanuel Cleaver becomes U.S. representative for Missouri's 5th congressional district.
* 2006
** Modern glass Kansas City Star Building built.
** 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.
** Christopher S. Bond Bridge opens, replacing demolished Paseo Bridge
** Population: 459,787.
* 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.
* 2012
** Google Fiber service begins.
** Kansas City Startup Village established.
* 2013
** Kansas City Sculpture Park renamed to honor Donald J. Hall, Jr.
** JJ's Restaurant on the Plaza destroyed by gas explosion; 1 fatality, 15 injured.
* 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" 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.
** 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.