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Through diligent lobbying and fancy dealing, congressional approval was secured for a bridge over a turbulent, unpredictable and never before bridged Missouri River. In 1869, the Hannibal Bridge opened, and within three years, Kansas City became the transportation hub connecting the established eastern United States with the promise of a western destiny.
Rough hewn Kansas City clung precariously to the bluffs of the Missouri River in the years after 1869. The steep hills that rose abruptly from the river banks were covered with ramshackle houses, dead trees, saloons, and plenty of mud. New arrivals coming by rail were treated to a hair-raising ride on a rickety trolley that traveled up a steep incline on elevated tracks from the river bottoms to the bluff and Main Street. From the river landing, the cart trail up the bluffs into town was almost as scary. Despite these drawbacks, new residents were drawn to the city by the thousands, some intending to stay, others planning to go on but changing their minds when they assessed the rigors of traveling farther west as opposed to the opportunities the bustling little community offered. From 4,000 residents in 1865, Kansas City grew to 32,000 in 1870 and close to 60,000 by 1880, making it one of the largest cities west of the Mississippi River.
It was, however, a city out of control, unsightly and disorderly, with homes, stores, factories, breweries, even packing houses jammed into the few square miles between the Missouri River on the north, the Kansas River bottoms to the west, Thirty Second Street on the south, and Cleveland Avenue to the east. Sidewalks were boards; unpaved streets kept the city muddy or dusty depending on the weather; and there were no parks or neighborhoods.
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