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The West Bottoms (official name Central Industrial District) is an industrial area immediately to the west of downtown Kansas City, Missouri at the confluence of the Missouri River and Kansas River. The area is one of the oldest areas of the city.
The first Union Station (Kansas City) was located here. It was home to the Kansas City Live Stock Exchange and Kansas City Stockyards (now defunct) prompting the huge annual American Royal livestock show at Kemper Arena, site of the 1976 Republican National Convention.
The low-lying area has been prone to floods including the Great Flood of 1951 and the Great Flood of 1993.
Jim Pendergast founded the political machine here that was furthered by Tom Pendergast that ultimately resulted in the election of Harry S. Truman as President. Jim started operations at the "Climax" Saloon on St. Louis Avenue named for a winning race horse he had bet on.
During World War II Darby Steel Corporation built most of the Landing craft tanks (LCTs) that were used in various amphibious invasions. The plant built one craft a day and floated them more than 1,000 miles down the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers to New Orleans, Louisiana prompting their "Prairie Ships" nickname. Darby's plant at the mouth of Kansas River could hold eight 135í LCTs and 16 LCMs in various stages of construction.
Since the development of downtown Kansas City Mo in 2007, The West bottom has quickly started to redevelop, Since 2007 several new buildings have been built and several multi million dollar companies have set up shop in this area. . This redevelopment has begun to attract upscale and artistic tenants to redeveloped buildings such as The Hickory Building which sits at the corner of 13th And Hickory.
External links
Map of Jim Pendergast Climax Saloon[1]
- West Bottoms is at coordinates Coordinates:
- Livestock Exchange Building Commercial Website
