The West Bottoms was
originally referred to as the French Bottoms. It was the site
of trade between French trappers and Kansas Indians. The area
was established by the trappers as an area of commerce. The West
Bottoms became the receiving point for goods offloaded from
steamships traveling upstream on the Missouri river due in part
of the western immigration and trade with Mexico over the Santa
Fe Trail. The importance of the area increased with the advent
of the railroad. The stockyards (established in 1871) then chose
to develop there because of the livestock that came in from the
Southwest over the rails. A whole city grew around the
stockyards. The Union Depot was built on Union Avenue where
hotels, bars and restaurants flourished. Over 90 percent of the
value in Kansas City lay in the West Bottoms. A devastating
flood in 1903 ended the investment
in housing, schools and churches. However, the agricultural,
meat packing, freight and industrial investments continued to
grow. By then the rule of thumb was clearly established namely
the economic vitality of the city was determined by the economic
progress of the West Bottoms.
The stockyards flourished through the 1940s and at its peak only
the Union Stock Yards in Chicago were bigger. During World War
II Darby Steel Corporation built most of the Landing Craft Tanks
(LCTs) that were used in various amphibious invasions.
Economic hard times hit the West Bottoms with the ending of
World War II. There were over 20 thousand jobs lost when the
extensive military construction in the city suddenly ceased. The
second economic blow came in 1951 with a major flood. Packing
companies and supportive industries moved out of the area and
many closed their doors forever. The combination of these two
events was cataclysmic. There were 50,000 jobs lost in the
span of 5-6 years and the city was half the size it is now. With
the job loss people stopped shopping downtown. With the economic
downsizing the city slipped and was unable to save itself and
collapsed. Because the citys tax base crumbled it could no
longer maintain its streets, bridges or engage in meaningful
investments.
In 1974 Kansas City and the American Royal tried to reclaim the
stockyards by building Kemper Arena. The stockyards biggest
heritage is the annual 6-week American Royal agricultural show
held each October and November at Kemper Arena. Kemper Arena was
also the site of the 1976 Republican National Convention.
Along with the building of Kemper Arena there have been many
buildings constructed and several multimillion dollar companies
have set up shop in the West Bottoms area. This redevelopment
has begun to attract upscale and artistic tenants to redevelop
buildings and helping reestablish the West Bottoms area.
|