Things are really looking up.....even people that are not urban geeks like ourselves are noticing the difference......I am a changed Man about Downtown!
I actually spent the whole day down there today and I must say I am impressed with the development going on down there.
Do we still need more? Yes. But I must take back all posts that are negative that I have made in the past 120 days.
I will begin deleting these posts today.
Go ahead and work on him - if you can get him out of the coverall section of Walmart. I think people like KSfarmboy need to stay in KS and never be let into the city. We need to set up a toll booth at I-35 north & State Line and toll them to get into the city.Let's see if we can work on kansasfarmboy.......
I go downtown for the arts (Crossroads), the restaurants (mainly along Southwest Blvd), the bars/clubs (on or near Broadway and in the City Market), and to catch a concert (Midland). I also go to Crown Center and Union Station to shop, see a film, or catch a traveling exhibit. Bartle Hall never has any conventions or shows that I care to see. I think once KC Live is complete in 2006, there will be many more reasons for people to go downtown.KC_JAYHAWK wrote:Things are changing (albeit ever so slowly), but there really is not a reason for most people to go downtown. I am a huge urban advocate, but I still rarely go downtown. Why? Probably because there are no sporting events to draw me, I never go to Bartle Hall for any of the conventions and there is little if any shopping to do. Downtown will not inspire me until it has the mass quantity of restaurants/shops that give me a reason to spend a few hours down there. I probably frequent the Plaza more than anything because it is where the "excitement" in Kansas City is....great shopping, bookstores, restaurants, well-kept and maintained sidewalks, apartments/condos, people actually walking and enjoying the district. Not to be a devils advocate, but downtown is still a long, long, long way from ever reaching that level, probably at least a decade if not longer.
This is true to a degree. I would say that downtown still needs billions of dollars of investment to reach a pinch of its potential. I think we can give up on trying to make downtown like it was in the 50s or a Plaza part 2. Downtown can be a destination rich in history, atmosphere, entertainment and business. Right now, it is this kind of a destination, but needs expansion and improvement.KC_JAYHAWK wrote:Things are changing (albeit ever so slowly), but there really is not a reason for most people to go downtown. I am a huge urban advocate, but I still rarely go downtown. Why? Probably because there are no sporting events to draw me, I never go to Bartle Hall for any of the conventions and there is little if any shopping to do. Downtown will not inspire me until it has the mass quantity of restaurants/shops that give me a reason to spend a few hours down there. I probably frequent the Plaza more than anything because it is where the "excitement" in Kansas City is....great shopping, bookstores, restaurants, well-kept and maintained sidewalks, apartments/condos, people actually walking and enjoying the district. Not to be a devils advocate, but downtown is still a long, long, long way from ever reaching that level, probably at least a decade if not longer.
