Westport Live Saturday Night

KCPowercat · Post by **KCPowercat** » Wed Jun 25, 2003 5:30 pm

If anybody hasn't heard, Westport was attempting to get an ordinance passed that would allow them to block off the streets of westport and inside that barrier, be able to allow only 21+ people in, have music outside, and allow beer vendors outside.

Well according to Hearne Christopher's article today, that has passed and starting July 5th, the above plan will go into action. $1 cover charge will be paid by everybody entering but once inside everybody is ensured of not having to fight through thousands of underage loitering teens and my favorite part, be able to drink outside on the streets while listening to live bands, etc...

I love this plan and think it is a massive step forward. $1 cover charge is nothing for a night of drinking outside with friends and I think it will add a great deal of electricity to the westport area....

hopefully everybody is responsible enough to handle this with care and it will let westport take a step up in being a great party atmosphere..

Now, how cool would it be to get that big screen flat panel they were talking about hanging outside of the bars and the Royals making the World Series....!!!! What a party that would be.

phxcat · Post by **phxcat** » Wed Jun 25, 2003 6:28 pm

That reminds me of Aggieville after the KU game! (post riots)

Post by **bahua** » Thu Jun 26, 2003 1:24 am

Holy geez! Are you for real? This is awesome!

I will be there _all summer_ if this really is true.

KCPowercat · Post by **KCPowercat** » Thu Jun 26, 2003 7:44 am

from the way it sounds, it's a done deal...July 5 is the first night

kcteen · Post by **kcteen** » Thu Jun 26, 2003 3:25 pm

It sounds cool and very necessary. The $1 fee will also discourage some of the sketchier people that walk through the westport area late at night from meandering through the entertainment district.

I just hope that they still let all under-21-westport-employees into westport when we're on shift...or that would suck for me (i'll be working late in july/august, ugh)...(!)

KcTeen

Rooster_Ties · Post by **Rooster_Ties** » Mon Jun 30, 2003 10:02 pm

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for keeping underage folks out of Westport at night, since it is basically an 'adult' district.

But, I also do wonder what is being done to give urban kids someplace to hang out - late night basketball, whatever. First the movie theaters at the Plaza are off limits, and now Westport.

Let's face it - urban kids are going to be out late, and there are plenty of "before curfew" hours they need something to do during as well (so enforcing the curfew isnâ€™t the only answer).

There is a church in our neighborhood (Volker) that I think is planning to do some late-night things for kids. Other churches may be thinking about doing other things too (I hope).

We might all like to have these kids safely at home, or at least somewhere under parental supervision - but given how unlikely that is to ever be the case â€“ I think various organizations (public, private, not-for-profit - you name it) need to step up to the plate and deal with the issue directly, rather than just shutting down all the kids favorite hangs, one by one.

Funny, The Palace Theater "no kids" rules, and the Westport "21 and over" district both go into effect at nearly the exact same time.

KCPowercat · Post by **KCPowercat** » Mon Jun 30, 2003 10:36 pm

From what Torre's pizza guy said, all profits from the $1 cover will go to a new underage project on Main...like a new dance club or something somebody's trying to start.

Rooster_Ties · Post by **Rooster_Ties** » Mon Jun 30, 2003 10:57 pm

Good, glad to hear it.

I'd be curious about what other cities with similar "urban youth" concerns, are doing to keep kids out of trouble at night - during the summer.

The only cities I've personally been to with "adult only" districts (like what's about to start in Westport), are New Orleans (around Burbon Street), and in St. Louis on their riverfront in the area called Laclede's Landing (at least I think it's an 'adult-only' zone - it's very much like our Westport, as I recall).

I wonder what other cities have seen happen (both good and bad) as a result of such 'adult-only' entertainment districts. It'll be interesting to follow this in the news, and in person.

KCPowercat · Post by **KCPowercat** » Tue Jul 01, 2003 7:42 am

I don't think LaClede's is roped off to under 21........LoDo in Denver seemed to have a lot of kids milling around it as well.

Post by **dangerboy** » Tue Jul 01, 2003 7:54 am

The Landing isn't restricted to over 21. It probably has the same number of clubs and bars over a larger area, so it doesn't seem as crowded as the intersection of Westport and Penn. I don't where the big teen hang out is in STL City, but isn't the Landing.

Rooster_Ties · Post by **Rooster_Ties** » Tue Jul 01, 2003 8:27 am

Thanks for the clarification on Laclede's Landing. I lived in St. Louis until I was 18, but I was never down there then. And now the few times I'm there (at Laclede's Landing), it's during things like the "VP Festival"/"Fair St. Louis", and usually during daylight hours.

Post by **dangerboy** » Tue Jul 01, 2003 9:32 am

I always got the impression that people in St. Louis are even more afraid of their downtown than people in KC. The Landing is a decent place, lots of great music, especially places like Mississippi Nights. Of course the difference is that the Landing is actually in the downtown area, not 3-4 miles away like Westport.

KCPowercat · Post by **KCPowercat** » Tue Jul 01, 2003 9:52 am

I actually hated LaClede's last time I was down there...too many corp. bars, very few original bars and only one was busy, Morgan St......U-City has some cool bars.

Rooster_Ties · Post by **Rooster_Ties** » Tue Jul 01, 2003 10:43 am

You know, I don't think I've even been to Laclede's Landing at night - not even once. We go to St. Louis quite a bit to visit my folks (who still live near Belleville, IL), but they're in the late 60's and early 70's, so most of the "night life" I've experienced in St. Louis has been going to hear the St. Louis Symphony, or going to various jazz bars occasionally.

Then again, most of my/our night-life in Kansas City is stuff like going to the KC Symphony, and jazz bars, and other "performing arts"-type things. When I first moved here in 1994, I practically lived at The Drum Room, right next to First Watch in Westport (technically "Old Westport", I think it's called) - near where the old SunFresh used to be. (I really loved The Drum Room, and was really sorry to see it close. When I was still single, I was in there 4 or 5 nights a week.)

kcteen · Post by **kcteen** » Tue Jul 01, 2003 5:36 pm

From what Torre's pizza guy said, all profits from the $1 cover will go to a new underage project on Main...like a new dance club or something somebody's trying to start.

What's everyones thoughts on this? I think it could be great but I also can see it being a controversial thing to start up. Are there any other underage clubs in town? I'm "underage" but I've never been to one because I've assumed there werent many (also...none of my friends go..so i've never really looked up any)

KcTeen

KCPowercat · Post by **KCPowercat** » Tue Jul 01, 2003 5:50 pm

when I was underage....(wasn't THAT long ago) I don't remember many underage clubs....I know there are a couple in JoCo but other than that I don't know of many....

KCDevin · Post by **KCDevin** » Tue Jul 01, 2003 8:06 pm

they should do something to fund downtown...
how can we that work at St. Lukes get there at night? (if we left something maybe)

Post by **mean** » Tue Jul 01, 2003 8:30 pm

Regarding underage clubs, there are (or at least used to be) a few. I dunno if Pogo's or Gee Coffee are still around, but the El Torreon serves up rock and roll to all ages most nights.

KCPowercat · Post by **KCPowercat** » Wed Jul 02, 2003 10:49 am

anybody heard if this is a for sure go for Saturday?

Listening to the city council meetings, Torre's said there would be only one outside beer vendor....

QueSi2Opie · Post by **QueSi2Opie** » Wed Jul 02, 2003 2:07 pm

mean wrote:Regarding underage clubs, there are (or at least used to be) a few. I dunno if Pogo's or Gee Coffee are still around, but the El Torreon serves up rock and roll to all ages most nights.

Pogo's is now some wedding banquet place. The only underage club I know of is Orlando's in Olathe.