Kansas City, Missouri

==Parks and boulevards==
[[File:Penn Valley Park.jpg|thumb|View of downtown from [[Penn Valley Park]]]]
[[File:Loose Park Rose Garden.jpg|thumb|The rose garden in [[Loose Park]] is Kansas City's third-largest public park.]]
[[File:JC Nichols Fountain by Henri-Léon Gréber Kansas City.jpg|thumb|''J.C. Nichols Memorial Fountain'', by [[Henri-Léon Gréber]], is in Mill Creek Park, adjacent to Country Club Plaza.]]
Kansas City has {{convert|132|mi|km}} of boulevards and parkways, 214 urban parks, 49 ornamental fountains, 152 baseball diamonds, 10 community centers, 105 tennis courts, 5 golf courses, 5 museums and attractions, 30 pools, and 47 park shelters.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kcmo.org/parks/2008referencebook.pdf |title=Parks & Recreation, 2008 Reference Book |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325133930/http://www.kcmo.org/parks/2008referencebook.pdf |archive-date=March 25, 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kcmo.org/parks.nsf/web/Aboutus |title=Parks & Recreation, About Parks & Recreation |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121164325/http://www.kcmo.org/parks.nsf/web/Aboutus |archive-date=November 21, 2008 }}</ref> These amenities are found across the city. Much of the system, designed by [[George E. Kessler]], was constructed from 1893 to 1915.

Cliff Drive, in Kessler Park on the North Bluffs, is a designated State Scenic Byway. It extends {{convert|4.27|mi|km}} from The Paseo and Independence Avenue through Indian Mound on Gladstone Boulevard at Belmont Boulevard, with many historical points and architectural landmarks.

[[Ward Parkway]], on the west side of the city near [[State Line Road]], is lined by many of the city's largest and most elaborate homes.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://kcparks.org/places/ward-parkway/|title=Ward Parkway – KC Parks & Rec|website=Kansas City Parks & Recreation|access-date=August 5, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kshb.com/lifestyle/taste-see-kc-the-history-behind-ward-parkway|title=Taste & See KC: The history behind Ward Parkway|last=Perry|first=Zack|date=January 16, 2017|website=kshb.com|access-date=August 5, 2023}}</ref>

[[The Paseo (Kansas City, Missouri)|The Paseo]] is a major north–south parkway that runs {{convert|19|mi|km}} through the center of the city beginning at Cliff Drive. It was modeled on the ''[[Paseo de la Reforma]]'', a fashionable [[Mexico City]] boulevard. It has been recently renamed [[Martin Luther King Jr. Drive (St. Louis)|Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard]] and now the city has voted to change it back to the Paseo.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://fox4kc.com/news/city-leaders-prepare-to-restore-paseo-street-signs-in-response-to-vote-against-mlk-name/|title=City leaders prepare to restore Paseo street signs in response to vote against MLK name|date=November 7, 2019|access-date=April 19, 2020|archive-date=May 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210505095104/https://fox4kc.com/news/city-leaders-prepare-to-restore-paseo-street-signs-in-response-to-vote-against-mlk-name/|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Swope Park]] is one of the nation's largest city parks, comprising {{convert|1805|acre|sqmi|0|abbr=on}}, more than twice the size of New York City's [[Central Park]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kcmo.org/timeline.nsf/web/18960000?opendocument |title=TimeLine 150 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081120124113/http://www.kcmo.org/timeline.nsf/web/18960000?opendocument |archive-date=November 20, 2008 }}</ref> It features a [[Kansas City Zoo|zoo]], a woodland nature and wildlife rescue center, 2 golf courses, 2 lakes, an [[amphitheatre]], a day-camp, and numerous picnic grounds. Hodge Park, in the Northland, covers {{convert|1029|acres|0|abbr=on}} (1.61 sq. mi.). This park includes the {{convert|80|acre|m2|adj=on}} Shoal Creek Living History Museum, a village of more than 20 historical buildings dating from 1807 to 1885. [[Berkley Riverfront Park]], {{convert|955|acre|km2}} on the banks of the [[Missouri River]] on the north edge of downtown, holds annual [[Independence Day (United States)|Independence Day]] celebrations and other festivals.

A program went underway to replace many of the fast-growing [[American Sweetgum|sweetgum]] trees with [[hardwood]] varieties.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kcmo.org/planning/pdf/focus/NA_reports/triblen.pdf |title=Tri-Blenheim Neighbors United |date= April 29, 2000 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325133936/http://www.kcmo.org/planning/pdf/focus/NA_reports/triblen.pdf |archive-date=March 25, 2009 }}</ref>

===Civil Engineering Landmark===
In 1974, the Kansas City Park and Boulevard System was recognized by the [[American Society of Civil Engineers]] (ASCE) as a [[National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark]].<ref>"Nomination of Park and Boulevard System, Kansas City, Missouri for Designation as National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark." American Society of Civil Engineers. Kansas City Section. 1974.</ref> The nomination noted that this park system was among "...the first to integrate the aesthetics of landscape architecture with the practicality of city planning, stimulating other metropolitan areas to undertake similar projects."<ref name="ASCE">{{cite web |title=Kansas City Park and Boulevard System |url=https://www.asce.org/about-civil-engineering/history-and-heritage/historic-landmarks/kansas-city-park-and-boulevard-system |website=American Society of Civil Engineers |access-date=January 26, 2022 |archive-date=May 5, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210505095100/https://www.asce.org/project/kansas-city-park-and-boulevard-system/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The park's plan developed by landscape architect [[George Kessler#Kansas City|George Kessler]] included some of the "...first specifications for pavements, gutters, curbs, and walks. Other engineering advances included retaining walls, earth dams, subsurface drains, and an impoundment lake – all part of Kansas City's legacy that has influenced urban planning in cities throughout North America."<ref name="ASCE"/>