b'O Kansas City - The Heart of America T ravelers to this entertain Santa Fe Trails. In the mid-1800s, ing metropolis insettlers, missionaries and traders America\'s heartland discover abegantheiroverlandjourneys jazzy cityb mmingwithsur from several local points. Tri oday, prises; awith afuturethe city\'s colorful past is highcitygreat forged by a rich historical past.lighted by aninteresting mix of Kansas City is one of the n \'smuseums specializing in subjects ationfinest treasures.Part of Kansassuch as Jesse James, Harry S. City\'s charmlies initsbeauty,T theOregon Trailand ruman, which includes an impressive net Hallmarkexpanded convention center, H.ton to make their own colorful gift Cards. workofboulevards, parksandFor many generations,landRoe B le Hall. Theulptures,bow,watch excerptsfrom the theart scexquisite fountains.arou Kansas City was shared by"Sky Stations/PylonCaps," arecompan "H llmarkHallof ndy\'saKansasCity is known astheseveral Indian tribes,includinglighted at night and can be seenFame"television p tio , resenta ns or "HeartofAmerica,"centrallythe Osag Kansa and Wyandotte.formiles. The sculptures\'step througha keyholeintoa e,several located within 250 miles of b Inelytrappers a artreflects the adjacentroomfilledwithgiantpencils, othth ear 1800s,nddeco style thegeographic andpopulationtradersbegandevelopingthe1 -era buildingsbrushes,paint tu andjars. 930s bes centers of the nation. The maxi Town of Kansas (later known asThe K City area offers aOtherCrownCenter activities ansas mum distance fromCity toKansasty) on thediverse selection of shopping andinclude the American Heartland KansasCi southern bank anywhere in the continental Unitedof theR r, adentertainment areas.ted aTheatre, theCoterie Theatre, a Missouriive shortis Loca few Statesisapproximately1,900tance from where it joins with theblocks south of downtown, Crownchildren\'s liveeperformance thmiles, or h the distance fromKansas River.Center, a privately-financed pro ater, ice skating in the winter and alf coasttocoast.AndonceyouAyears later, thousands ofject of Hallmark Cards, Inc., sur outdoorentertainmentinthe few arrive inKansasCity, there arepioneers would disembark fromroundstheinternationalh summer.complex features 20 ead The nearly19,000 hotela motelriverboats at this point to beginquartersof theworld\'s larg restaurants. ndest verlandard rooms throughout the area thattheir o journey, passinggreetingc company.ThisEighteenblockssouthof provide arange of accom first through amark ,enclosed shopping and eCrown Center is h Westwidelivelyet area ntertain istoric modations to suit any taste andknown today as the City Market.ment center offers m an 80port, once an outfitting post for _ ore thbudget.Farmers andvendors still offerwagons heading West.Today, Thoughfamousforsizzlinghome-grown, as well as exotic,Westportsportsa numberof steaks a mouth-watering barbe produce, h bsandflowersinuniqueshops,artgalleriender s, cue, the city also offers an incred Missouri\'s la t open-air farm restaurants and popular " ing rges waterible variety of cuisine. Visitors areersmarket.Uniquegiftandholes."A numberofh ic istordelightedbytheabundanceofantique shops,popular restau markerslight the area\'s hishighexcellent restaurants of every eth rants, aclub and the Ara tory,its\' rolethe sitethe comedyandasof nic origin. And with80 bar bia Steamboat Museum a alsolastCivil War battle west of overremajor becue restaurants to its credit, thehoused ins area.theMississippiRiver.Pioneer thicity is the nation\'s barbecue head P k,at theof Westport ar corner quarters!From great dining to\'What You\'ll Find TodayRoad a B features an .ndroadway, one-of-a-kind shopping;muse DowntownK City is ain-groundmapofthe U d ansasniteums to amusementparks;per combinationold andT shops and restaurants, live the States during the time ofnew.heof westforming arts toCityskyline o ers aing blend ofatres, cinemas and twotels towardexpansioncompletew h sports-J.ansasff strik ho ithas it all!Art D buildings and modern5 million visitors each year. T pioneer andexplorerroutes.A ecohe theCenskyscrapers. In 1994,down Hallmark Visitorster tells thestatue of Westport\'s earliest conA.townskylineunderwent a dra story of the greeting card gianttributorsis alsolocatedin the Little History Kansas City played arolematic transition when four mas through 14 exhibits. Guests canpark. major lt.the nation\'s history as ae sivesteelsculptureswerevisit with aoperator Awsouth of Westport ingat pressdemon fe blocks ~ way for pioneersheading Westinstalled on their perches so strating the process used in greet is themoustry Club Plaza, mefa Coun\'along the Oregon, California and200 feet above the city\'s newly- ingproduction,a-cardpushbutntinued40 Co on page \'35'