City Market's steamboat museum closure has been a long time coming
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This wheel stops turning in less than two months. Photo: Travis Meier/Axios
The Arabia Steamboat Museum's 35-year tenure in the City Market is coming to an end in November, a change that's been years in the making.
Why it matters: The city's busiest and most historic farmers market has been eyeing building onto its eastern edge, including a potential hotel, though no decision has been made.
The big picture: Museum owners have long acknowledged the City Market space is an imperfect fit, with a too-small space and issues with parking and noise from outdoor concerts.
- City Market officials also tell Axios the shopping and restaurant district has substantially changed in the past three decades, and they have a duty to meet the need.
What they're saying: "The city simply can't provide the scale of expansion the museum has said it needs at this location," Justin Cottrell, principal of KC Commercial Realty Group and City Market Oversight Committee member, tells Axios.
- He says the committee ultimately made the decision, and the city "continues planning responsibly for the future of the property," though no single use has been determined.
Flashback: Explorer and museum owner David Hawley started talking about expansion after finding another sunken steamboat, the Malta, in 2016.
- The City Market Oversight Committee started gathering ideas for repurposing the space in 2023, three years before the end of the museum's original lease.
- The committee in 2024 issued a call for developers interested in developing the space into a hotel and underground parking.
- The museum broke the news last November that 2026 would be its last year.
State of play: Hawley is still looking for a new museum space, ideally along the Missouri River, FOX4 reports.
- "Nobody here at the Arabia is upset with the city," Hawley told KSHB last year.
- Museum owners were not available to answer our questions.
What's next: The lease ends Nov. 13. The museum's last day is subject to change, its office manager says.