Search Results: origin story
Chasing the Tortoise and the Hare
COLUMBUS, Ohio—Before dawn, dozens of youngsters rush through winter rain toward the entryway of their school. The elementary school students are heading from buses into Columbus Bilingual Academy, which caters to Hispanic families that speak little or no English. The academy is a haven for students who might have been bullied, isolated or simply bewildered…
Rightfully Sewn Finds New Home to ‘Move the Needle’ in Crossroads
By Kevin Collison Rightfully Sewn, a nonprofit started in 2015 to teach women how to succeed as seamstresses in the fashion industry, has found a permanent home in appropriately, the Crossroads Arts District. “Our goal is to create jobs and opportunities in Kansas City through the business of fashion,” said Jennifer Lapka, founder of Rightfully…
Restored Historic Savoy Hotel and Restaurant Debuts This August
By Kevin Collison The historic Savoy Hotel, a downtown landmark since 1888, is scheduled to reopen in early August following an extensive renovation by Louisville-based 21c Museum Hotels. The $47.5 million redevelopment project, more than five years in the making, is scheduled to begin accepting guests in its 120 rooms on Aug. 5. The famed…
Historic Kansas City Honors Pickwick Redevelopment
By Kevin Collison The newly-renovated East 9 at Pickwick Plaza apartment project was honored with two top awards from Historic Kansas City Wednesday, the city’s premier preservation organization. The 260-unit apartment development at 933 McGee St. received the group’s excellence awards for Best Adaptive Re-Use and for Neighborhood Stabilization. The historic Pickwick complex covers almost…
What’s the Oldest House in the Kansas City Area?
Retired teacher Del Candler can trace her ancestors’ arrival in Jackson County to the 1840s, and wondered what structures remain from that period and Kansas City’s origins. She asked curiousKC, “What is the oldest house still standing in the Kansas City area?” With help from the Missouri Valley Room at the Kansas City Public Library…
Color Between The Wines & Other Weekend Possibilities
Having trouble finding your moment of zen? Top Hat Winery (120 S. Main St., Independence, Missouri) is holding a Color Between the Wines Adult Coloring Event from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday. You’ll get all you need to color and a glass of wine for $10. Caffetteria, a new concept from The Mixx founder Jo…
Dream of Reconnecting Downtown to Crossroads with Park Over South Loop Costs Much Less
By Kevin Collison A longtime dream to reconnect downtown with the Crossroads by decking the 1960s era South Loop trench may be closer to reality under a new plan that slices more than $60 million from earlier cost estimates. The study done by HNTB at the request of the Downtown Council and partly funded by…
Searching For Her Dad’s Technical High School
By Jack Harvel Like so many men of his generation, Jack Harrigan was a small-town kid born early in the 20th century, weathered the Great Depression, fought in World War II, then returned home to raise a family while working a blue-collar job until passing away in 1990 at the age of 75. His daughter…
Historic Downtown Skyscraper for Sale, Missouri’s Tallest Residential Tower
By Kevin Collison The 909 Walnut building, the iconic, bunny-eared skyscraper that jumpstarted the 21st Century revival of the downtown housing market, is up for sale, asking price $49 million. The 35-story historic tower and Ninth and Walnut, the tallest residential building in the Midwest outside Chicago, was among the ranks of empty former office…
Resurrecting Quindaro
As Americans north and south of the Mason-Dixon Line debated slavery, a boomtown that sprouted from the scrub along the Missouri River emerged as one of the most unlikely bellwethers of the national mood in the run-up to the Civil War. That community was Quindaro, Kansas, and virtually overnight it became something of a prototype…