Description

The River Market is a riverfront neighborhood in Kansas City, Missouri that comprises the first and oldest incorporated district in Kansas City.BackgroundRiver Market 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. The area encompasses the location in which Kansas City was first founded. The market name comes from its large open air farmers' market, the southern section of which was the public square in the mid 19th century.It derives its "Westport Landing" name because it was the dock on the Missouri River for the exchange of goods going to the community of Westport three miles to the south on higher ground that was operated by John Calvin McCoy. McCoy was to lead a group of settlers to create the "Town of Kansas" in the neighborhood in 1850 which in turn became the "City of Kansas" in 1853.The Quay name was applied to the neighborhood in the 1970s by developer Marion A. Trozzolo to capitalize on the neighborhood's early French connections as a fur trading post operated by François Chouteau of the powerful Chouteau clan starting in 1821. Trozzolo's vision was to make this neighborhood a destination for restaurants and bohemian shops.