Chris Meck |
11-15-2022 09:49 PM |
Quote:
Originally Posted by |Zach|
(Post 16607129)
I think you are giving a lot of credit to what downtown and the crossroads was before Power and Light. It would have been amazing if downtown was more dynamic without needing a district like that but it was not the case and people simply were not living downtown or going downtown at all.
I am sympathetic to your concerns I live downtown and know first hand some of the annoying stuff about it but it was not better before. Nobody was even around to like or not like something or have an opinion on it. Not everything is a local gem in a metropolitan area Power and Light is like a ridiculous adult Disney Land its plastic and chain but has helped the area bring in more people and do more things...allowed it to turn a corner.
There are amazing local Kansas City places everywhere. Just because they are not directly across the street from an area is ok. You can still have a drink at the Campground or a pizza and beer at Caddyshack. Downtown and the surrounding area have enough for everyone. Hell even Zoo bar still shines bright. LMAO
|
Dude, I had a studio at 16th and Grand for ten years, and have worked in this area on and off since the late 90's.. At the beginning of that time, you could literally see tumbleweeds blowing down Grand certain times of year. Then artists started renting lofts down there. There would be rent parties, which would be live music shows, which led to actual live music venues, and art galleries, and cool little hole in the wall restaurants. It was beginning to happen, and the First Friday thing started, and early on, that was all local and grew naturally, no corporate bullshit, just like a real KC thing. Then Power and Light, and the arena, and the artists all run out for luxury loft living. Now the people in the luxury lofts are complaining about all the noise from the live music clubs and especially from Grinders, which is an outdoor smallish concert venue.
So, did 'people' go to the area before? Well, people that were part of things that were happening, yeah. People who were or were interested in art and music.
Did suburban people who want to eat chain food because that's what they know and drink $10 bud lights come by the thousands? Well, no.
Somehow people from the suburbs think things are either whitebread chain bullshit or gang war territory. It's entirely untrue and pretty insulting, really.
Not that YOU were being insulting, just that the concept of what makes a city interesting and unique is entirely lost on most people.
There is still a lot of cool stuff in the Crossroads district, but most of it will be gone soon with the rent hikes coming with a stadium build less than a mile away.
|