Kansas City Vine Street "Castle" (St. Louis: lofts, crime)

[dianamoon]

NYer here, interested in architectural curiosities, especially American vernacular. I don't know a thing about Kansas City.

What is the neighborhood like that surrounds this fascinating oddity?

What Is That? Kansas City's Vine Street Castle | KCUR

[TabulaRasa]

18th & Vine Historic District, within its immediate boundaries, is well-kept, because it's a significant spot to some tourists and to music enthusiasts. It's the cultural home of KC's historic jazz/bebop scene, the Jazz Museum is there (also the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, because it's very near the site of the former stadium). There are restaurants, clubs, landmark sculptures/statuary. Landmark BBQ place Arthur Bryant's is adjacent. It's just slightly off the downtown area (more driveable than walkable, though, because of a freeway beltway).

As for the larger surrounding neighborhood, it's essentially the gateway to a less-nice part of KC, from a socioeconomic/crime standpoint.

If you do a Google streetview search of the neighborhood within the vicinity, you'll get a pretty good sense of the overall physical atmosphere. It's fairly rough.

[zach_33]

It's pretty rough (rough looking anyway). I was on my way back to the suburbs after visiting the Negro Baseball League museum over July 4th weekend and it caught my eye from the Paseo (a nearby major thoroughfare), so I doubled back and parked in front of the building for a moment. It looks like many blocks on the east side of Detroit (or the north side of St. Louis) where vacant lots outnumber lots with houses, and the houses that are around are mostly in very bad shape.

[zach_33]

Originally Posted by TabulaRasa

18th & Vine Historic District, within its immediate boundaries, is well-kept, because it's a significant spot to some tourists and to music enthusiasts. It's the cultural home of KC's historic jazz/bebop scene, the Jazz Museum is there (also the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, because it's very near the site of the former stadium). There are restaurants, clubs, landmark sculptures/statuary. Landmark BBQ place Arthur Bryant's is adjacent. It's just slightly off the downtown area (more driveable than walkable, though, because of a freeway beltway).

As for the larger surrounding neighborhood, it's essentially the gateway to a less-nice part of KC, from a socioeconomic/crime standpoint.

If you do a Google streetview search of the neighborhood within the vicinity, you'll get a pretty good sense of the overall physical atmosphere. It's fairly rough.

That's true there is some really cool stuff down on 18th. Is it true they filmed a period piece 1930s movie there recently? And some nice new lofts right by that castle, but yeah a lot of open fields. Some of the side streets nearby look awful.

[TabulaRasa]

Depends on your idea of recently, but Robert Altman's "Kansas City" filmed at least exterior shots there. But that was in the '90s.

Many of the buildings on the south side of 18th Street are false fronts from that set.

The side streets look basically like every other street in that part of town. It's just a run-down, high poverty area with little-to-no business development. The Historic District itself really only looks as good as it does because it's a niche destination.