Kansas City Past and Future

Arts and Culture

WWI Museum and Memorial Receives Funding

The state of Missouri recently approved a $10 million house bill to help the WWI Museum and Memorial with renovations and upkeep. On Friday, Governor Mike Parson cut $3 million off that total to help state budgets, but the allocation was still received well.

• 70% Will Do: Despite only receiving a portion of what was initially promised, Museum CEO Matthew Naylor said they were still “deeply grateful” for the investment into the people of Missouri and the Memorial.

• ‘Ello Guvnah: The Governor’s decision to cut part of the funding doesn’t seem to be personal, but rather a part of his larger budget aimed to keep spending “responsible” for the state as a whole.

• The Benefits: Naylor insisted that even receiving 70% of what they were expecting is still very good news. Funds will go towards projects to renovate and upkeep the Museum and its nearly 47-acre plot.

Funding from the Bill will begin to be paid to the Museum and Memorial began July 1 of this month and will continue through June 30 of next year.

Development

Strata Project Changes Course

The lot on the corner of 13th and Baltimore could be shifting plans from a once-planned office space to a newly envisioned multi-story apartment complex.

• Nevermind: The lot was initially held by H&R Block in 2004, and slotted to be a multi-tenant office space to accompany its headquarters. With the market shifting from building space, developers are thinking it may be the perfect time to add new apartments to the area.

• New Digs: The Cordish Co., the firm that developed much of the resurgent Power and Light District over the last 15 years, is poised to gain building rights to the property.

• Sound familiar?: The newly planned apartment building would be built by the Baltimore-based Cordish Co., the same firm that is opening Three Light in September.

No timetable has been set yet for the project. The former office space project was slotted to begin in 2020 and finish by 2022, but we all know how things planned for 2020 went.

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Peek Into KC’s History

If you’re interested in learning more about our city's history, check out our friends over at KC Yesterday. Their website and weekly newsletter feature articles dedicated to connecting you to the history of Kanas City. Kansas City’s past is full of ambition, ingenuity, crime, and honest people making their way into a new part of the country where there seemed to be nothing but opportunity. Here are some examples of stories highlighted by KC Yesterday:

• Rise and Fall of The River Quay: On March 27, 1977, an explosion in the bustling River Quay area of Kansas City resulted in the demolition of two bars that also began the revelation of just how far the Mafia’s reaches had really gone into the city.

• KC’s 8th Street Tunnel: After the first attempt at creating a cable car left several residents crashing backward, the 8th Street tunnel was built to connect downtown to the West Bottoms, but the steep grade led to problems with the cables that would pervade for years.

For more stories and images of Kansas City’s past and how they may connect to our present and future, subscribe to their newsletter or follow their Instagram here.

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In Other News

• 🥗Half Foods: The Incoming Whole Foods in Overland Park, recently pushed their completion date back to November.

• 🏓Picklin’ With The Pros: The National Pickleball League stopped over in KC last weekend for week two of their national tour.

• 🎅Bad Santa’s Coming to Town: Billy Bob Thorton, the actor from movies such as Bad Santa and Bad News Bears, is also a musician. He and his band he will be playing this Saturday at Knuckleheads Saloon in the east bottoms.

• 🐝Waiting for Queen B: Beyonce announced that the Kansas City leg of her tour would be delayed to October 1.

• 🔥Hottest Country Nights: The Randy Rogers Band headlines Hot Country Nights tonight starting at 5 pm.