{"product_id":"old-map-of-kansas-city-missouri-by-usgs-1940-missouri-river-kansas-river-westport","title":"Old Map of Kansas City, Missouri by USGS, 1940 – Missouri River, Kansas River \u0026 Westport","description":"\u003cp\u003ePublished in 1940 by the United States Geological Survey, “Kansas City” presents a finely measured portrait of one of the Midwest’s great metropolitan crossroads. At a scale of 1:31,680, the map captures Kansas City, Missouri, and its surrounding districts with the disciplined clarity for which the USGS became renowned. This was a city already shaped by railroads, stockyards, manufacturing, river commerce, and music, yet still poised before the postwar transformation that would redraw its suburbs and highways. The Missouri and Kansas rivers anchor the composition, while the gridded city spreads outward from the bluffs and bottoms. As a historical document, it fixes Kansas City at a particularly revealing moment between nineteenth-century industrial geography and twentieth-century metropolitan expansion.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe map’s topographic language is both scientific and elegant: contour lines step across the sheet in measured intervals, revealing the hills, valleys, and river terraces beneath the urban fabric. Roads appear in varying strengths, distinguishing major routes from local streets, while rail lines thread through the industrial lowlands with unmistakable prominence. The color scheme separates dense urban settlement from open ground, parkland, and undeveloped terrain, allowing the viewer to read both the built city and its natural setting at a glance. Green areas identify parks and public lands, while lighter tones mark the expanding street grid. The result is a visually rich map in which civic order, industrial infrastructure, and Midwestern topography are held in careful balance.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKansas City’s physical drama comes from its rivers, and this map gives them their due. The Missouri River curves along the northern edge of the urban core, while the Kansas River joins from the west, forming the low-lying industrial district known as the West Bottoms. These bottomlands, prone to flooding yet invaluable for rail access and commerce, contrast sharply with the higher residential and commercial districts climbing the bluffs to the south and east. The Blue River and its tributary valleys add further texture, cutting through the southeastern landscape toward Swope Park and beyond. Through contour and drainage detail, the map reveals how the city’s growth was constrained, encouraged, and continually negotiated by water and relief.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMany of Kansas City’s defining places can be traced across the map’s dense urban pattern. Union Station, a monumental gateway to the city’s rail age, sits within a web of tracks that speaks to Kansas City’s role as a national transportation hub. Westport appears as an older settlement absorbed into the expanding city, carrying memories of frontier trails and nineteenth-century commerce. Streets such as Troost Avenue, Vine Street, 39th Street, and 75th Street help orient the viewer within neighborhoods that were already socially, culturally, and economically distinct. The map quietly evokes the city’s jazz-era vitality, its manufacturing base, and the layered geography of residential districts, commercial corridors, parks, and public institutions.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSeen today, this 1940 USGS map is especially compelling for what it precedes. It records Kansas City before the full force of postwar suburbanization, interstate highway construction, and later metropolitan decentralization altered the region’s form. Areas that would become more intensively developed, including communities on the Kansas side such as Overland Park, are shown in a comparatively open or transitional state. Swope Park and other green spaces stand out as deliberate civic landscapes amid spreading neighborhoods and transportation corridors. The map is therefore more than a technical survey: it is a snapshot of urban possibility, showing a city still closely tied to rivers, railroads, street grids, and the contours of the land beneath it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eCities, towns and places on this map\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eKansas City, Missouri\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMissouri River\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eKansas River\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe West Bottoms\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUnion Station\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWestport\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVine Street\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTroost Avenue\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e39th Street\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e75th Street\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOverland Park\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBlue River\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSwope Park\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eKansas City International Airport (airport labeled area)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVarious parks and public lands\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eResidential neighborhoods and mixed-use districts\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMajor roadways and railroads, including Interstate routes\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eHistorical context \u0026amp; cartographic details\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eProduced by the US Geological Survey, this historical 1:31,680 topographical map shows Kansas City, Missouri, and the surrounding area.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDate of the map: 1940.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePublished by the US Geological Survey, a key United States agency known for accurate mapping, surveying, and topographical methods.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe map illustrates Kansas City as a significant urban area known for its cultural and economic contributions, including jazz heritage and manufacturing.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDetailed contour lines represent elevation changes across the landscape.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRoad grids are shown with varying thicknesses to distinguish routes and urban structure.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe color scheme categorizes different land uses and topographic features.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTerrain variations are shown through contour lines and shading, revealing hilly areas adjacent to river valleys.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe map captures Kansas City before significant later urban development and demographic change.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIt serves as a historical reference for understanding urban growth patterns and land use changes.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eColor differentiates urban and natural areas, with green used for parkland and undeveloped areas.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLooking for a particular place?\u003c\/strong\u003e Review the detailed images to confirm that the town, landmark or feature you have in mind appears on the map. If you are unsure, \u003ca target=\"”_blank”\" href=\"\/pages\/contact-us\"\u003eask our workshop to check before you order\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDetailed maps are especially rewarding at larger sizes, where names, boundaries and decorative features have more room to be appreciated. Use the close-up preview and size guide to choose the right scale for your wall.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 50in (125cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/contact-us\"\u003eget in touch\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe model in the listing images is holding the 16x20in (40x50cm) version of this map.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhere personalisation is available, you can add a short title or dedication, mark one meaningful place, or request one considered visual detail. \u003ca target=\"”_blank”\" href=\"\/pages\/map-personalisation\"\u003eSee personalised map examples\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eEvery piece is printed to museum-grade archival standards using fade-resistant pigment inks on acid-free matte paper. Choose an unframed map print, framed map or canvas using the finish options above. Framed maps use crystal-clear optical acrylic and arrive ready to hang.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWith its rich detail and strong sense of place, this map makes a considered gift for a new home, anniversary, retirement or anyone with a personal connection to the area shown. Still deciding? Explore our collection of \u003ca target=\"”_blank”\" href=\"\/collections\/all-old-vintage-antique-maps\"\u003erare old and vintage maps\u003c\/a\u003e to discover another place, period or style.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Unique Maps Co.","offers":[{"title":"12x16in (30x40cm) \/ Map","offer_id":58766877000064,"sku":null,"price":365.0,"currency_code":"CNY","in_stock":true},{"title":"12x16in (30x40cm) \/ Framed map","offer_id":58766877032832,"sku":null,"price":982.0,"currency_code":"CNY","in_stock":true},{"title":"12x16in (30x40cm) \/ Framed canvas map","offer_id":58766877065600,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"CNY","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Map","offer_id":58766877098368,"sku":null,"price":365.0,"currency_code":"CNY","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Framed map","offer_id":58766877131136,"sku":null,"price":982.0,"currency_code":"CNY","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Framed canvas 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