Lively and youthful, Westport is a popular entertainment neighborhood in Kansas City. Enjoy cultural experiences at fairs, festivals and museums and delve into a superb culinary and nightlife scene. Westport is also one of the city’s most historically significant neighborhoods. Established as a trading outpost by the pioneering McCoy family in 1831, for many years it served as a last stop for those heading west on wagon trails. It became part of Kansas City in 1897.
At the district’s southwestern corner, look for the sign saying Old Westport alongside a replica of a prairie schooner, which is a traditional covered wagon. Walk to Pioneer Square to see the Kansas City Pioneer Square Monument. It features sculptures of Pony Express founder Alexander Majors, frontiersman Jim Bridger and John Calvin McCoy, a founding father of the city. Learn about the city’s role in the Civil War and Westward Migration at the 1885 Harris House Museum.
Discover boundless opportunities for dining, drinking, entertainment and shopping around Broadway and Westport Road. Browse for artwork, jewelry, decorative rugs, vintage clothing, vinyl records and more. Satisfy your taste buds on Chinese, Indian and Mexican fare in addition to gourmet burgers and pizzas. Find live music venues and boisterous pubs such as Kelly’s Westport Inn, located in what is thought to be the city’s oldest standing building.
Visit in September for Art Westport, when 150 local artists and craftspeople take over the streets to showcase their work. Also in September is the Lost Arts Fair celebrating blacksmithing, quilting and spinning, among other 19th-century trades. The Westport Roots Festival is a 3-day festival of bluegrass, honky-tonk and rock and roll held every May.
Relax on Mill Creek Park’s well-maintained lawns. Inspect J.C. Nichols Memorial Fountain and Seville Light Fountain, two of the fountains that give the city its City of Fountains nickname. Nearby, peruse the exhibits at Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art and Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.
Get to Westport easily by taking a public bus from Downtown Kansas City. Parking is available for free on designated streets and for a fee at more than 20 parking lots.
