Civic Affairs
‘The Elders’ Return to Help Irish Fest Celebrate 20th Year Downtown
Irish Fest is returning this Labor Day weekend to Crown Center and to help celebrate its 20th year downtown, crowd-favorite The Elders will be coming out of retirement to perform. “The Elders are sure to make 2022 Irish Fest one of their most memorable shows, as they headlined every KC Irish Fest since the fest’s…
Iconic Katz Cat to Grin Again in Downtown KC
By Kevin Collison The Katz Drug Store sign, a one-time iconic streetscape fixture in Kansas City and beyond with its happy cat sporting a bow tie, has a new life thanks to LUMI, a museum dedicated to neon signs. A 10-foot tall replica of the Katz sign has been fashioned by Fossil Forge, a Lee’s…
Boutique Hotel Proposed for Historic Workhouse Castle on Vine
(Editor’s note: This article was originally published Feb. 1) By Kevin Collison The ruined former City Workhouse Castle built in 1897 to incarcerate petty criminals and vagrants would accommodate a far more upscale clientele as a boutique hotel in a new redevelopment proposal. The massive limestone curiosity at 2001 Vine St. near the 18th &…
Liberty Street Green Space Completes First Year in West Bottoms
(Editor’s note: This article originally appeared Dec. 29, 2021) By Kevin Collison One of greater downtown’s newer “parks” recently celebrated a quiet first anniversary, except for the rumbling trucks overhead. It’s called the Liberty Street Green Space and it replaces a grubby, former no-man’s land beneath the I-670 overpass in the West Bottoms with decorative…
Imagine KC Strategic Plan Seeks More ‘Equitable Downtown’
(Editor’s note: This article was originally published Jan. 26) By Kevin Collison A strategic plan that encompasses neighborhoods more than a mile from the skyscrapers of its central business district and envisions downtown as an economic catalyst for that larger area was rolled out Tuesday by the Downtown Council. The new Imagine Downtown KC 2030…