Jesse James also resided at the Pacific House hotel,[3] and Wyatt Earp enjoyed vacationing in the area and spending time in the River Market with Thomas Speers, Kansas City's first town marshal.

It was populated by those considered to be on the lowest end of the socio-economic spectrum by more upper-class Kansas Citians, including Italians, Jews, Irish, Native and Black Americans.

[6] The neighborhood was home to three of the most notorious brothels in the city, all owned by women: Madame Lovejoy, Eva Prince, and Annie Chambers (née Leannah Kearns).

[7] Between 1931 and 1939, a row of buildings was erected in the City Market as part of Pendergast's "Ten-Year Plan" to create jobs lost during the Great Depression.

[5] In 1971, Rockhurst University professor Marion A. Trozzolo began redeveloping historic buildings on the riverfront and nicknamed the area River Quay.

In contrast to its long-standing reputation for organized crime and other illicit activity, Trozzolo envisioned the revitalized River Quay as a family-friendly commercial district.

With the increase of popular shops, restaurants, and attractions, the city began a marketing campaign for shoppers, with free shuttle bus rides from downtown.

In 1972, Fred Bonadonna, son of an organized crime member connected to the operations of Nicholas Civella, was allowed to open a restaurant in the River Quay.