Some random shots of KC. Mostly 90's.

GRID · Post by **GRID** » Thu Aug 24, 2023 5:44 pm

Here are some old pics I scanned of KC. They really are not that old to me, but they might be to some people on this forum.

Anthony_Hugo98 · Post by **Anthony_Hugo98** » Thu Aug 24, 2023 6:12 pm

Damn, downtown looks damn near desolate in these pics. Crazy to think that’s how it was not too far in the past.

moderne · Post by **moderne** » Thu Aug 24, 2023 6:21 pm

Minus south loop development, it still is.

Chris Stritzel · Post by **Chris Stritzel** » Thu Aug 24, 2023 6:38 pm

Thanks for sharing these. It's interesting to see how far we've come, but just how much more work there is left to do.

Funny to see the East Village have almost all of its parking occupied. That scenario hasn't existed for years (save for maybe Chiefs and Royals victory parades).

GRID · Post by **GRID** » Thu Aug 24, 2023 7:15 pm

Anthony_Hugo98 wrote: ↑Thu Aug 24, 2023 6:12 pm Damn, downtown looks damn near desolate in these pics. Crazy to think that’s how it was not too far in the past.

It was and in many cases still is compared to most cities. The South Loop is building out now, but there might be more empty lots in the rest of downtown today then there was back then because many buildings have been torn down and not replaced with anything. And the office buildings that have been converted to residential were all quite busy. Even the old ones. The core of downtown was actually quite busy even though though the outer blocks of the loop were nothing but parking lots. The crossroads was basically like the west bottoms.

Imagine being an avid urban supporter of KCMO during the 80's through early 2000's. It's been an exhausting few decades haha. At least you have some momentum to work with today and yet people still fight it.

I really don't think people realize how bad KC was back then and I honestly think that's a big reason they don't realize they still have a long way to go.

Chris Stritzel wrote: ↑Thu Aug 24, 2023 6:38 pm Thanks for sharing these. It's interesting to see how far we've come, but just how much more work there is left to do.

Funny to see the East Village have almost all of its parking occupied. That scenario hasn't existed for years (save for maybe Chiefs and Royals victory parades).

Yeah, that's what I mean by not near as much demand. As bad as downtown KC was in the 80's and 90's, it's was a busy place during the day. It honestly feels like there were ten times the people working there back then. There are more people on the sidewalks at night and stuff now, but the sidewalks, streets etc were much busier during business hours. There was no way hell you could just close Grand like you can today and have little impact. The city buses using grand alone were ten times what it is now.

This is all why it's literally mind boggling to me when so many people say traffic and parking are issues in Downtown KCMO. It's much harder to park in Omaha than it is in KC.

Post by **smh** » Fri Aug 25, 2023 8:09 am

GRID wrote: ↑Thu Aug 24, 2023 7:15 pm
Anthony_Hugo98 wrote: ↑Thu Aug 24, 2023 6:12 pm Damn, downtown looks damn near desolate in these pics. Crazy to think that’s how it was not too far in the past.
It was and in many cases still is compared to most cities. The South Loop is building out now, but there might be more empty lots in the rest of downtown today then there was back then because many buildings have been torn down and not replaced with anything. And the office buildings that have been converted to residential were all quite busy. Even the old ones. The core of downtown was actually quite busy even though though the outer blocks of the loop were nothing but parking lots. The crossroads was basically like the west bottoms.

Imagine being an avid urban supporter of KCMO during the 80's through early 2000's. It's been an exhausting few decades haha. At least you have some momentum to work with today and yet people still fight it.

I really don't think people realize how bad KC was back then and I honestly think that's a big reason they don't realize they still have a long way to go.

Chris Stritzel wrote: ↑Thu Aug 24, 2023 6:38 pm Thanks for sharing these. It's interesting to see how far we've come, but just how much more work there is left to do.

Funny to see the East Village have almost all of its parking occupied. That scenario hasn't existed for years (save for maybe Chiefs and Royals victory parades).
Yeah, that's what I mean by not near as much demand. As bad as downtown KC was in the 80's and 90's, it's was a busy place during the day. It honestly feels like there were ten times the people working there back then. There are more people on the sidewalks at night and stuff now, but the sidewalks, streets etc were much busier during business hours. There was no way hell you could just close Grand like you can today and have little impact. The city buses using grand alone were ten times what it is now.

This is all why it's literally mind boggling to me when so many people say traffic and parking are issues in Downtown KCMO. It's much harder to park in Omaha than it is in KC.

These are really interesting photos, thanks for sharing. One thing I took away (somewhat related to your point) is just how many tower cranes were up around Crown Center in your photo. When we've seen a comparable number in the last few years I always had a feeling of things finally changing. When I see how many were in your photo I realize that the path to back to a lively, walkable urban center is an incredibly long slog and we still have decades to go.

A little disheartening... but also there is progress. This is where something like the development associated with a Royals ballpark could serve as a catalyst to dial up the momentum.

moderne · Post by **moderne** » Fri Aug 25, 2023 10:54 am

The last photo shows the construction of the new dog leg Broadway viaduct. There used to be two viaducts that both ran straight north south. The easterly one landed just to the west of the post office where the new IRS building went up. Too bad both viaducts were not kept, would have been more north south connectability.

FangKC · Post by **FangKC** » Fri Aug 25, 2023 11:25 am

KCRag Forum

Some random shots of KC. Mostly 90's.

Some random shots of KC. Mostly 90's.

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Re: Some random shots of KC. Mostly 90's.

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Re: Some random shots of KC. Mostly 90's.