Downtown

Kansas City played a dominant role in the westward expansion of the United States in the 19th century. Transportation has always played an important part of the city's development. It was first settled in 1838 due to its accessibility with the convergence of the Kansas and Missouri rivers. It had also been an important part of the Santa Fe and Oregon Trails. In 1865 the Missouri Pacific Railroad reached Kansas City. That was a pivotal point in the city's history quadrupaling the population in just 50 years. The railroad industry continued playing a very important part in Kansas City making it the second busiest train center in the nation which it still is today. In 1914, Union Station (center of the photo) was built. At its peak it had 670,000 passengers passing through its gates a year. When it opened, it was the second largest train station in the country.