Kansas City
Kansas City, common name for two formally separate but in practice merged American Midwestern cities, Kansas City, Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri; a total of 2.0 million population in the metropolitan area (2010).
With its good transportation connections and central location in the heart of the United States at the mouth of the Kansas River in the Missouri River, Kansas City is the center of an enormous agricultural region and a major supplier of soy, wheat and beef. At the same time, the city is an important Midwest center for banking and insurance and home to large industries that, among other things. manufactures frozen goods, clothing, automobiles, steel and pharmaceuticals. After the establishment of The Silicon Prairie Technology Association (1986) established a collaboration between private companies and public research centers, the city has also had an explosive growth of high-tech companies (biotechnology, telecommunications, etc.).
The city is rich in ethnic minorities and has a relatively large number of blacks, who in the city areas make up approximately 30% of the population. In contrast, the affluent, white middle class lives predominantly in residential suburbs and so-called business centers, where since the 1960’s attempts have been made to integrate homes and businesses. The centers are located in a ring around downtown, which after extensive renovations in the 1980’s is characterized by modern high-rise buildings with offices, hotels, restaurants and shops. Downtown also houses several reputable museums and art collections, including Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, as well as several jazz clubs trying to carry on the legacy of the city’s heyday as the “Mecca of jazz” from the 1920’s to the 1940’s. The city’s largest structure is Harry S. Truman Sports Complex, which after its completion in 1973 includes a double stadium for baseball and American football. 
Saint Louis
Saint Louis, largest city in Missouri, USA, on the Mississippi River on the border with Illinois; 319,300 residents (2010). The city, whose significance as the “Gateway to the West” is symbolized by the 191 m high steel sculpture The Gateway Arch (Eero Saarinen, 1965), is a significant traffic hub and one of the Midwest’s leading economic centers. Here are assembly plants for the car giants Chrysler, Ford and GM and the headquarters for the McDonnell Douglas aircraft plant, the Monsanto Chemicals chemical group and the Anheuser-Busch brewery (Budweiser). In addition, the city’s higher education institutions, Washington University and St. Louis College of Pharmacy, has attracted a growing number of pharmaceutical and data industries. The city’s memorable events include the 1904 Olympic Games and the Louisiana Purchase Exhibition, both in 1904.
The first skyscraper, built by L. Sullivan and D. Adler, was the Wainwright Building (1891). The Central Church of Saint Mary and Saint Louis (1962) by Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum is an imaginative bid for a modern sacred building; its design evokes associations with a pipe collar.
History
Saint Louis was laid out in 1764 by French fur traders, and after being under Spanish rule 1770-1800, the city came under the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 under the United States. It became an important hub in American expansion, from 1817 by virtue of steamship shipping on the Mississippi and from the 1850’s thanks to extensive railroad connections. The city’s name was sought to be immortalized when local businessmen in 1927 sponsored Charles Lindbergh’s aircraft The Spirit of St. Louis.
Springfield
Springfield (Missouri), a city in the state of Missouri, USA; 159,500 residents (2010). Situated on the edge of the Ozark Mountains to the south, the town is a popular excursion destination and an important agricultural center. In addition to a number of Christian colleges, the city is home to Southwest Missouri State University.
Jefferson City
Jefferson City, (after Thomas Jefferson), the capital of the state of Missouri, USA; 43,100 residents (2010). It is located on the Missouri River 170 km west of St. Louis and is known for Lincoln University, which was founded by black veterans of the American Civil War in 1866.
