Charlotte is working on an extension of theirs, though, the cars are not going to be as nice or hi-tech as KC’s I don’t think.
Heard on the KC streetcar last week--
VISITOR: I'm from the South. Why would I eat BBQ in Kansas City?
LOCAL: I'm originally from Atlanta. BBQ is better here.
VISITOR: Seriously?
LOCAL: No kidding. Check it out.
6
My daughter owns and runs Birdies, the boutique that's shown in the article's mention of the Crossroads Arts District. She can afford to do things that would be economically suicidal in NY or SF. Unlike Minneapolis, where I live, KC didn't raze as many entire neighborhoods in an effort to "modernize". Yes there are problems. It's a city! But it's comparatively inexpensive, there's lots of great Art, Music and Food and a vibrant scene of many cultures.
11
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Xa_lfMoDqI . Our streetcar song . Get Out , have fun sing along
1
A note to visitors - KC has legacy neighborhood zoning laws against short term rentals that impact Airbnb availability more than one might expect. The neighborhoods around the museums are very green and hopping with things to do. We prefer them over downtown.
4
I loved this piece. One slight correction: Washington, DC also opened a new streetcar a little over two years ago. It is also 2.2 miles and also free for the time being, but that was because the city has not figured out how to collect fares. But after reading about KC's experience, maybe free is the way to go!
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I moved here in 2011, just as things were beginning to ramp up. It's been an amazing process to watch in the few short years I've been here. I work downtown now, so had a front-row seat to the streetcar construction. It really has taken off beyond all expectations, and we're getting ready to start the next phase, bringing it further south to the UMKC campus.
Meanwhile, tomorrow night after work I'll stroll a block over from my office to catch the streetcar down to the Crossroads for First Friday, and spend the night investigating all the art galleries and such that will be open.
Man, I love this town.
14
I came here on an assignment and did not know much about the city coming up from France. I would say it is the best kept secret of America and has the best affordable restaurants and venues that I have tried in the US. There is space in between the different districts and you can switch from a very classical environment (Main St, Downtown) to a replica of the Sevilla city (Plaza) in less than 10 minutes of a drive.
The Crossroads will show you many businesses and art galleries that will open up each first friday of the month.
I appreciate the energy and creativity that people display, great start-ups are being launched and major companies keep the city growing. In terms of culture, my favorite museums would be the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art (the perfect alliance of ancient and modern, rated best museum in North America), The Kemper for modern art and the KC museum that used to be a private mansion and is now renovated in the North East.
If you like music, the Sprint Center, Uptown Theater, Recordbar, and the Green Lady lounge will offer all kinds of music. Cocktails are being served just like in the prohibition era in many speakeasies.
From the Truman era, Kansas City is entering its best time and will soon be a trendy destination to connect the East and the West (NY-LA). I look forward to seeing the construction of the new airport facilitate the process.
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Something I feel should have been mentioned here is the importance of the Royals World Series runs in 2014-2015. It may sound foolish to people that live in bigger city's but here it was almost impossible to walk passed someone on the street that wasn't invested emotionally in the Royals in that time, and even if you didn't care that much you still had a Royals shirt on because 90% of people here were wearing, talking and watching Royals baseball. It brought the city together like honestly nothing else could and it made the people of Kansas City love and embrace everything about our city and the people in it. Obviously a lot of city's unite for sports but I really don't think big city's could hold a candle to the community feeling we got out of those two years. It's impossible, the have too many people in big cities that don't care about the city's sports. It was a massive part of what we are today, even if sports hating people don't want to admit it.
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2.2 miles? About the distances from Van Cortland Park to 207 Street. How impressive!
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lol I'm not sure why they tried to make it seem like it was a long route. The hope is it expands out to the sports complex and the airport. Kansas City the city itself is very small but Kansas City the area is very spread out, right now the route is only directly downtown.
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You do what makes sense and you do it well. KC asked for a tax raise to expand the system; it passed overwhelmingly.
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not one word on basie, not one word on charlie parker or jay mcshann... jeez!
3
EAST of the Mississippi?
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It's great to hear about nice tweaks to KCs infrastructure, but the NYT tech-sponsored *urbanism narrative* always ruins the fun. While I understand the chicken and egg dilemma, could it be more that the Streetcar and Google Fiber are more of a compliment to existing cultural infrastructure than "putting it on the map" ?
I've lived in many places that had great trains and no culture, and vice versa. And whose to say that all of the traffic won't Disney-fy the area (if traffic spikes that much, the businesses will probably become more corporate than cultural).
Either way, in the context of the NYT *urbanism narrative* I'd also worry this is yet another ode to streetcars and tech urban colonialism, which can be copy and pasted onto any city in spite of KCs unique existing characteristics that work better than, say, downtown Brooklyn or any other city.
3
Hey Jamie, as a Kansas citian I can tell you both google fiber and the streetcar are absolutely part of what revitalized downtown. People started going downtown when power and light district opened but people didn't start moving downtown so much until those two things happened. And honestly probably the most important thing is it made us feel like we were a real city. I'm not sure where all you have lived but when you live in a city that literally had zero, nothing at all to do downtown, and I mean absolutely nothing almost a decade ago, anything will get people here excited, and it did. Make no mistake we understood how the city was viewed nationally and it was for the most part, completely accurate. Now, we know it's a hidden gem and I think if you do it right there's almost no way you could come here and have a genuinely bad time. As for the traffic. I think most people will always prefer to live outside the city. We have an outrageous amount of cheap land and homes all within 20-30 minutes outside the city I don't believe family's will ever choose to live in the middle of downtown. Young professionals for the most part. We should expand the streetcar a good amount in the next decade as well if people are willing to vote for it.
5
It is a nice small slice of space
It is also NOT racially diverse
But that is consistent with the whole town
most real KC people are getting priced out of downtown living due to Luxury Apartments
It is a tourist/ convention strip
Get a car see the real city
it's still great !
I would add to Tyler’s comment that the opening of a grocery store downtown was also key to encouraging people to return to apartments and lofts in this area. KC has always had a lot to offer, but all of these connections are making the city shine.
1
I believe it because I've been there and it's real. The formally-flyover Midwest is the future of America, not San Francisco or New York.
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Gee! It looks like Europe. We could learn more than a few things from them.
4
A great city to grow up in! How I loved riding the streetcar to school (and downtown) in the 1940s and early 1950s!
10
Just back from a week in Kansas City, Mo visiting our daughter and son-in-law who recently relocated there from Brooklyn, NY. If these two young, well educated art lovers can find happiness in KC it surely must be an up-and-coming spot. I know my husband and I, two retired Canadians had a great time there! We found everyone we came into contact with very pro Canadian and also very Trump apologetic.
18
I've lived here almost all my life. Back in 2012 when we hosted the MLS All-Star Game, I had a friend from Chicago who was in town for some assignment work relating to the event. We went out for a drink, and he couldn't believe that parking downtown was only $2. It's gone up a little since then, but not much.
5
The story's author wrote:
Then comes the Power & Light District — named for an Art Deco 1931 skyscraper that was for decades both the home of the local electric utility company and the tallest building east of the Mississippi — which is the city’s newest entertainment district;
Point of information: all of Kansas City, including the Power & Light Building, are WEST not east of the Mississippi, and always have been.
21
The Kansas City Power and Light building may have been the tallest building WEST of the Mississippi for a while. All of Missouri is west of the Mississippi.
Otherwise, the story is a welcome paean to a city I know well and love even more.
12
Kansas City is a wonderful place to visit. The WWI museum is beyond compare, and Kaw Point Park is a must visit. In my opinion, the BBQ food is second to none (get the brisket at Joes). However, I am not sure how Kansas City could have once had the tallest skyscraper east of the Mississippi.
15
KC's revival really began with the renovation of Union Station, which was funded by a tax (horrors!) that crossed state lines and came from Johnson County, Kansas, also. It was for only 0.1%, for 10 years, if memory serves me. Union Station is beautiful, grand, and now hosts many events, including the annual 4th of July concert. It was well seen with the KC Royals' World Series celebration (the big screen video at Power & Light was well used during the Royals' World Series run, too). After Union Station came the restoration of the WW1 monument, and the building of the Sprint Center, as well as the Kaufmann Center. The Arts District, City Market, KC Library, and more were tied together by the Streetcar, and
12
Kansas City has truly transformed itself. It's a great place to visit, with amazing museums and performing arts, plus an incredible nightlife. Major kudos to Mayor Sly and everyone else in KC who have spent more than a decade making Kansas City, Missouri, a top place to live, work and play.
18
Still look pretty deserted. No people to be seen, lots of open parking spaces...
6
Streetcars help to "open parking spaces." Looks pretty good to me!
18