Kansas City is doing a good job of reinvigorating its downtown , and wandering past the restored lofts and small businesses of the Garment District , between Sixth and Ninth streets, makes a nice walk to City Hall, 414 E 12th St, a fine Art Deco building with an observation deck on its thirtieth floor (Mon-Fri 8.30am-4.15pm; free). Also downtown is the redeveloped historic district known variously as River Market or City Market, on the banks of the Missouri. As well as colorful shops, cafés and a lively farmers' market at Fifth and Walnut streets, there's a good museum in the complex - The Treasure of the Steamboat Arabia - which tells the story behind the 1988 salvaging of a side-wheeler that sank on its way to Council Bluffs in 1856. Perfectly preserved artifacts - china, guns, gold and Kentucky bourbon to name a few - afford unexpected and intriguing insights into frontier life (Mon-Sat 10am-6pm, Sun noon-5pm; $7.50).
The sprawling concrete Crown Center , on Grand Avenue and Pershing Road, owned by Hallmark Cards, calls itself "a city within a city," and houses apartments, shops, restaurants, offices, hotels, cinemas and an ice rink. Interesting displays in its splendidly awful Hallmark Visitors Center (Mon-Wed & Sat 10am-6pm, Thurs-Fri 10am-9pm, Sun noon-5pm; free) trace styles of greetings cards alongside political and cultural changes; designs from the 1940s, for example, featured stars and stripes, and Uncle Sam. There are also demonstrations of dying and engraving techniques. The nearby Union Station is a Kansas City landmark: huge, beautifully renovated and home to Science City (daily 10am-6pm; $12.50), an incredible arena of futuristic games, movies and exhibits
