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In The Loop: April 24, 2022

kcdowntownloop.substack.com
In The Loop

In The Loop: April 24, 2022

Kevin Worley
Apr 24, 2022
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In The Loop: April 24, 2022

kcdowntownloop.substack.com

Sunday, May 1, is the official launch date for the KC Downtown Loop Kickstarter campaign. Beginning on that date, and for only a three-week window, I will be asking for your support to take The Loop to the next level as I expand the content—and hopefully, soon, my team—for this publication.

[Editor’s Note: Instead of Kickstarter, we will be expanding The Loop content this summer through my partnership with Joe and Jomel Nichols. You can support our efforts by upgrading your subscription by going to your account settings and choosing a paid subscription level.]

How will I expand content?

For example, at the Downtown Council Annual Luncheon on Friday, I sat with staffers from Twelfth Street Heritage Development Corporation, where we talked about my interest in writing a story examining the issues of affordable housing, gentrification, and the (re-)development of our inner core in KC. Your support will help make more in-depth articles like this possible.

I also want to write a feature on families who live Downtown with kids. When we lived in the River Market, we lived in the same condo building as a family of five whom we would often see riding bikes or hopping on the streetcar Downtown. (The oldest daughter was also our Girl Scout cookie connection.)

Where we live now, just south of the official Downtown boundary (31st Street), we have at least 14 children living on our block. They attend nearby schools and will ride the future streetcar extension as second nature. Your support will help bring these stories to life.

With expanded resources, The Loop will also produce more frequent “Downtown Diggs” articles—the features that give readers a peek inside the unique homes and businesses of Downtown KC.

This is just scratching the surface, of course. There are many stories to be told, many photos to take, many videos to produce. I’m excited by the possibilities, and hope you’ll join the campaign on May 1.


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Today marks the birth date in 1830 of Edward Herrick Allen, also known as E.H. Allen, mayor of Kansas City from 1867 to 1868. He was a Connecticut-born Union Army veteran who moved to Kansas City after the Civil War. He served as president of the First National Bank and was among the founders of the Kansas City Board of Trade and the Kansas City Club. His sterling reputation in KC—and with East Coast financiers—bode well for his adopted town. When Allen died in 1895, Howard Holden, a bank colleague and city leader, told a newspaper, “He was one of the keenest observers in commercial and public enterprises I ever knew.”

E.H. Allen

One hundred years ago this Thursday, the Kansas City Blues of American Association baseball celebrated Opening Day at Association Field, near 20th and Olive. The parade mentioned in this news clipping below would have originated in the heart of today’s Power & Light District, then traveled more than two miles east and south to the ball field. The Blues lost 7-4 that day, and ultimately lost their stadium that year when the railroad company that owned the land optioned to build tracks through the outfield. The owner of the Blues, George Muehlebach, would build the next stadium a few blocks away at 22nd Brooklyn—the precursor to Municipal Stadium.

Kansas City Star, April 28, 1922

1922 was also the year in which the first Kansas City radio stations emerged in our city. Possibly the first-ever broadcast station in Kansas City was WOQ-AM, licensed on February 17 of that year. Owned by the Unity School of Christianity for most of its short-lived history, it broadcast mostly on Sundays and one weeknight during the week. In an era of political maneuverings and fierce competition for broadcast space among radio stations, WOQ lost its license and was ordered to be off the air by January 7, 1932. After more than two years of subsequent litigation, WOQ lost its bid to stay on air, and ceased operations on June 14, 1934.

The Kansas City Star launched radio station 9XAB in February 1922, and was soon renamed WDAF. The station, with studios at Star headquarters at 18th and Grand, had a signal that stretched from coast to coast—and beyond. During late-night broadcasts when there was less interference from fewer stations in the country than we have today, it was claimed that WDAF could be heard as far away as London and Hawaii. WDAF’s live broadcasts of Kansas City’s Coon-Sanders Original Nighthawks Orchestra helped make the band—and radio technology itself—famous nationwide.

Other stations founded 100 years ago include KMBZ (started as an amateur station in 1921, but founded as commercial broadcast station WPE on April 5, 1922) and WHB.

Missouri Valley Special Collections, Kansas City Public Library, Kansas City, Mo.


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If I wrote for a traditional news outlet that followed traditional journalistic principles, I’d present you with this following story about a Johnson County-based developer tearing down historic buildings on the corner of 31st and Main in Kansas City, Mo., without bias or opinion.

However, I do not work for such a publication, and therefore I can tell you that what appears to be the impending demolition of these classic buildings—one built in 1888, the other in 1905—makes me want to puke.

The Kansas City Star explains the situation with much more journalistic integrity than me at this link:

  • LINK: Historic preservation group opposes plan to demolish buildings at 31st and Main in KC

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A post shared by The KC Downtown Loop (@kcdowntownloop)

Lux Living is a developer based in St. Louis with plans to enter the KC market on the riverfront, the old Katz store in Midtown, and the Crossroads. I think everyone who is considering—or knows someone who is considering—leasing from or doing business with these folks needs to read this unbelievable article from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch to be informed about their track record.

As the St. Louis mayor's director of policy and development said in a November interview: “We are going to be vetting developers and looking at their track record in terms of actually delivering projects with real community benefits, and I don’t think Sid and Vic would fare very well under such a vetting process.”

  • LINK: Lux Living is one of the biggest developers in St. Louis. But it courts controversy.

Lux Living tenant Cory Schmidt in St. Louis. Photo by Joseph Cooke, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Finally, some good news: Before Friday’s Downtown Council Annual Luncheon, officials announced progress toward putting a 5.5-acre lid over the South Loop. The land could provide green space running west to east (from Wyandotte to Grand), reunite Downtown and the Crossroads, spur development—and make the area a lot quieter. The Kansas City Star has more:

  • LINK: Kansas City leaders say they’re ready to build a park over the downtown interstate loop

Community leaders reference Dallas’s Klyde Warren Park, pictured here, as a model for the South Loop reclamation project. I’ve actually spent time at this park—and didn’t know until I returned to Kansas City that I had been walking over a freeway loop below. Office of James Burnett

NON-DOWNTOWN EXTRA

So, Leonardo DiCaprio was trying to remain incognito by wearing a certain baseball team’s cap? It didn’t work….

Twitter avatar for @dailyleodicapri
The Daily Leo DiCaprio Fan Page @dailyleodicapri
#LeonardoDiCaprio tried to make a low-key arrival at the Neon carnival at #Coachella in California on Saturday (April 16th) night. Leo attempted to fly under the radar as he and his gf quickly made their way through the crowds to attend the star-studded music event.
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8:44 AM ∙ Apr 18, 2022
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c. 1940s

The Ship at its original Downtown location, when it was located at the spot now occupied by Ilus Davis Park. The bar dates back to 1935 and was demolished in 1995—but not before Adam Jones helped salvage much of the original Ship interior and decor. In 2004, Josh Mobley and Bob Asher began reconstructing The Ship from the original parts at its current West Bottoms location, re-opening the establishment in 2014. The Ship Twitter

The Ship today, at 1221 Union Ave. in the West Bottoms. The Ship Twitter

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Artful City: One weekly selection with a Downtown connection

Shelly Pinto, "Buoyancy Series (1 of 3)," acrylic and handmade paper, 30” x 24” (framed). Bunker Center for the Arts

Quick Clip: The city in motion—just a few seconds at a time

I imagine you could pick almost any hotel lobby Downtown during Planet Comicon Kansas City, and you’re bound to encounter a number of interesting sights, such as this fellow at the Loews Kansas City Hotel on Friday afternoon. (This is a Muppet character—who remembers his name? Comment with the green “Leave a Comment” button below if you know.) The Loop

Downtown Lens: A single image depicting the urban aesthetic

Keeping with the Planet Comicon theme, I bring you a Ghostbusters trio walking through the lobby of the Loews KC, presumably headed to the rooftop for business. The Loop

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Give a friendly Downtown-Kansas City welcome to audiences and attendees of….

TODAY

  • Kansas City Symphony presents Miraculous Mandarin with Rachmaninoff's Fourth Piano Concerto, 2 pm today at Kauffman Center

  • Pianist Daniil Trifonov, tonight at the Folly

  • Planet Comicon Kansas City, wrapping up at Bartle Hall

  • VIP Dance Competition, in its final day at the Music Hall

WEDNESDAY the 27th

  • The Queen's Cartoonists, at Kauffman Center

  • Disclosure and DJ Boring at the Midland

THURSDAY the 28th

  • Spring Members Concert & Reception: The Elders, at Kauffman Center

FRIDAY the 29th

  • Cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason and pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason, Friday night and Saturday noon at the Folly

  • Megadeth and Lamb of God at T-Mobile Center

  • Mad Machelle at KC Live!

  • The Halo Championship Series, today through Sunday at the Bartle Hall

  • Imagine Dance Challenge, today through Sunday at the Music Hall

SATURDAY the 30th

  • Girls Gotta Eat/Ashley Hesseltine and Rayna Greenberg at the Midland

  • Bubbles & Broadway at Music Theater Heritage, Crown Center

  • Noe Palma at KC Live!

  • Morgan Wallen at Sprint Center

  • Love & Laughter Tour: Maze, featuring Frankie Beverly; The Isley Brothers; and Chrisette Michelle at Municipal Auditorium

  • Lyric Opera of Kansas City presents Tosca, tonight, May 6 , and May 8 at Kauffman Center


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Got a tip about Downtown KC?

Write to: tips@kcdowntownloop.com or contact me via social media


Direct links to all social media available at the bottom of this link

Until next week—enjoy the city!

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In The Loop: April 24, 2022

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