In KC August 12th

[KCPowercat]

Iand then come back and say how much it sucked (foreshadowing).

[nota]

I wish you had mentioned where you were going to stay. I would have steered you away from there. It is a bad place-and that is for locals. For one thing-it's a no-tel Motel. It is also home to quite a bit of prostitution and drug crimes. That whole area along both sides of the interstate is pretty rough. Only places I've been panhandled nastily in the entire metro except for B&N on the Plaza and everyone gets him.

It has quite the rep in the Clay County court system.

If you do this again and want to stay north, come on up I 29 nearer to the airport. Most of the hotels up there are reasonable and nice and a little safer.

Please accept my apologies for the welcome to our city.

Your bottom pic is awesome-especially if you took it yesterday.

[KCPowercat]

DTO...thanks for the review.  Fidelity building is being occupied in October I believe.  www.909walnut.com

[DTO]

We usually stay at that hotel because a friend of ours works there. Also that's the closest Taco Bell to DTKC I know of. So that's a big plus for me. A few years ago we stayed at the Wyndham Gardens by the airport when we went to the zoo. It was nice but it was to far away from everything. The other place we usually stay is in Independance at one of those hotels near 39th and Noland off the I-70 exit.

Thanks nota. I did take that pic on Friday. I got some good ones for as crappy as the weather was. You'll have to wait for the rest of the pics because there are alot of them and I'm busy but they'll be worth the wait. 

[nota]

Westport Hotels are not a whole lot more expensive than up north and you can walk to a ton of places.

Last time we put someone up at Embassy, it was $116 plus taxes. I think the Quarterage (sp?) was about the same.

If you are going to be DT anyway, you would save a lot of gas and time.

[Gladstoner]

It also seemed like light in general was dim. When we left KC it was after 11. The clouds were low so I was looking up expecting to see the glow but it was weak to non-existant. Even after we passed KCI, looking back you'd never know there was a city with 2,000,000 people behind you. By the time we got into Iowa you could already start to see the orange bubble where Omaha was. It was like coming into Vegas compared to KC.

Rest assured. KC has quite the orange bubble at night too, probably more so than Omaha. It's merely wasted electricity. It doesn't need to be any bigger.

[skim82]

Good post...

I think KC could use a lot more constructive criticism..... No offense... but KC should offer more big-city amenities than Omaha.... I mean, from what i hear, Omaha and KC are about the same, KC is just more populated.... 

One thing I always tell people when they ask me how i like living in 'KANSAS"  (notice when i say kansas city they automatically assume i'm from kansas)  anyway, i always have to tell the truth.... KC is one big suburban cluster f#@%..... 

DTO, if you ever lived in KC, and liked the whole "suburban" thing, KC compares to any other top 30 city in America... however, if you're looking for urban excitement.... that might be a few years away....

I really think KC is at a critical moment in development.... I can really see this city taking off with a healthy, vibrant urban core... the suburbs will continue to sprawl, but will fill in towards the west and east.... 

Sorry for the crappy infrastructure....  We all know, and we're all ashamed.... 

[KCPowercat]

skim...what in his post did you find constructive criticism?  Our "glow" isn't big enough?  KC does offer more big-city amenities than Omaha....who is saing they are about the same?

I think our urban excitement compares with any other city our size....but I only LIVE in the urban core, what would I know.

[staubio]

Well, I stopped by the ol' home Omaha on a trip back to my parent's place this weekend.  I stopped at the Old Market both on the trip there and the trip back, the latter occassion to dine outside at the Upstream and enjoy a marvelous day.

I will agree that the Old Market trumps the Plaza in terms of an organic urban district, but it really isn't fair to compare the two.  The Plaza is first and foremost an upscale shopping district -- and it is one that many on the forum find to be overly contrived.  Still, it offers residential density and a great mixture of retail.  Your mom is right, DTO -- the Plaza is trying to be more like Rodeo Drive than it is like a gritty warehouse district.

That said, I love the Old Market and I wish we had something like it in Kansas City.  With that in mind, I'd say it is pretty much Omaha's only real urban district.  It would be more fair to compare the Market with Westport than the Plaza.  We also have Crown Center, Crossroads, 18th and Vine, Brookside, 39th, etc, while Omaha really only has some small smatterings like Dundee. 

The Old Market is awesome, though, but for me, it isn't enough.

[KCPowercat]

Well, I stopped by the ol' home Omaha on a trip back to my parent's place this weekend. I stopped at the Old Market both on the trip there and the trip back, the latter occassion to dine outside at the Upstream and enjoy a marvelous day.

I will agree that the Old Market trumps the Plaza in terms of an organic urban district, but it really isn't fair to compare the two. The Plaza is first and foremost an upscale shopping district -- and it is one that many on the forum find to be overly contrived. Still, it offers residential density and a great mixture of retail. Your mom is right, DTO -- the Plaza is trying to be more like Rodeo Drive than it is like a gritty warehouse district.

That said, I love the Old Market and I wish we had something like it in Kansas City. With that in mind, I'd say it is pretty much Omaha's only real urban district. It would be more fair to compare the Market with Westport than the Plaza. We also have Crown Center, Crossroads, 18th and Vine, Brookside, 39th, etc, while Omaha really only has some small smatterings like Dundee.

The Old Market is awesome, though, but for me, it isn't enough.

Maybe it's just me that tries to compare something in another city to something in KC but I found Old Market to be a little bigger River market area....just to the edge of the CBD of the downtown and the building stock seemed the same.

[staubio]

Maybe it's just me that tries to compare something in another city to something in KC but I found Old Market to be a little bigger River market area....just to the edge of the CBD of the downtown and the building stock seemed the same.

Yeah, but I'd say the Old Market has better preserved building stock, along with brick pavers and a complete renovation of contiguous blocks of retail and restaurants.  Aside from the Farmers' Market activity, the River Market doesn't see the same kind of action.  Of course, the Old Market is the only game in town while the River Market is more of a quaint neighborhood than the urban district.

That said, I would love to see the River Market become more like the Old Market.  Start by infilling the tons of parking.

[Tosspot]

  Start by infilling the tons of parking.

But where would we all park??








God I crack myself up sometimes.

[kcdcchef]

hey toss
we can all park at the k any night the royals play, and just thumb it from there

[KC_Fan]

sorry for my ignorance, but what building is pictured below One KC Place?  Thanks!

[KCPowercat]

sorry for my ignorance, but what building is pictured below One KC Place? Thanks!

new tallest in Omaha...it's 2' taller you know (I'm sure by complete accident)   It's almost cute Omaha thinks they need to build a taller building than us to feel significant.

[ComandanteCero]

well, i think it's good.  It keeps people here from getting complacent.  I honestly hope Omaha or Des Moines build a light rail/streetcar system, that will definitely get people in KC thinking about how far they are lagging behind, hehe (seeing as both cities are the big cities of their respective states i wouldn't be surprised if they pulled it off either).

[KCPowercat]

OMaha or DM building a light rail light wouldn't push KC, we would see how utterly crazy these cities are getting just to have the new "we're a big city" toy.

Sorry to say but I don't see Omaha pushing KC in any way (except maybe a zoo in which we don't care about anyways, it seems)

[KC_Fan]

I thought that building looked familiar.  I spent some time in Omaha and, although nice, I really don't see how it compares to KC.  I would definitely visit Omaha again, but I'm surprised people compare the two cities. 

Maybe I'm wrong, I dunno.  Does anyone have any economic data to back me up??  I would just guess with 2 pro sports teams, Sprint, Yellow-Roadway, Hallmark, H&R Block, Interstate Bakeries, Farmland Industries, American Century, DST Systems, etc. that K.C. has a larger economy. 

[KCPowercat]

only people who compare them are people from Omaha.

[kcdcchef]

well the omaha royals may outdraw the kc royals in attendance. omaha sucks. boring as hell.