Two views from the Power & Light Building

scooterj · Post by **scooterj** » Thu Oct 16, 2003 10:55 pm

I work in the Power & Light Building and I grabbed the camera when I noticed this view near sunset last night. My apologies for the mesh, all the windows on the north side of the office have it and I couldn't get any of them to open more than an inch.

The antithesis of that photo is the one below, which shows better than a street-level view how horribly blighted the South Loop is.

GRID · Post by **GRID** » Thu Oct 16, 2003 11:13 pm

Talk about contrast. At least the south loop is "ready" for development.

Did the Rubber Stamp Company finnally give in? I have not heard much out of them with the whole arena thing.

KCPowercat · Post by **KCPowercat** » Thu Oct 16, 2003 11:41 pm

Picture #1: Sell me a condo there RIGHT NOW.

Picture #2: I see a clean slate for an awesome development.

tat2kc · Post by **tat2kc** » Fri Oct 17, 2003 8:00 am

The south loop view is astonishing. This area is definately ready to go. The city should take possesion of the remaining buildings, and tear them down. Then upgrade and prepare the utilities, and prep the land for construction. Offering land that is clean and ready for construction would be a nice incintive for new development.

trailerkid · Post by **trailerkid** » Fri Oct 17, 2003 4:20 pm

Leave those little old buildings!!! They've survived this long in that wasteland....reward them...give them new life!!!

KCDevin · Post by **KCDevin** » Fri Oct 17, 2003 5:03 pm

what would a straight on shot from the top look like? (of One Kansas City Place)

SonicBoi · Post by **SonicBoi** » Fri Oct 17, 2003 5:49 pm

Not much different. The top of the lantern is somewhere arround the 30th floor of 1kcp and it looks HUGE from up there. Pic #1 is really awsome (mesh ignored).

QueSi2Opie · Post by **QueSi2Opie** » Sat Oct 18, 2003 6:40 am

trailerkid wrote:Leave those little old buildings!!! They've survived this long in that wasteland....reward them...give them new life!!!

Unfortunately it's cheaper to demolish them and build new ones instead of fixin' up those old ones. Have you seen some of them buildings up close, many are in horrible condition. I believe you can salvage a couple and include them in a broader development scheme. After all, we don't want a bunch of plastic lookin' buildings either (the new 18th & Vine) in that area. Those surface lots are terrible too!!!

I believe downtown can still be filled with unique neighborhoods/districts even with a new entertainment district in the South Loop area. I was re-exploring downtown again this afternoon (I do that every now and then), and still absolutely love the whole downtown loop area along Broadway, Pennsylvania, Central and Baltimore. I even mapped out a quick loop tour for visiting family and friends (especially after the Broadway Bridge is complete). One area of downtown I was still disappointed with was 11th Street between Locust and Main. There are so many ugly boarded up windows one the southside of this street. Are any lofts planned for those buildings?

Anyhow, entering downtown from KCI (as the guests arrive at the terminal prior to 12noon):

FRIDAY
- Take I-29 to Highway 169, exit at Briarcliff Parkway.
- Turn right and show off a couple of them homes on N. Mulberry near the Briarcliff Lake Fountain (doesn't some big wig for H&R Block live in that big brown home above that lake?). Plus it's a nice view of downtown from the top of that hill.
- Quickly turn around and drive back down N. Mulberry to Briarcliff Parkway/Monett Rd.
- Turn right and go down to Highway 9.
- Head east on Highway 9 until you enter North Kansas City.
- Stop at that park on NE 32nd Ave & Oak Street to show off the Children's Fountain.
- Then get back on Highway 9 heading back west to the turn around (on the left) which puts you on Highway 169 again headin' south towards downtown.
- Cross over the Broadway Bridge and head into downtown.
- Turn right on 9th Street and go to Jefferson Street.
- Turn right on Jefferson Street and drive past West Terrace Park pointing out the statue of Jim Pendergast and driving around the Lewis & Clark statue in Case Park.
- Go east on 8th Street from Case Park to Pennsylvania.
- Turn right on Pennsylvania and go to 10th Street.
- Turn left on 10th Street and go to Broadway.
- Turn left on Broadway and go to 8th Street.
- Turn right on 8th Street (a.k.a. Scamps Alley) and drive to Main Street.
- Turn right on Main Street and show off the Muse of the Missouri Fountain.
- Continue on Main Street, while pointing out the 10th Street Fountain near the bus stations, until reaching 12th Street.
- Turn left on 12th Street and keep driving, while pointing out the Rain Thicket Fountain in Oppenstein Brothers Memorial Park and the City Hall Sea Horse Fountains at City Hall, until coming to Locust Street.
- Turn left on Locust Street and drive to 11th Street.
- Turn left on 11th Street and drive (while trying to point back at the UMB Atrium Fountain) on Grand) to Main Street.
- Turn left on Main Street and drive, while pointing out City Center, Midland Theater, etc., until reaching 13th Street.
- Turn right on 13th Street and drive to Central Street, pointing out Bartle Hall Convention Center and Municipal Auditorium.
- Turn right on Central Street and drive to 12th Street.
- Turn right on 12th Street and drive, while pointing out the Barney Allis Plaza Fountain, until reaching Baltimore.
- Turn left on Baltimore and drive until reaching 9th Street to show off thePoindexter Fountain and the Eagle on the New York Life Building.
- Turn left on 9th Street and drive to Wyandotte Street.
- Turn left on Wyandotte Street and drive to 11th Street.
- Turn right on 11th Street, pointing out the Lyric Theater, and drive to Broadway.
- Turn left on Broadway, pointing out the gold-domed Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, and drive until reaching Southwest Blvd.
- Turn left on Southwest Blvd and drive to 20th Street.
- Turn right on 20th Street and drive to Main Street.
- Turn right on Main Street and drive to Pershing Road, pointing out the Liberty Memorial North Terrace Fountain and the Henry Wollman Bloch Fountain.
- Turn left on Pershing Road and drive to Grand Avenue.
- Turn right on Grand Avenue a drive, while pointing out the Crown Center Square Fountain and the Crown Center Entrance Fountain[/b], until you reach the Crown Center Parking Garage on the right side of Grand.
- Park your car and let the walking begin.
- Start by browsing a few Crown Center Shops. My favorites are American Indian Store, Best of Kansas City, Crayola Store, Ethnics, Hallmark Crown Center, Halls Station, The Nature of Things Store and Zoom.
- Then walk past Halls and go visit the Hallmark Visitor's Center.
- After leaving the visitor's center, walk on the outside of Crown Center, going down the steps, past the fountains, across Grand, and back inside the Crown Center Shops.
- Walk to the Westin Crown Center lobby to show off the Westin Crown Center Waterfall.
- Then take the Link to Union Station.
- Show off the interior of Union Station, and purchase a ticket for a film at the City Extreme Screen or one of the rotating exhibits at the Exhibit Gallery (unfortunately Science City itself is for the kiddies, but the other two I mentioned are quite enjoyable).
- But before you catch a show or see an exhibit, walk outside Union Station, past the Henry Bloch Fountain, through Penn Valley Park to the Liberty Memorial.
- If there's time, visit the WWI Museum, but definitely take the Elevator to the top of the Liberty Memorial.
- After leaving the memorial, go back to Union Station and catch a 45 minute movie or see an exhibit.
- It's about 5:30pm, so time to cross over the Freighthouse/Union Station Bridge to the Freighthouse District and eat dinner at Fiorella's Jack Stack.
- As soon as dinner is finished, the Crossroads District will be bustling with art lovers for First Fridays.
- After strolling through the galleries along Baltimore and Wyandotte, walk back over (or take a cab, beg a shuttle) to the car at Crown Center.
- Exit the parking garage and take Grand Avenue towards downtown until you reach 19th Street.
- Turn left on 19th Street and go to Main Street.
- Turn right on Main Street and go to 16th Street.
- Turn left on 16th Street and go to Broadway.
- Turn right on Broadway and go to show off a lil' bit of the essence of Kansas City with stops at The Majestic on Broadway, then The Pheonix on 8th Street (a.k.a. Scamps Alley) and then John's Upper Deck on Central for some live jazz or blues. But only stay 'til 12midnight, the guests are tired and ready to go get some sleep.

I'll update soon with SATURDAY and SUNDAY. If you're bored, try driving the route I mapped to see if it's "Approved" by you suburbanites and city dwellers.

GRID · Post by **GRID** » Sun Oct 19, 2003 10:23 pm

Interesting, but I do the same thing.

It takes a skilled KC urban guy like you, me or most members of this forum is really show off KC right.

There is a lot going on in urban KC, but there is a ton of dead space between these areas.

This was such a great feeling, true story:

We took some friends down to the Plaza and I purposely drove through the Freighthouse/Crossroads district without saying anything about First Friday (acted dumb about it) and they were amazed at how vibrant Downtown was that weekend. I did not want so say it's a once of month thing, because it was so nice to see so many people downtown or anywhere north of westport on the weekend. But even the Freighthouse/Crossroads district is like a ghost town most of the time. I did not go through the Loop area either, took the Penway exit because I knew that would be most active area that night, then stayed on Broadway for the most part.

Things are changing and someday we won't have to use such creative travel paths to impress outsiders.