For over a century, the Rock Island Bridge has stood as a steel sentinel over the Kansas (Kaw) River. It was recently redeveloped into America’s first trailhead and entertainment district over a river.

The Arabia Steamboat was a side-wheel packet built in 1853 at Brownsville, Pennsylvania, for work on the inland rivers of the American Midwest. On September 5, 1856, while ascending near Quindaro Bend by Parkville (outside today’s Kansas City), Arabia’s oak hull struck a submerged sycamore/walnut snag.

In the heart of downtown KC once stood Vaughan's Diamond, a prominent building at the convergence of Delaware and Main streets at 9th St. The location held historical significance, being the starting point of an old Indian trail and later becoming a hub of commerce and activity.

On January 11, 1932, an explosion tore through the lobby of the Midland Theatre, then known as the Loew’s Midland, marking one of the most tragic events in the building’s history.