Helloooooo, Loopers!
My wife Karen and I enjoyed an old-fashioned, pre-pandemic-style night Downtown with friends Lisa, Gary, and Cindy on Friday, enjoying dinner at Pokesan on Grand, then walking across the street to watch local bands Slights and Outhouse blast our ears at Record Bar. I’m not sure I ever attended a louder, more rockin’ show even when I was young, but it was good to knock the cobwebs out of our psyche. (Opening act Christopher Tolle was great, too, but as an acoustic guitarist, I can’t really say he blasted our ears.)
Also, just a reminder that I’ll be launching a Kickstarter campaign in the next couple of months to raise funds to take The Loop to another level of service and entertainment for readers like you. There are so many Downtown stories to tell, places to visit, photos and videos to share, and helpful info to provide, but I can’t manage it alone—and I have a big vision for The Loop. Keep an eye out for my Kickstarter campaign later this month or early May—I’ll have details soon.
Next Saturday marks the anniversary of the 1968 race riots in Kansas City. Following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4 of that year, the Kansas City, Kansas, school district chose to cancel classes on the day of King’s funeral, Tuesday, April 9.
The superintendent of the Kansas City, Missouri, school district chose to keep schools open.
Students from Lincoln, Central, Manual, and Paseo high schools protested by walking out and eventually gathering at Kansas City, Mo., City Hall. Police and protestors were on edge most of the day, and when a soft-drink bottle struck an officer’s foot at City Hall, a number of students and supporters were gassed, beaten, and arrested.
Over the next four days, continued clashes between police and protestors would result in gassings at schools, a citywide curfew, a neighborhood destroyed, millions of dollars in property damage, 300 arrested, 20 injured, and six people dead.
On the 50th anniversary of the violence in 2018, Kansas City PBS, 41 Action News, and the Kansas City Public Library collaborated to broadcast “'68: The Kansas City Race Riots Then and Now,” a town hall-style program to discuss the riots and what has happened since in Kansas City.
Tomorrow marks the date in 1900 when Convention Hall was destroyed by fire only three months before Kansas City was supposed to host the Democratic National Convention. I wrote about the hall’s 1899 opening in a previous issue of The Loop. In a tale oft’ told of the spirit of Kansas City, a new convention facility was built in time to host the Democrats.
In 1910 when lumber baron Robert A. Long built Corinthian Hall, his palatial home in the Northeast neighborhood, he envisioned utilizing the entire block across the street from his mansion for a formal, French-style garden. He already owned some acreage at the spot.
One problem, however: Ellen Stevens, widow of attorney Edward Stevens, who owned a home built in 1902 where Long planned to expand his gardens, would not sell her house.
Subsequently, five years after Long died in 1934, his daughters donated Corinthian Hall and the land across the street to the city. Long’s gardens were eventually removed.
In an odd twist to the story more than 100 years later, the current owners of the historic Stevens house, Jeff Zumsteg and Jeff Linville—who now own Long’s acre of land adjacent to their home—have installed their own formal gardens. The Colonial-style grounds were recently capped off with the installation of a long-awaited fountain. (The water feature was expected to be delivered last September, but was late-arriving before being installed on March 16.)
“Mr. Long is probably rolling over in his grave,” Zumsteg told the Northeast News in 2017. “Instead of the Longs owning the Stevens House, the Stevens House now owns the Long gardens.”
Here are a few links associated with the historic Stevens House, 3223 Gladstone Boulevard., which contains six bedrooms, four full bathrooms with one half bath, 10 fireplaces, and a ballroom on the third floor.
LINK: (2017 Northeast News) Iconic Stevens House in Historic NE added to the National Register of Historic Places
LINK: (2009 Hyperblogal) Historic Northeast Mansions, Volume 2, The Stevens' Home
March was a busy month at T-Mobile Center, with 173,000 people attending events at our Downtown arena. Watch the video above, then click the link below to see some stats (like the million pounds of dirt loaded in and out for Professional Bull Riding), plus even more videos from March.
Did you know Music Theater Heritage at Crown Center has summer camp programs for kids? Enrollment is now open for kids in Kindergarten through 12th grades. One-week camps are $190; two-week camps $380. A limited number of scholarships are available for those in need.
LINK: MTH 2022 Summer Camps
PortKC president and CEO Jon Stephens re-tweeted this sweet vision for the future KC Streetcar extension to the riverfront:
If clicking the video in the Twitter post doesn’t work, try clicking here.
And speaking of the streetcar, work on the southern extension to UMKC breaks ground this Wednesday, and we’re all invited to the celebration….
Time again for the Downtown Council’s annual residents’ survey. If you live Downtown, follow the link below to register your opinions. The information is used to track Downtown’s progress, support development, attract retail, and identify key messages for marketing. Your comments are important and can directly affect your Downtown living experience.
Participants responding by this Friday, April 8, will be automatically entered into a drawing for one of two prizes: a $100 gift card to the B&B Theatres or a voucher for four tickets to a future KC Current soccer game.
Artful City: One weekly selection with a Downtown connection
Quick Clip: The city in motion—just a few seconds at a time
Downtown Lens: A single image depicting the urban aesthetic
Give a friendly Downtown-Kansas City welcome to audiences and attendees of….
Scottish Ensemble with bassist Edgar Meyer, this afternoon at The Folly
“STEVIE: Signed, Sealed, Delivered,” now through April 10 at Music Theater Heritage at Crown Center
iBuild Construction Career Day, April 5 at Bartle Hall
National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) National Meeting Spring, April 5-8 at Bartle Hall
Kansas City Symphony presents Free Happy Hour Concert: The Intrepid Mandolin and Swingin’ Strings, April 6 at Kauffman Center (tickets required)
Ministry, April 6 at The Midland
Kansas City Symphony presents “Sinatra and Friends,” April 7-9 at Kauffman Center
Iliza Shlesinger, April 8 at The Midland
Harriman-Jewell Series Presents “Lucy Negro Redux,” April 8 at Kauffman Center
Ailey II/KC Friends of Alvin Ailey, April 8-9 at The Folly
Masquerade Dance Competition, April 8-10 at The Music Hall
Kansas City Symphony presents “Peter & the Wolf: Tales of Adventure,” April 9 at Kauffman Center
ASICS Show Me National Qualifier (girls volleyball), April 9-11 at Bartle Hall
Got a tip about Downtown KC?
Write to: tips@kcdowntownloop.com or contact me via social media
Until next week—enjoy the city!
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