Panoramic View of the West Bottoms (Large)

This large map depicts a "bird's eye" panoramic view of Kansas City's West Bottoms, namely the stockyards, packing, and wholesale houses. While being informational, the map also conveys the vitality of this district in the early history of the city emphasizing the West Bottoms as a confluence point of trade and commerce. Each street, building, and railroad track appears accounted for with minute detail and accuracy. Starting in the late 19th century, "bird's eye" was a popular point of view to render cities despite air travel not being possible. Because of this, maps drawn from above were considered a novelty and a high cartographic craft especially when one considers the imagination and devotion to detail required to create such a scene.