First, purchase a good book style map. The national map companies produce book style maps that can be purchased at Wal-Mart, Home Depot and many grocery and book stores. Local real estate agents and delivery drivers use a book map produced by a local company in the crossroads district but it is hard to find. The one inside the Feist directory is good and can often be obtained locally for free but the directory itself may be too bulky to carry.

Businesses that deliver, e.g. pizza, usually know the city well and have large maps on their walls.

Street Numbers

Addresses on east-west streets are numbered from Main Street in Kansas City, and on north-south streets from St. John Avenue (or the Missouri River, in the River Market area). The direction 'South' in street and address numbers is generally implied if 'N' is not specified, except for numbered 'avenues' in North Kansas City. In most of Wyandotte County, Kansas the north-south streets are numbered and the address numbers are measured from Riverview Avenue.

Navigation Landmarks

 • The KCTV pyramid shaped tower can be seen from many parts of the city and is well lit at night. It is next to KCPT studios at the corner of 31st and Main.
 • The twin red brick towers of American Century Investments are oriented north and south along Main at 45th street. They are just north of the Country Club Plaza. The Kemper Museum is slightly east. The Nelson Atkins is east and slightly south.
 • Kansas City Community Christian Church at 4601 Main has a group of lights that shoot a beam straight up at night. It is slightly south of and across the street from the America Century Investment Towers. The Nelson Atkins is to the east and the Kemper Museum is to the north and slightly east.
 • Bartle Hall has a section that looks somewhat like a north-south suspension bridge crossing over I-670 at the southwest corner of the downtown loop. It has four towers with metal sculptures on top of each tower.

Places and notes

 • Waldo refers to the Waldo Residential District in Kansas City, Missouri near 75th St. and Wornall Rd.
 • The Country Club Plaza (called "the Plaza" by locals) is an upscale shopping district built by the J.C. Nichols Co. in the 1920s.
 • 39th St. usually refers to the small section of West 39th St. between State Line Road and Southwest Trafficway. It has many restaurants, bars and shops, and is just across the state line from the University of Kansas Medical Center.
 • University of Kansas Hospital (KUMED) is the corporate name of the hospital on the KU Medical Center campus.
 • Benton Curve, a site of many accidents, is a curve on Interstate 70' where it crosses Benton Ave.
 • Grandview Triangle' is the intersection of three major highways: Interstate 435, Interstate 470, and U.S. Highway 71 (Bruce R. Watkins Drive). Notorious for fatal accidents, as of February 2005, improvements and upgrades on the Triangle have mostly been completed
 • Emanuel Cleaver II Blvd., named for former mayor and current Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, comprises recently renamed portions of 47th St. and Brush Creek Blvd.
 • 18th and Vine Historic District is the Historic District that contains the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and the American Jazz Museum.
 • The Library District is a recently defined district around the new Central Library at 14 West 10th Street
 • Strawberry Hill is a historical area in Kansas City, Kansas.
 • Hospital Hill is the area near 23rd and Holmes.
 • Argentine is a part of Kansas City, Kansas near 30th and Argentine.
 • The Crossroads Arts District is a Downtown neighborhood between the Central Business District and Union Station, centered around the intersection of 19th St. and Baltimore. It contains dozens of art galleries and is considered by many to be the center of the arts culture in the metropolitan area. Local artists sponsor exhibits there on the first Friday of each month.
 • Quality Hill is an upscale residential and commercial neighborhood on top of a hill in Downtown Kansas City, across the river from the Kansas City Downtown Airport/Charles B. Wheeler Airport.
 • Washington-Wheatley is a historically African American /Black neighborhood southeast of the 18th and Vine District.

Bus Service

The Metro- The Metro bus is feasible within the urban core, where most of the tourist destinations are located. The MAX (Metro Area eXpress) and #57 buses connect Downtown, Crown Center, Westport, the Plaza, Brookside, and Waldo. There are other lines that can drop you fairly close to your door in KCMO as well as limited stops in outlying suburbs such as Kansas City, KS, Independence, Blue Springs, Lee's Summit, the Northland, etc. There is pretty good service to the Casinos. Standard fare is $1.00/trip with transfers available from the bus driver that expire two hours after issue. Some lengthy and express routes may cost more. You may purchase a One Day Pass on the bus. The Day Pass is good for local service only. It is issued at the farebox and expires at midnight. Upon boarding, request a Day Pass before depositing the $3 exact change into the farebox. Most major routes use buses that are equipped with bike racks.

The JO - If you are needing bus service in Johnson County, KS (Overland Park, Mission, Fairway, Leawood, Olathe, Lenexa, Westwood, Merriam, Shawnee) you can access "The JO" bus service. It also has lines that run from downtown KCMO to Johnson County and vice versa. The stops are limited and far apart. Service on "The JO" is limited mostly to morning rush hour, mid-day, and evening rush hour. Fares are $1.25 for trips that begin and end in Johnson County, $1.75 for trips that go start or end in Downtown KCMO. Transfers are available. Most buses are equipped with bike racks.