The redevelopment plans for the district struggled with many stops and starts from 1990 to 1996, but upon opening the Museums and the Gem Theatre in 1997 momentum began to build. Horace Peterson, founder of the Black Archives, articulated and kept alive the idea of a Cultural/Arts District until Councilman Cleaver spearheaded the cause in 1989.Įnlarge The renovated 550-seat GEM Theatre Cultural and Performing Arts Center, Jazz and Negro Leagues Baseball Museums and Visitors Center located along 18th Street were opened in 1997. They acquired large tracts of land, tore down dilapidated buildings and prepared the land for new businesses, mostly offices and warehouses. The Black Economic Union (BEU) began the redeveloping process of 18th & Vine. A walk along 18th & Vine in the 70’s and 80’s began to show an area with vacant storefronts, crumbling buildings and only a few businesses still hanging on waiting for the area to be redeveloped. As African-Americans began to move out of the area and expand their business transactions, the area around 18th & Vine began to deteriorate. Compulsory segregation, the force that helped the community to prosper, weakened in the 50’s and 60’s. Many of these musicians moved on carrying the distinct Kansas City sound to other parts of the country. Many of the jazz clubs, which provided work for local musicians closed and over time the district was used less and less. Schools, entertainment venues, social clubs, churches and recreational facilities rounded out the activities in the neighborhood.ĮnlargeBy the late 50’s this community known as the “Jazz District,” began to decline. In addition to retail businesses, 18th & Vine became a popular office address for the community’s growing number of black professionals.
African-Americans needed to go no further to find all the necessities for day-to-day living. Making their homes and businesses in two and three story brick buildings along the districts cross streets (18th & Vine) and by the end of the 19th century this small community had flourished into a thriving African-American neighborhood.īy the turn of the twentieth century, 18th & Vine had become a city within a city. Kansas City’s 18th & Vine neighborhood was developed during the era of segregation after an influx of individuals migrated to Kansas City seeking better jobs and a new way of life. A significant goal of the revitalization effort is to add a strong entertainment component to the neighborhood mix. The heart of the District is about two miles southeast of downtown Kansas City. The neighborhood was important to the evolution of jazz, a truly American art form. People could attend performances by jazz greats such as Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, Louie Armstrong and others. It earned the name, “Jazz District” during the period from 1920 to 1940 when it became the center of jazz music. The 18th and Vine Historic District is the African-American cultural district in Kansas City.
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