The River Market 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-1800s. The Kansas City Farmer’s Market has been in operation since 1857. The name River Quay (pronounced “key”) harkens back to the settlement of fur trader François Chouteau, who established a landing post in the 1820s near today’s River Market. Quay, a word of Old French origin meaning “loading platform” or “wharf,” was used to describe the natural rock ledge that served as a landing place for steamboats delivering cargo to the burgeoning towns of Westport and Independence. The Chouteau Bridge, that bears historical significance, spans across the Missouri River between Jackson County, Missouri and Clay County, Missouri. The bridge is named for Francois Chouteau who was a member of the Chouteau fur trapping family and is considered the first permanent settler in Kansas City. The use of the term “quay” was revived over a century later when developer Marion Trozzolo renovated the decaying River Market district in the 1970s. A variety of factors had led to the area’s decline during the early twentieth century, including the 1903 flood and the southward relocation of the new Union Station. Though the City Market and a few other businesses remained, the neighborhood was rather desolate by the time Trozzolo arrived in Kansas City. Eager to both rescue historic buildings and capitalize on their economic potential, he began purchasing property with the plan to create an entertainment district akin to Chicago’s Old Town. He named this new venture The River Quay. Its success came crashing down in 1977 due to a mob-related bombing that leveled two local bars. In 1983, redevelopment began once again. Building renovations as well as improvements to the miserable condition of the area’s streets, sidewalks and utilities proceeded as well. The revival of the streetcar in 2016 brought the area to a whole new level. The City Market is the largest farmers’ market in the region with an annual attendance of nearly 600,000 per year and bursting with more than 140 farmer stalls. In addition, City Market merchants offer a wide variety of fresh produce, meats, baked goods, flowers, specialty foods and other items from America, Africa, Europe, the Middle and Far East. The City Market is home to a unique collection of gift shops, authentic restaurants and a museum which houses the largest collection of pre-Civil War artifacts in the world. The River Market area also includes a riverfront park that offers a 15-mile bicycle/pedestrian path that offer art installations highlighting unique history at each site. It also includes a fitness court, sand volleyball courts as well as the Town of Kansas Pedestrian Bridge between the north end of Main Street and the original birthplace of Kansas City on the banks of the Missouri River. Visit the River Market area today!

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