Explore the latest innovations, expansions and coming attractions.
By Randy Mason and Abby White
From its earliest days, Kansas City has been a crossroads — a place where journeys began, routes intersected and travelers chose to say.
Today, the metro’s future is shaped by the same forces that built its legacy: connection, innovation and bold ideas that drive us forward.
ATLAS9
Part immersive art, part cinematic adventure, Atlas9 is a choose-your-own-path experience unlike anything in the region. Think museum, movie and performance — all in one. Designed by local firm Dimensional Innovations and evocative of esoteric projects like Meow Wolf, Atlas9 is now open in Kansas City, Kansas.
THE RABBIT HOLE
Step inside your favorite storybook — literally. Recognized as one of TIME Magazine’s World’s Greatest Places 2024, The Rabbit hOle in North Kansas City is a radically immersive museum where beloved characters and scenes from over a century of children’s literature come to life.
SW19
SW19 at the Stadium is Kansas City’s new pickleball hot spot. This former hotel and water park offers a vibrant indoor venue with high-tech courts, local eats and is the proud home of the pro pickleball team: the Kansas City Stingers. The building has plans to convert the unused hotel space into 275 mixed-income apartments and enough hotel rooms to accommodate pickleball tournament guests.
KC STREETCAR MAIN STREET EXTENSION
The KC Streetcar added 3.5 miles to its route, extending the existing downtown loop all the way to UMKC. That means 16 new stops and a smooth ride through Midtown, Westport, the Plaza, the Art Museum District and more. This always-free ride is the easiest (and coolest) way to explore the heart of the city.
BERKLEY RIVERFRONT
The confluence of two major rivers kick-started Kansas City. Today, the Berkley Riverfront developments remind us of the metro’s beginnings. New apartments, shops and restaurants are all bringing folks back to the banks of the Missouri.
PENNWAY POINT
Yet another link to the city’s industrial past, Pennway Point is a growing place that reconfigures warehouse space as an “urban playground.” Featuring miniature golf and a giant Ferris wheel that provides a bird’s eye view of the downtown skyline, the entertainment district will soon add restaurants, live music stages and a neon sign alley.
ROY BLUNT LUMINARY PARK
Want to enjoy the great outdoors? Soon you will be able to — right in downtown KC. Plans are underway to “cap” the south downtown freeway loop, creating a public green space suitable for all kinds of gatherings and events.
AMELIA EARHART HANGAR MUSEUM
Air travel is a big part of KC’s legacy, and no aviator fuels our imagination like Amelia Earhart. Her hometown of Atchison, Kansas, highlights her many achievements (and the mystery of her disappearance) in this interactive museum.
BLACK MOVIE HALL OF FAME
The historic 18th & Vine neighborhood boasts a reborn addition. The Boone Theater harkens back to the area’s heyday as an entertainment mecca. It’s also home base for the Black Movie Hall of Fame, which inducted its first class in 2022.
NEGRO LEAGUES BASEBALL MUSEUM
Before Jackie Robinson broke baseball’s color barrier, the Negro Leagues gave Black ballplayers a place to showcase their skills. The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in the 18th & Vine district is building a new space to tell even more stories about these amazing athletes and their achievements.
SOBELA OCEAN AQUARIUM
OK, one thing KC has never had is an ocean. But the newest addition to the Kansas City Zoo is the next best thing, featuring a diverse, exciting mix of otters, turtles, sharks and other sea-faring creatures in a beautiful 650,000-gallon exhibit.
HISTORIC WEST BOTTOMS REDEVELOPMENT
KC history is truly alive in the historic West Bottoms neighborhood, where the Kansas and Missouri rivers meet. An ambitious new undertaking reimagines the former hub for trading, stockyards and industry into a live-work-play-stay community with new residential units, innovative restaurants and local goods everywhere the eye can see.