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Aerial Photography Kansas City MO

Aerial Photography Kansas City Missouri

Kansas City, Missouri

Kansas City is the largest city in the state of Missouri. It encompasses parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest in Missouri, which includes counties in both Missouri and Kansas. As of 2006, the city had an estimated population of 447,306, with a metro area of nearly two million. Kansas City was founded in 1838 as the Town of Kansas at the confluence of the Missouri and Kansas rivers and was incorporated in its present form in 1850. Situated opposite Kansas City, Kansas, the city was the location of several battles during the Civil War, including the Battle of Westport. The city is well known for its contributions to the musical styles of jazz and blues as well as to cuisine (Kansas City-style barbecue).

Abbreviations and Nicknames

Kansas City, Missouri, is often abbreviated as KCMO, or simply KC (both abbreviations often refer to the metro area). It is officially nicknamed the City of Fountains, with over 200 examples, the city claims to have second most in the world, just behind Rome. The city also has more boulevards than any city except Paris and has often been called Paris on the Plains. Informal nicknames include BBQ Capital of the World, and residents are known as Kansas Citians. It is sometimes referred to colloquially as the Heart of America as it is near both the geographic and population centers of the United States.

History

Kansas City, Missouri was incorporated in 1850. The territory straddling the border between Missouri and Kansas at the confluence of the Kansas and Missouri rivers was considered a good place to build settlements.

Exploration and Settlement

The first documented European visit to Kansas City was Étienne de Veniard, Sieur de Bourgmont, who was also the first European to explore the lower Missouri River. Criticized for his handling of a Native American attack of Fort Detroit, he had deserted his post as commander of the fort and was avoiding the French authorities. Bourgmont lived with a Native American wife in the Missouri village about 90 miles east near Brunswick, Missouri, and illegally traded furs.

In order to clear his name, he wrote Exact Description of Louisiana, of Its Harbors, Lands and Rivers, and Names of the Indian Tribes That Occupy It, and the Commerce and Advantages to Be Derived Therefrom for the Establishment of a Colony in 1713 followed in 1714 by The Route to Be Taken to Ascend the Missouri River. In the documents he describes the junction of the Grande Riv[iere] des Cansez and Missouri River, being the first to refer to them by those names. French cartographer Guillaume Delisle used the descriptions to make the first reasonably accurate map of the area.

The Spanish took over the region in the Treaty of Paris (1763) but were not to play a major role in the area other than taxing and licensing all traffic on the Missouri River. The French continued their fur trade on the river under Spanish license. The Chouteau family operated under the Spanish license at St. Louis in the lower Missouri Valley as early as 1765, but it would be 1821 before the Chouteaus reached Kansas City, when François Chouteau established Chouteau's Landing.

After the Louisiana Purchase, Lewis and Clark visited the confluence of the Kansas and Missouri rivers, noting it was a good place to build a fort.

In 1833 John McCoy established West Port along the Santa Fe Trail, three miles away from the river. Then in 1834, McCoy established Westport Landing on a bend in the Missouri River to serve as a landing point for West Port. Soon after, the Kansas Town Company, a group of investors, began to settle the area, taking their name from an English spelling of Cansez. In 1850 the landing area was incorporated as the Town of Kansas.

By that time, the Town of Kansas, Westport, and nearby Independence, had become critical points in America's westward expansion. Three major trails -- the Santa Fe, California, and Oregon -- all originated in Jackson County.

On February 22, 1853, the City of Kansas was created with a newly elected mayor. It had an area of 0.70 square miles and a population of 2,500. The boundary lines at that time extended from the middle of the Missouri River south to what is now Ninth Street, and from Bluff Street on the west to a point between Holmes Road and Charlotte Street on the east.

Civil War

The area was ripe with animosity as the Civil War approached. As citizens of a slave state, Missourians tended to sympathize with the southern states. With Kansas petitioning to enter the Union under the new doctrine of popular sovereignty, many from the area crossed into Kansas to sway the state towards allowing slavery, at first by ballot box and then by bloodshed.

During the Civil War, the City of Kansas was in the midst of battles, almost all of them victories by the Union. The Battle of Independence in August 1862 stunted a Confederate advance into northern Missouri (settled by pro-slavery Virginians), and the October 1864 Battle of Westport effectively ended Confederate efforts to occupy the city. However, a successful raid on nearby Lawrence, Kansas, led by William Quantrill forced General Thomas Ewing to issue General Order No. 11, forcing the eviction of residents in four counties, including Jackson, except those living in the city and nearby communities and those whose allegiance to the Union was certified by Ewing.

Post-Civil War

After the Civil War, the City of Kansas grew rapidly. The selection of the city over Leavenworth, Kansas, for the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad bridge over the Missouri River brought about significant growth. The population exploded after 1869, when the Hannibal Bridge, designed by Octave Chanute, opened. The boom prompted a name change to Kansas City in 1889 and the city limits to extend south and east. Westport became part of Kansas City on December 2, 1897.

Kansas City, guided by architect George Kessler, became a forefront example of the City Beautiful movement, developing a network of boulevards and parks around the city. The relocation of Union Station to its current location in 1914 and the opening of the Liberty Memorial in 1923 gave the city two of its most identifiable landmarks. Further spurring Kansas City's growth was the opening of the innovative Country Club Plaza development by J.C. Nichols in 1925 as part of his Country Club District plan.

Pendergast Era

At the turn of the century, political machines attempted to gain clout in the city, with the one led by Tom Pendergast emerging as the dominant machine by 1925. A new city charter passed that year made it easier for his Democratic Party machine to gain control of the city council (slimmed from 32 members to nine) and appoint a corrupt city manager. Several important buildings and structures were built during this time, to assist with the great depression-- all led by Pendergast, including the Kansas City City Hall and the Jackson County Courthouse-- both added new skyscrapers to the city's growing skyline. The machine fell in 1939 when Pendergast, riddled with health problems, pleaded guilty to tax evasion. The machine, however, gave rise to Harry S. Truman, who quickly became Kansas City's favorite son.

Post-World War II Sprawl

After World War II, the city experienced considerable sprawl, as the affluent populace left for suburbs like Johnson County, Kansas, and eastern Jackson County, Missouri. However, many also went north of the Missouri River, where Kansas City had incorporated areas between the 1940s to 1970s. The population of the urban core significantly dipped, while the city as a whole gained population.

The sprawl of the city mainly took shape after the race riots of the Civil Rights Movement in Kansas City. At this time, slums were also beginning to form in the inner city, and those who could afford to leave, left for the suburbs and outer edges of the city. The post-WWII idea of suburbs and the American Dream also contributed to the sprawl of the area. As the city continued to sprawl, the inner city also continued to decline.

In 1940, the city had about 400,000 residents; by 2000, the same area was home to only about 180,000. From 1940 to 1960, the city more than doubled its physical size, while increasing its population by only about 75,000. By 1970, the city had a total area of approximately 316 square miles, more than five times its size in 1940.

The future for sprawl in Kansas City is uncertain. Johnson County has continued to sprawl at a constant rate, and Clay County, Missouri, also has begun to sprawl once more. However recent revelations in urban planning have slowed sprawl and focused instead on the inner city, existing infrastructure and housing, as well as reviving the city's formerly blighted downtown. Uses of the New Urbanism style of planning is now also occurring in some of the most prominent suburban projects.

Notable Kansas City Residents / Natives

* Robert Altman, acclaimed film director

* Burt Bacharach, pianist and composer

* Thomas Hart Benton, American muralist of the Regionalist school

* Early screen actors Noah Beery and Wallace Beery

* Charles Ragland Bunnell, artist

* Don Cheadle, Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe Award-winning American actor

* Evan S. Connell, writer

* Chris Cooper, Academy Award-winning American film actor

* Joan Crawford, movie actress

* Walter Cronkite, broadcast journalist

* Walt Disney moved to Kansas City and established his first animation studio, Laugh-O-Gram Studio, at E 31st Street and Forest Avenue in 1923

* David Dreier, a Republican Congressman for California

* David F. Duncan, health scientist and Presidential advisor

* Tony Dungy, NFL Super Bowl winning head coach

* Eddie Griffin, comedian and actor

* Joyce Hall, American businessman, founder of Hallmark Cards

* Jean Harlow, American film actress and sex symbol of the 1930s

* Robert A. Heinlein, science fiction writer. (Many of Heinlein's stories take place in Kansas City or its analogue and in areas nearby)

* Ernest Hemingway wrote for the Kansas City Star during World War I

* Clarence M. Kelley, F.B.I. Director

* John Kander, American composer of a series of musical theatre successes as part of the songwriting team of Kander and Ebb

* Ewing Kauffman, pharmaceutical entrepreneur, philanthropist, and Major League Baseball owner of the Kansas City Royals

* Pat Metheny, jazz guitarist and composer

* Erich Matthew Muller, American radio and television personality, known by his nickname Mancow

* William Least Heat Moon, writer

* Wayne Nelson, lead singer of the classic rock's Little River Band

* Satchel Paige, baseball pitcher in the Negro League and Major League Baseball, inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame

* Charlie Parker, noted jazz musician

* Albert Pujols, Major League Baseball player

* Ginger Rogers, actress and entertainer

* Paul Rudd, film and television actor

* Columbus Short, Actor

* Craig Stevens, actor

* Virgil Thomson, American composer

* Eddie Timanus, First blind Jeopardy! contestant and sportswriter for USA Today

* Calvin Trillin, American journalist, humorist, and novelist

* Big Joe Turner, The Boss of the Blues, noted jazz, blues, and rock n' roll singer

* Aaron Yates, rap and hip-hop artist, known by his pseudonym, Tech N9ne

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 318.0 mi² (823.7 km²). 313.5 mi² (812.1 km²) of it is land and 4.5 mi² (11.6 km²) of it (1.41%) is water.

Kansas City is often imagined to be flat like Chicago, Manhattan or Dallas, but in fact it has many rolling hills. Much of urban Kansas City sits atop 100-200ft bluffs overlooking the rivers and river bottoms areas. Kansas City proper is bowl-shaped and is surrounded to the north and south by limestone and bedrock cliffs that were carved by glaciers. Kansas City is situated at the junction between the Dakota and Minnesota ice lobes during the maximum late Independence glaciation of the Pleistocene epoch. The Kansas and Missouri rivers cut wide valleys into the terrain when the glaciers melted and drained. A partially filled spillway valley crosses the central portion of Kansas City, Missouri. This valley is an eastward continuation of Turkey Creek valley. Union Station is located in this valley.

The city's municipal water was recently rated the cleanest among the 50 largest cities in the United States, containing no detectable impurities.

Climate

Kansas City lies near the geographic center of the contiguous United States, at the confluence of the second largest river in the country, the Missouri River, and the Kansas River (also known as the Kaw River). This makes for a humid continental climate (Koppen climate classification Dfa) with moderate precipitation and extremes of hot and cold. Summers can be very humid, with moist air riding up from the Gulf of Mexico, and during July and August daytime highs can reach into the triple digits. Winters vary from mild days to bitterly cold, with lows reaching into the teens below zero a few times a year. Spring and autumn are pleasant and peppered with thunderstorms.

Weather

Kansas City is situated in Tornado Alley, a broad region where cold air from the Rocky Mountains and Canada collides with warm air from the Gulf of Mexico, leading to the formation of powerful storms. Kansas City has had many severe outbreaks of tornados, including the Ruskin Heights tornado in 1957, and the May 2003 Tornado Outbreak Sequence, as well as other severe weather, most notably the Kansas City derecho in 1982. The region is also prone to ice storms, such as the 2002 ice storm during which hundreds of thousands lost power for days and (in some cases) weeks. Kansas City and its outlying areas are also subject to flooding, including the Great Flood of 1993 and the Great Flood of 1951.

Cityscape

Kansas City, Missouri, is organized into a system of more than 150 neighborhoods, some with histories as independent cities or the sites of major events.

Downtown, the center of the city, is currently undergoing major redevelopment. Near Downtown, the urban core of the city has a variety of neighborhoods, including historical Westport, the Crossroads Arts District, 18th and Vine Historic District, Pendleton Heights, Quality Hill, the West Bottoms and the River Market.

Other areas near Downtown Kansas City include:

The 39th Street District is known as Restaurant Row and features one of Kansas City's largest selections of independently owned restaurants and boutique shops. It is a center of literary and visual arts and bohemian culture.

Crown Center is the headquarters of Hallmark Cards and a major downtown shopping and entertainment complex. It is connected to Union Station by a series of covered walkways.

The Country Club Plaza, or simply The Plaza, is an upscale, outdoor shopping and entertainment district. It was the first shopping district in the United States designed to accommodate shoppers arriving by automobile, and is surrounded by apartments and condominiums, including a number of high rise buildings.

The associated Country Club District to the south includes the Sunset Hill and Brookside neighborhoods, and is traversed by Ward Parkway, a beautiful, landscaped boulevard known for its statuary, fountains and large, historic homes.

Kansas City's Union Station is now home to Science City, restaurants, shopping, theaters, and the city's Amtrak facility.

Downtown Redevelopment

Downtown Kansas City is an area of 2.9 square miles bounded by the Missouri River to the north, 31st Street to the south, Bruce R. Watkins Drive (U.S. Highway 71) to the east and I-35 to the west.

After years of neglect and seas of parking lots, Downtown Kansas City currently is undergoing a period of change. Many residential properties recently have been or currently are under redevelopment. The Power & Light District, a new, nine-block entertainment district comprising numerous restaurants, bars, and retail shops, was developed by the Cordish Company of Baltimore, Maryland, and is nearing completion in the southern part of the downtown freeway loop. Its first tenant opened on November 9, 2007, with more openings to continue throughout 2007 and 2008. Due to a new Missouri state law passed in 2005, the Power & Light District will be one of only five places in the United States where open containers of alcohol are allowed in the street.

Adjacent to the Power & Light District, a new arena, the Sprint Center, opened on October 10, 2007. The arena was designed by a consortium of local architects, and hopes to lure an NBA or NHL franchise to the city. Los Angeles-based Anschutz Entertainment Group has invested in the arena project and will run its daily operations.

Parks and parkways

Kansas City is well-known for its spacious parkways and numerous parks. The parkway system winds its way through the city with broad, landscaped medians that include statuary and fountains. One of the best examples is Ward Parkway on the west side of the city, near the Kansas state line. Originally designed for aesthetics and minor automobile/horse and buggy traffic, many parkways were drastically altered to accommodate more and more vehicles, becoming minor freeways.

Swope Park is one of the nation's largest in-city parks, comprising 1,763 acres (2.75mi²), more than twice as big as New York's Central Park. It includes a full-fledged zoo, two golf courses, a lake, an amphitheatre, day-camp area, and numerous picnic grounds.

Kansas City has always had one of the nation's best urban forestry programs. At one time, almost all residential streets were planted with a solid canopy of American elms but Dutch elm disease devastated them. Most of the elms died and were replaced with a variety of other shade trees. A program is underway currently to replace many of the fast-growing sweetgum trees with hardwood varieties.

As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there are 441,545 people, 183,981 households, and 107,444 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,408.2 people per square mile (543.7/km²). There are 202,334 housing units at an average density of 249.2 per square mile (645.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city is 60.68% White, 31.23% African American or Black, 0.48% Native American, 1.85% Asian, 0.11% Pacific Islander, 3.21% from other races, and 2.44% from two or more races. 6.93% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 183,981 households out of which 28.1% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.0% are married couples living together, 16.0% have a female householder with no husband present, and 41.6% are non-families. 34.1% of all households are made up of individuals and 9.4% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.35 and the average family size is 3.06.

In the city the population is spread out with 25.4% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 32.5% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 11.7% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 34 years. For every 100 females there are 93.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 89.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $37,198, and the median income for a family is $46,012. Males have a median income of $35,132 versus $27,548 for females. The per capita income for the city is $20,753. 14.3% of the population and 11.1% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 20.2% are under the age of 18 and 10.5% are 65 or older.

The United States Census bureau updated their American Community Survey information in 2005 for Kansas City. Their study estimated a population of about 440,885 people, the margin of error was placed at +/- 9,193 people. Growth in Kansas City is increasing, with 3,618 housing permits granted in 2004 and 2005. As of 2005, about 210,000 households exist.

Economy

Greater Kansas City is headquarters to 3 Fortune 500 companies (H&R Block, Embarq Corporation, and YRC Worldwide Inc.) and additional Fortune 1000 corporations (Interstate Bakeries Corporation, Great Plains Energy,Aquila, AMC Theatres, and DST Systems). Hallmark Cards's gross revenues certainly would qualify it for both lists, but it cannot be included because it is privately owned by the Hall family. Numerous agriculture companies operate out of the city and the Kansas City Board of Trade is the principal trading center for hard red winter wheat — the principal ingredient of bread.

The business community is serviced by two major business magazines, the Kansas City Business Journal (published weekly) and Ingram's Magazine (published monthly), as well as numerous other smaller publications, including a local society journal, the Independent (published weekly).

Kansas City is literally on the money. Bills issued by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City are marked the letter J and/or number 10. The single dollar bills have Kansas City's name on them. Missouri is the only state to have two of the 12 Federal Reserve Bank headquarters (St. Louis also has a headquarters). Kansas City's effort to get the bank was helped by former Kansas City mayor James A. Reed who as senator broke a tie to get the Federal Reserve Act passed.

Law and Government

City Government

Kansas City is home to the largest municipal government in the state of Missouri. The mayor of Kansas City is Mark Funkhouser, elected on March 27, 2007. The city has a city manager form of government, however the role of city manager has diminished over the years following excesses during the days of Tom Pendergast. The mayor is the head of the Kansas City City Council, which has 12 members (one member for each district, plus one at large member per district), and the mayor himself is the presiding member. Kansas City holds city elections on odd numbered years (every four years unless there is a special reason). The last major city-wide election was May 2007, meaning the next one will be in May 2011.

From the late 19th Century to the mid 20th Century, Kansas City's municipal government was controlled by often corrupt political machines. Tom Pendergast was the most infamous leader of the party machine. The most nationally prominent Democrat associated with Pendergast's machine was Harry S. Truman, who became a Senator, Vice President of the United States and then President of the United States from 1945-1953.

Courts

Kansas City is the seat of the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri, one of two federal district courts in Missouri (the other, the Eastern District, is in St. Louis). It also is the seat of the Western District of the Missouri Court of Appeals, one of three districts of that court (the Eastern District is in St. Louis and the Southern District is in Springfield).

Hosted National Political Conventions

Kansas City has hosted the 1900 Democratic National Convention, the 1928 Republican National Convention, which nominated Herbert Hoover from Iowa for President, and the memorable 1976 Republican National Convention, which nominated Kansas U.S. Senator Bob Dole for Vice President.

Kansas City consistently votes Democratic in Presidential elections, however on the state and local level Republicans often find some modest success, especially in the Northland and other parts of Kansas City that are predominately suburban.

Congressional Representation

Kansas City is represented by two members of the United States House of Representatives:

* Missouri's 5th congressional district – all of Kansas City proper in Jackson County plus Independence and portions of Cass County. Currently represented by Emanuel Cleaver (Democrat)

* Missouri's 6th congressional district – all of Kansas City proper north of the Missouri River and plus suburbs in eastern Jackson County beyond Independence and a vast stretch of suburbs and rural areas extending all the way to the Iowa border and more than 100 miles. Currently represented by Sam Graves (Republican)

Crime

History

Some of the earliest violence in Kansas City erupted during the American Civil War. Shortly after the city's incorporation in 1850, the period which has become known as Bleeding Kansas erupted, affecting border ruffians and Jayhawkers, who both lived in the city. During the war, Union troops burned all occupied dwellings in Jackson County south of Brush Creek and east of Blue Creek to Independence in an attempt to halt raids into Kansas.

After the war, the Kansas City Times turned outlaw Jesse James into a folk hero in its coverage. James was born in the Kansas City metro area at Kearney, Missouri, and notoriously robbed the Kansas City Fairgrounds at 12th Street and Campbell Avenue.

In the early 20th Century under Democratic political Boss Tom Pendergast, Kansas City became the country's most wide open town, with virtually no enforcement of prohibition. While this would give rise to Kansas City Jazz, it also led to the rise of the Kansas City mob (initially under Johnny Lazia), as well as the arrival of organized crime. The 1930s saw the Kansas City Massacre at Union Station, as well as a shootout between police and outlaws Bonnie and Clyde at the Red Crown Tavern near what is now Kansas City International Airport.

In the 1970s, the Kansas City mob was involved in a gangland war over control of the River Quay entertainment district, in which three buildings were bombed and several gangsters were killed. Police investigations into the mob took hold after boss Nick Civella was recorded discussing gambling bets on Super Bowl IV (where the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Minnesota Vikings). The war and investigation would lead to the end of mob control of the Stardust Casino, which was the basis for the film Casino (although the Kansas City connections are minimized in the movie).

Today

As of October 30, 2006, Kansas City ranks 21st on the Federal Bureau of Investigation's annual survey of crime rates for cities with populations over 400,000.

Kansas City ranked sixth in the rate of murders in that same study. The entire Kansas City metropolitan area has the fourth worst violent crime rate among cities with more than 100,000, with a rate of 614.7 violent crimes per 100,000 residents. On the other hand, many of the surrounding cities in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area reflect the opposite in crime statistics.

Much of the city's murders and violent crimes occur in the city's inner core. The violent crime rates in the core consistently have driven the city and metropolitan area down on livability indices, hindering initiatives in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s to revive downtown Kansas City. In the 2000s, however, attempts at revitalizing the downtown area have been more successful. Downtown currently has one of the lowest crime rates in the urban core, and thousands of new residents have moved there. Other parts of the urban core with higher poverty levels remain places in which crime remains largely unabated.

The American Royal in Kansas City, Missouri is a livestock show, horse show and rodeo held each year in October and November at the Kemper Arena complex. The Future Farmers of America was founded during the Royal and Kansas City's professional baseball team the Kansas City Royals derive their name from the Royal.

The American Royal

History

The American Royal began as a cattle show in 1899 in the Kansas City Stockyards. The name American Royal was inspired by a 1901 editorial in beef industry publication Kansas City Drovers Telegram entitled Call It The American Royal. The editorial noted the Royal Agricultural Society in England has a similar event called the Royal Show.

The first American Royal horse show was added in 1907, and has grown to include five shows (Quarter Horse, Hunter-Jumper Horse, Arabian Horses, American Saddlebred and a 4-H show).

In 1926, the American Royal invited vocational agriculture students to judge livestock. During the 1928 American Royal, 33 of the students meeting at the Baltimore Hotel in downtown Kansas City formed the Future Farmers of America. The group proceeded to hold a convention every year during the Royal in Kansas City until 1998.

The original home of the American Royal was destroyed by fire on Valentines Day in 1925. The structure was rebuilt in time for the event that year and served as the center for events until the American Royal complex was built across from Kemper Arena in 1992. During World War II, the Royal complex was converted into a glider factory

Events

The American Royal is an annual eight-week season of barbecue competition, rodeos, livestock shows, equestrian events and agricultural activities benefiting youth and education.

The barbecue contest is divided into several categories: brisket, pork ribs, pork shoulder, chicken, sausage, side dishes and dessert.

The American Royal, one of Kansas City’s premier fall events with annual economic impact of more than $62 million, hosts the world’s largest barbecue contest, one of the Midwest’s largest livestock exhibitions, one of the top five ranked rodeos in the nation and is home of the national championship horse competition.

Organization

The American Royal is a not-for-profit, community volunteer-based service organization which raises funds to fulfill its vision & mission through endowments contributions, sponsorships and event revenues.

In 2005, the organization contributed more than $1.3 million in financial support in the form of scholarships, educational awards, educational programs, community donations, competitive awards and prize monies and premiums.

The American Royal Zephyr

The American Royal Zephyr was a streamlined passenger train service operated by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad between Chicago and Kansas City. This CB&Q Zephyr was named for The American Royal, one of Kansas City’s premier fall events, one of the Midwest’s largest and oldest livestock exhibitions and professional rodeos, prestigious horse shows and is home of the National Championship Saddlebred horse competition.

While a few less successful streamliners were discontinued prior to 1956, most of these trains were discontinued between 1956 and 1971. The formation of Amtrak in 1971, allowed many of the remaining trains to be discontinued, while retaining those trains with most promise. And now, Amtrak actually carries more passengers with fewer trains, than were carried by the individual railroads prior to 1971.

The American Royal Zephyr (CB&Q No. 56 northeast bound to Chicago and CB&Q No. 55 southwest bound for Kansas City) was discontinued in 1971. Amtrak selected the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway's former Super Chief route (which crosses the Mississippi River at Fort Madison, Iowa) in 1971 for service between Chicago and Kansas City on its Southwest Chief.

The state of Illinois intervened in 1971 at the request of residents of western Illinois, Quincy University, and Western Illinois University. It was a rare time in Illinois politics where Republicans, southern Illinois Democrats and Chicago Democrats united to resolve the loss of transportation in the state. This united initiative in 1971 became part of the Amtrak Illinois Service and is partially funded by the Illinois Department of Transportation. The state of Missouri's Missouri Service never funded an extension of this Amtrak service to either St. Louis or Kansas City from Quincy, Illinois. Instead, they only funded one Amtrak route the Ann Rutledge that travels daily between Kansas City. MO and Chicago, IL - via St. Louis, MO. and Springfield, IL.

Today, the Illinois Zephyr is a 258-mile (415 km) passenger train operated by Amtrak that runs between Chicago and Quincy, Illinois. This Amtrak route is a descendant of the Illinois section of the Kansas City Zephyr and American Royal Zephyr passenger trains operated by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad through Macomb and Quincy until 1968 and 1971. The name Zephyr is preserved in the current name of the line. Today the Illinois Zephyr enjoys strong support from the communities it passes through. They all promote the train line as a means of getting to Chicago, and train tickets are frequently sold out. As such, the route is part of the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative, which calls for an upgrade of service from the current 1 daily round trip to 4 or more daily round trips. The average travel time from Chicago to Quincy via the Illinois Zephyr is 4 hours, 30 minutes.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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