Kansas City is a fifteen-county metropolitan area, anchored by Kansas City, Missouri, that spans the border between the U.S. states of Missouri and Kansas. Midtown is contained entirely within Kansas City, Missouri, and is largely considered to be the core of the metropolitan area, as it contains numerous cultural attractions, shopping and entertainment areas, large hospitals, universities, and the metro area's most densely populated neighborhoods. Shopping is centered on the Country Club Plaza, which contains numerous luxury retailers, hotels, and restaurants. Country Club Plaza (also simply known as "the Plaza") is an upscale shopping district built by the J.C. Nichols Company in 1923, and was the first suburban shopping district in the United States.