The history of Kansas City's Italian-American community starts as early as 1890, just a few decades after the birth of Kansas City. Italian immigrants first came to Kansas City because of the wealth of jobs in railroad development, according to Giovanni Schiavo.

Though Italian-Americans living in Kansas City today are predominantly of Sicilian decent, immigrants from all over Italy (and now from all over the world) inhabited the neighborhood located between 3rd Street and Independence Avenue, which was known by many names including Columbus Park, "Little Italy" and most popularly by Italians, the North End.

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Source: http://www.tazlombardo.com/