SCHLIEFKEVISION IN KANSAS:

CIVIC PRIDE: KANSAS CITY TURNS THE CORNER?
August 10, 2004 - Kansas City's downtown has always intrigued me.  I make a point of spending a full day walking up and down the concrete sidewalks staring at buildings and taking in the sites, and seeing what has changed since my last visit. 

To me, Kansas City has always seemed to be on the verge of great things, great ideas pop in and out of fashion, projects develop at a fast pace for a bit, but then, when the bubble is blown up and about to explode - it instead loses steam, quietly returning back to its former flaccid self. 

But this time out, things feel different, the gallery scene has exploded from three venerable institutions holed up behind an abandoned train station into five square city blocks of galleries, shops, restaurants, etc.  Whatever those small minded Republicans do, the first thing those graceless folks should do is support the arts endlessly.  I've seen Boston's Jamaica Plain, East Boston, Fort Point neighborhoods, Providence, East Austin, and Kansas City's Crossroads District all evolve into a far most interesting and livable environment, and all were started by artists in a very non-trickle down way.

The blocks were alive on First Friday, the big opening night, filled with people perusing, looking, eating, and drinking, the only sad part was the quality of the art, which left quite a bit to be desired. 

In stark contrast to the Crossroads Art District are two failed city renovation projects - Union Station and 17th Street Jazz District.  Union Station, a majestic train station (I believe the third largest in the country), was converted into a science museum a few years ago.  The renovation was incredible, the museum, and attendance, not so much.  17th and Vine, neighboring Arthur Bryant's and Gates BBQ, reconstructed the old 17th Street jazz scene, to an extent, but failed to draw any business or interest past a few minor restaurants and the Negro Leagues Baseball Hall of Fame. 

Lofts are popping up all over downtown, the land and buildings are super cheap, but teh threat of condemnation seems to be around the corner for most of the beautiful brick structures with ornate facades and a true art deco style.  As buildings get demolished and relegated to the history books (see: the Ship), new projects and ideas are constantly being brought to the table in an effort to revitalize downtown and add a spark of life.  Talks of building a ballpark just turned into a new 250 million dollar downtown arena, which will probably never hold an NBA or NHL team, but a city can dream while hosting tractor pulls and professional wrestling at a small cost to taxpayers. 

A new opera house is still on track along the west side of the city, the Bottoms are still underused, and new buildings rise out of the doldrums: the Federal Courthouse is still impressive, along with an impressive new Central Library, and the most exciting building of all: the new Kansas City Star building that will hold the newspaper's offices.  A leaning glass monolith, it slyly rises through the center of town and leans gently over the roadway, reflecting the grandeur of 20' and 30's crime boss Tom Pendergrast's concrete art deco monoliths in its glass facade. 

I've always thought the city had great potential, a livable atmosphere, friendly people, and the best BBQ in the galaxy.  It's just now finding out its OK to have an imagination as well, and maybe it can return to being called the Paris of the Plains.

For more information on the true history of Kansas City, when it was a notorious den of sin, crime, prostitution and gambling, run by crime bosses and was the envy of the world with its jazz fever, check out this incredible little exhibit I saw at the Central Library:

‘Paris of the Plains’: The Jazz Age in Kansas City