In The Loop: October 2, 2022
Your connection to Downtown Kansas City
Love The Loop? Spread the word!
Asking everyone to please remember to forward this email or share the website (www.kcdowntownloop.com) with coworkers, friends, family — anyone who lives, works, or plays Downtown. We’re having great success with the people who have been turned on to The Loop, but there are so many Downtown-loving folks who have not yet heard of us. Thanks for introducing us to your corner of KC, the Midwest, and beyond!
And now, on to the The Loop….
Municipal Stadium closes after nearly 50 years at 22nd and Brooklyn
On this Tuesday’s date in 1972, the Kansas City Royals beat the Texas Rangers 4-0, closing the final chapter on Municipal Stadium. Downtown would remain without baseball for the next 50 years and counting. Roger Nelson pitched a 2-hit, complete-game shut-out that night. Amos Otis scored the fourth and final run, becoming the last player to cross home plate at the ol’ ballpark.
Municipal opened in 1923 as Muehlebach Field and hosted games for the the Kanas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues, the Kansas City Athletics of Major League Baseball, the Kansas City Spurs of the North American Soccer League, and of course, the Chiefs and Royals. The Kansas City Cowboys, an NFL team that played in the mid-1920s, called Muehlebach Field home, and the Kansas City Blues, a minor league baseball team from 1888–1954, played at both Muehlebach Field and Municipal Stadium. (The ballpark was also called “Ruppert Stadium” for a period of time between Muehlebach Field and Municipal Stadium.)
October 5, 1972, Kansas City Times
Only 7,329 fans attended the final game on a typical, cool October evening. And, just like today, many fans were not happy with the impending change:
“I’m mad because they’re moving,” one long-time fan told the Kansas City Times that night. “I hate to see them give it up. This should be a landmark.”
One other notable “last” from that evening in 1972? It was the last major league game ever managed by the “Splendid Splinter,” Ted Williams, skipper for the Rangers.
Monarchs take the city series over the Blues
This Thursday marks the date 100 years ago that the Negro National League’s Kansas City Monarchs took on the American Association’s Kansas City Blues, a team comprised of all white players and considered one of the best minor league teams in the Midwest. After six games, the Monarchs had won five of the contests, thus earning them the Kansas City Star’s distinction as "The New City Champions."
The Monarchs went on to defeat Babe Ruth’s team of all-stars later that month in Kansas City, and — combined with victories of other black teams over white teams — both the American Association and Major League Baseball banned any further interracial contests.
October 6 also marks the passing of former Kansas City Monarchs player and manager — and all-around baseball ambassador — Buck O’Neil in 2006 .
The 1924 Kansas City Monarchs, some of whom played in the 1922 city series against the Kansas City Blues. Kenneth Spencer Research Library at the University of Kansas
Architect Nelle E. Peters dies in 1974
This Friday marks the date in 1974 when renowned — and prolific — architect Nelle Peters passed away in Sedalia, Mo., at the age of 89. Going by the name N.E. Peters for business purposes, she was a rare female running her own architecture business. Over a span of 56 years, she designed nearly 1,000 buildings, specializing in apartment buildings and hotels. In the mid-1920s, Peters moved into an office on the 10th floor — the top floor — of the Orear-Leslie Building, which once stood at 1012 Baltimore in Downtown Kansas City.
The Orear-Leslie Building at 1012 Baltimore in 1935, about 10 years after Nelle Peters set up her office on the 10th floor. Missouri Valley Special Collections, Kansas City Public Library, Kansas City, Mo.
Most of her structures were built in the KC metro area, but her practice completed projects in places such as Wichita in Kansas; Columbia, Boonville, and Jefferson City in Missouri; Oklahoma City and Tulsa in Oklahoma; in addition to New Jersey, Ohio, and North Carolina.
Peters’ obituary claimed that when she first opened her independent business, she offered clients three different house plans: #25, #26, and #27, “so that she would not be considered a novice.”
In 2016, three of Peters’ apartment buildings on the Country Club Plaza were demolished after public outcry and attempts to save the historic structures. The developer who razed the buildings is related to the same group now threatening the historic buildings at 31st and Main.
Now, more than six years later, the land where the Peters apartments were leveled on the Plaza remains undeveloped. (It’s a temporary dog park.)
Today, there are two historic districts named for her on the Kansas City Register of Historic Places (near Summit Avenue and 37th Street and on the southwest corner of the Country Club Plaza), and an additional district in KC named for her on the National Register of Historic Places (in the 2700 block of Troost Avenue).
Peters is buried in Elmwood Cemetery in Kansas City.
A combination of apartments and hotel rooms, Nelle Peters’ Ambassador Hotel was the largest apartment hotel in the city when it opened at 36th and Broadway in 1925. Of 12 major hotels being built in Kansas City that year, four were designed by Peters. Missouri Valley Special Collections, Kansas City Public Library, Kansas City, Mo.
Weston’s Green Dirt Farm to open facility in East Crossroads
The Kansas City Star reports that the award-winning cheese maker and creamery will open a restaurant and event space Downtown in spring of 2023.
LINK: Attention, cheese lovers: Local dairy will open cafe with rooftop deck in Kansas City
Green Dirt Farm
Register to vote at City Market
City Market is partnering with League of Women Voters of Kansas City/Jackson-Clay-Platte Counties to help citizens prepare for upcoming elections. The deadline to register for the November mid-terms is Wednesday, Oct. 12, so take advantage of this convenient opportunity on Saturdays and Sundays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., if you need to:
Register to vote
Update your address or name records
Find out more about early voting
This is a non-partisan event to promote an educated and empowered electorate.
LINK: League of Women Voters of Kansas City/Jackson-Clay-Platte Counties
Roy Harryman
Grand Avenue reconfigurations continue
The painted bike/scooter lanes were getting bollards installed earlier this week….
1945
The Isis Theatre at 31st and Troost burned on March 9, 1939, and re-opened almost exactly seven months later on October 6, 1939. It was reported that the block was closed, allowing access for pedestrians only for the re-opening, and 25,000 people attended the celebration. This photo is from a few years later, in 1945. Missouri Valley Special Collections, Kansas City Public Library, Kansas City, Mo.
Artful City: One weekly selection with a Downtown connection
Amy Abshier, Ensconced, 2022. Oil on canvas, 22.25" x 18.25" with frame.
Downtown Lens: A single image depicting the urban aesthetic
The Gladstone Boulevard Bridge over Anderson Avenue near 301 Gladstone Boulevard in the Historic Northeast neighborhoods of Downtown. The area is just south of the Concourse Park. The tower of St. Anthony Parish can be seen center-right in the background. The Loop
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….
TODAY
Last day, Junior League Holiday Mart at Bartle Hall
Last day, Lyric Opera of Kansas City presents Carmen at Kauffman Center
National Community Pharmacists Association Annual Convention & Expo through Tuesday at Bartle Hall
MONDAY the 3rd
Diana Krall at Kauffman Center
WEDNESDAY the 5th
Big Wild at the Midland
THURSDAY the 6th
Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives at Kauffman Center
Man of La Mancha through Oct. 23 at Music Theater Heritage
FRIDAY the 7th
First Friday in the Crossroads Arts District
Karol G at T-Mobile Center
Kansas City Symphony presents Strauss' Alpine Symphony through Sunday at Kauffman Center
The Catfish Conference today and tomorrow at Bartle Hall
Montage at KC Live! Block
SATURDAY the 8th
Brincos Dieras at the Midland
Oktoberfest at the Kansas City Live! Block
ONGOING
Maya the Exhibition: The Great Jaguar Rises, most days through January 1, 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
Until next week — enjoy the city!
Got a tip or question about Downtown KC?
Write to: tips@kcdowntownloop.com or contact The Loop via social media
Kevin Worley, Co-Publisher/Editorial
Joe Nichols, Co-Publisher/Business
Give The Loop a boost: Become a Founding Subscriber
In addition to having access to all content, and receiving invitations to The Loop’s Downtown events, Founders Level subscribers ($200 annually, or any amount above) receive a Downtown Loop sticker, a T-shirt in their choice of fit, size, and color, and recognition on the website.
THANK YOU TO THESE FOUNDING SUBSCRIBERS….
Karin (Erickson) Bradford
Chris Gahagan
The Kiwinda-Tinsley Family
Todd and Donna Martin
Jane Reed and Mark Patterson
Anonymous