Arts & Entertainment
No Joke, Car Punches Laugh-O-Gram Building
By Kevin Collison The driver of a black Dodge Charger crashed the renovation party underway at the historic Laugh-O-Gram building near 31st and Troost over the weekend, leaving a hole in the structure and the project budget. “The last thing we expected was someone running into the building, we’d been making good progress,” said Gary…
Photographer Wants to Brighten Downtown with Neon Museum
By Kevin Collison Well known Kansas City photographer, Nick Vedros, is on a quest to create a downtown museum for one of advertising’s more colorful tools, the vintage neon signs that once touted businesses. “In 2017, I noticed many neon signs were in decline,” Vedros said. “There’s nothing more a part of our urban fabric…
Rieger Plugging Electric Park Garden Bar into East Bottoms Destination
Two years after opening his destination distillery in the East Bottoms, Andy Rieger of J. Rieger & Co. is adding an outdoor patio bar and atrium called Electric Park Garden Bar this fall. The 11,000 square-foot facility is named after the long-gone Electric Park, an amusement park that entertained Kansas Citians arriving on streetcars in…
Building at 17th and Washington Slated to Become Foodie Destination
By Kevin Collison The former Screenland property at 17th and Washington is about to become a foodie oasis, its parking lot replaced with a landscaped courtyard and stage, and the surrounding level hosting a restaurant, bar and market. Denver developer Ken Wolf, who recently purchased several buildings in downtown and the West Bottoms, wants to…
Seiden’s Furs Envisioned as Artist Studios–If Price is Right
By Kevin Collison Artist Peregrine Honig envisions a new future for the crumbling, historic building that once housed Seiden’s Furs at 10th and Broadway, but she needs the owner to sell it for a reasonable price first. Honig, one of the city’s better known and nationally-exhibited artists, first fell for the brick building completed around…
Group Reviving Former Unity Temple Stage for Shows with Social Bent
By Kevin Collison A nonprofit group wants to raise the curtain on the long-forgotten dinner theater space at Unity Temple on the Plaza and offer it as an affordable venue for socially-conscious theatrical productions. The premier of the new musical Broke Open will be the initial fundraiser for the planned Unity Performing Arts Center. The…
City Council Deals in $40M Casino KC Redevelopment
By Kevin Collison A groundbreaking is expected soon on a $40 million redevelopment of the former Isle of Capri casino, now Casino KC, that includes a major facelift of the old ‘riverboat’ and a 40,000 square-foot retail addition. The City Council unanimously approved the rezoning required for the 30-acre riverfront project, which ultimately is expected…
One of Downtown’s Older Buildings Declared Dangerous
By Kevin Collison A vacant downtown building at 10th and Broadway that was around before Custer’s Last Stand has experienced a partial roof collapse, prompting fears the historic structure will wind up being razed. “This is a pretty classic demolition by neglect story,” said Josh Boehm, president of the Downtown Neighborhood Association. “The property owner…
Josey Moseys to McGee, Celebrates ‘Record Store Day’
By Kevin Collison Josey Records has flipped around the corner to 1815 McGee in the East Crossroads, bringing along its 60,000 LPs, thousands of 45’s and a small frustration. “Having two floors, it’s been a big of a challenge trying to get people to notice the basement,” said Christian Labeau, store manager. “You can put…
RiNo Charges Crossroads, Denver Developer Partnering on Gastro Pub and Pool Hall
By Kevin Collison A Denver developer has found his new ‘RiNo’ in the Crossroads, planning a pool hall and gastro pub at 16th and Grand along with revamping the former Architectural Salvage building. “I’ve developed a single block of RiNo,” Ken Wolf said, “and what attracted me to Kansas City is the Crossroads, which in…