In The Loop: February 2024
Publishing until April 2024 — thank you for your support
Time to vent. It’s not technically “Downtown” (about 2-3 blocks south of the official line), but the Deaner Dental Institute, opened in 1923 at 101 W. Linwood and later the home of Burns & McDonnell, is slated for demolition.
For no good reason.
This solid, 100-year-old building has only been empty for a little over two years, maybe less. The building was in fine shape when the Salvation Army moved out in either late 2021 or some time in 2022.
Now Kansas 101 Linwood LLC of Lenexa — apparently owned by a bariatric surgeon who has had other problematic properties in the metro — plans to tear it down. There are no known plans for the future empty lot.
As Chris Stritzel of the The Hugo-Stritzel Company tweeted, “It’s time to introduce an ordinance that bans the demolition of older buildings unless a new proposal is approved and financed. This must stop.”
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If you haven’t heard, there’s some classic “good news/bad news” about Downtown favorite Banksia: An Australian Bakehouse & Cafe. The bakery is moving later this year.
The bad news is that they are leaving their incredibly charming and historic location near 9th and Baltimore. The good news is that they are staying Downtown and will be moving to a much larger location in the Town Pavilion at 12th and Main (former Plowboys Barbecue site) right on the streetcar line. More good news: They’ll be adding a bar along with dinner service.
If you haven’t been to the current Banksia location at 105 W. 9th Street, do yourself a favor and check it out before they vacate. My wife and I suggest you order the almond-frangipane croissant (or, on the rare days they make it, definitely order the Kouign Amann pastry).
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I’m not wasting pixels discussing the ever-changing saga that is our Downtown baseball stadium decision process (or is it indecision process?), but I will say if long-established businesses and historic buildings in the Crossroads are threatened, I will have something to say at the voting booth (and elsewhere).
•••
More good news: The KC Current home opener in their new stadium against the Portland Thorns will be on national TV (ABC) on March 16 at noon. There will be a half-hour pre-game show on the same channel, and I’m hoping we get a great profile of Downtown’s CPKC Stadium for the world to see. If you have season tickets — congratulations! Otherwise, this will be an extremely hard ticket to get!
And now, on to the The Loop….
No prizes or praises (for now), just a trivia question to test your Downtown knowledge….
Q. This famous Kansas Citian was convicted of tax evasion on Feb. 14, 1934, and died less than five months later. Who was he?
A. See the answer near the bottom of this issue.
Feb. 21, 1918: Carolina Parakeets, like those in old KC, officially extinct
This date marks when the last known Carolina Parakeet in the world died, thus bringing its extinction. This last remaining bird expired at the Cincinnati Zoo, but the exotic creatures were once prominent in Missouri and the region that would become Kansas City.
“I observed a great number of Parrot queets this evening,” William Clark recorded in his journal in 1804 when he and Meriwether Lewis and their Corps of Discovery passed through the area that would later become Downtown KC.
The birds — which were more similar in size and shape to mourning doves than our better-known, but smaller, parakeets of today — inhabited Missouri and eastern Kansas until the 1880s, by most accounts. However, one observer in 1912 spotted a lone Carolina Parakeet in the Courtney Bottoms of Jackson County for several weeks before it vanished. The presumption was that it was most likely a bird released or escaped from captivity, as all the wild Carolina Parakeets had been long gone.
Geographer and geologist Henry Schoolcraft wrote of Missouri’s birds, including the Carolina Parakeet: “The parakeet is a beautiful bird; it is a kind of parrot; its colours are green, yellow, and red, all bright colours, and it is a pleasing sight to see a flock of them suddenly wheel in the atmosphere, and light upon a tree; their gaudy colours are reflected in the sun with the brilliance of the rainbow.”
Feb. 1924: KC program lauded nationally as model for music intro
A 1924 edition of Music Supervisors' Journal sung the praises (pun intended) of the Kansas City school system and its program to introduce students to music, particularly that of the symphony and classical music. It even suggested “the largest permanent symphony orchestra audience” was to be found in our city: a six-concert program with 10,000 children attending each.
The concerts were part of a music appreciation course led by the Kansas City school district’s nationally known director of music, Mabelle Glenn.
The Journal continued on about Glenn’s class and the concerts:
“This course is a model of its kind, and the children not only knew, understood and loved the music being played, but also the instruments which were playing it…. When the music began, it was found that the audience knew all about the composition and its composer as well.”
The article also noted how students were expected to “buy [symphony] records out of their savings and take them home to play and explain to father and mother.”
“As a result,” the Journal concluded, “there is very little demand in Kansas City for the jazz type of records.”
👀
Feb. 14, 1974: The American Restaurant opens at Crown Center
Fifty years ago this Valentine’s Day, the Hall family opened the American Restaurant at 200 E. 25th Street at Crown Center. The fine-dining establishment earned a reputation for its inventive culinary offerings (four different chefs associated with The American were James Beard Foundation award winners) and for the grandiosity of the space itself.
As a sort of lifetime tribute to the Warren Platner-designed restaurant, in 2018 The American was awarded the James Beard Foundation Design Icon Award, only the third recipient ever of that honor.
After closing as a restaurant in 2016, The American reopened the next year as a special events space and pop-up dining venue. Late last year, some notable celebrities welcomed the new year at a private party at The American. News of Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce, and Patrick and Brittany Mahomes celebrating the arrival of 2024 in Downtown Kansas City made international news, including some media featuring images of the lavish and historic former restaurant space as a highlight.
Bringing you some of the most interesting properties for sale or lease in and around Downtown Kansas City….
1 BR/1 BA furnished Columbus Park rental
511 Campbell St., Kansas City, MO 64106
Price: $1,785/month
See the property online here
Homes and buildings featured in The Loop are not necessarily recommendations or endorsements, but rather illustrations of interesting properties for sale or lease in the vicinity of Downtown. Properties may or may not remain available at time of publishing.
1936
Michael Duane, Downtown Shadows #4, pastel on paper, 28.5 x 22 inches.
Who are all these people?
Answering the question “Who are all these people and where are they going?”, The Loop brings you a list of some of the biggest events happening Downtown each week. Please give a friendly Downtown-Kansas City welcome to audiences and attendees of….
FEBRUARY
1st - 4th
Störling Dance Theater presents Underground, Feb. 1-2 at Kauffman Center
First Friday, Feb. 2 in the Crossroads Arts District
First Friday Weekend, Feb. 1-4 in the Tower East KC neighborhood
First Friday Weekend, Feb. 2-4 in the West Bottoms district
Kansas City Symphony presents Stern Conducts Beethoven's Fifth, Feb. 2-4 at Kauffman Center
Disturbed, Feb. 2 at T-Mobile Center
World of Wheels Kansas City 2024, Feb. 2-4 at Bartle Hall
Mike Epps, Feb. 3 at T-Mobile Center
Kauffman Center presents Lee Brice: Me & My Guitar, Feb. 3 at Kauffman Center
5th - 11th
Kauffman Center presents The Black Violin Experience, Feb. 7 at Kauffman Center
The Association of Writer & Writing Programs Conference and Bookfair, Feb. 7-10 at the Kansas City Convention Center
Kansas City Symphony presents The Goonies™ in Concert Film + Live Orchestra, Feb. 8-10 at Kauffman Center
PNC Broadway in Kansas City presents Johnny Cash - The Official Concert Experience, Feb. 10 at Kauffman Center
Nate Bargatze, Feb. 10 at T-Mobile Center
Kansas City Symphony presents Legend of the Northern Lights Film + Live Orchestra, Feb. 11 at Kauffman Center
12th - 18th
Nina Simone: Four Women, Feb. 13 through Mar. 3 at Copaken Stage, KC Repertory Theatre
Pantera, Feb. 13 at T-Mobile Center
Kansas City Ballet presents Peter Pan, Feb. 16-25 at Kauffman Center
Enrique Iglesias, Feb. 17 at T-Mobile Center
Triple Crown National Volleyball Championships, Feb. 17-19 at Bartle Hall
Harriman-Jewell Series presents The National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, Natalia Khoma, Cello, Feb. 18 at Kauffman Center
19th - 25th
Kansas City Symphony presents Free Happy Hour Concert, Feb. 21 at Kauffman Center
Leanne Morgan, Feb. 22-23 at the Midland
Kansas City Symphony presents Symphonic Genesis and Phil Collins, Feb. 25 at Kauffman Center
ONGOING
Sensatia, Cirque Cabaret, through Feb. 4 at the Grand Theater, Crown Center
Crown Center Ice Terrace 2022-2023 Season, through March 12
Maya: The Exhibition, extended through March 12 at Union Station
For a more exhaustive list of everything happening Downtown, go to the VisitKC events page and use the “regions” function to search for Downtown, Westside/Southwest Blvd, West Bottoms, River Market, Power & Light, Crown Center, Crossroads, 18th & Vine — or anywhere you want to go in the KC Metro
For live Kansas City Jazz performances, visit LiveJazzKC.com
Q. This famous Kansas Citian was convicted of tax evasion on Feb. 14, 1934, and died less than five months later. Who was he?
A. Brooklyn-born Johnny Lazia, Kansas City’s organized crime leader, also closely associated with political boss Tom Pendergast. Despite the conviction, he avoided any significant prison time while his case was under appeal (in addition to a few strings being pulled). Lazia died in July of that same year when two unidentified gunmen pulled up to his car in front of his residence at the Park Central Hotel, 300 E. Armour Blvd., and fired upon the 37-year-old with machine guns. He died within the next 12 hours at St. Joseph’s Hospital near Linwood and Prospect.
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Kevin Worley, Co-Publisher/Editorial
Joe Nichols, Co-Publisher/Business
Terence and Marsha Arredondo
Karin (Erickson) Bradford
Henna and Steve Fuller
Chris Gahagan
Bob and Susan Hiatt
The Kiwinda-Tinsley Family
Todd and Donna Martin
Jane Reed and Mark Patterson
Anonymous
Anonymous
In his last post before his untimely passing a year ago, Jim Fitzpatrick wrote about the seeming inevitability around a downtown baseball stadium.
Since then, a sham process failed to attract investor capital for the east village and ownership made a last-minute turn in favor of a more financially favorable (less risky) site that will cut deep into the heart of downtown KC. Calling the Crossroads plan half-baked is an insult to bakers like me.
There is a middle ground in the form of a robust CBA, including long-term financial support for small businesses, a holistic parking plan, access/affordability provisions for the stadium itself, and a prohibition on the use of eminent domain. But those plans take months to craft, at best, and they don't come about at the point of a bayonette aka once early voting has started. A process without integrity will never produce a healthy outcome.
Will the old-timers who have long fought for a more equitable and sustainable KC do more than vote no, and actually speak up in support of the new generation of activists?
Or will they turn their backs and take the path of least (social) resistance, and opt not to upset one of the few homegrown oligarchs who didn't fully de-camp for Aspen or Naples after their big liquidity event?