Railroaders' Nostalgia > The new downtown Kansas City!

In mid-afternoon on September 3, 1980 I awoke in my 18th floor room in the Continental Hotel in downtown Kansas City, MO. I had worked Amtrak train #4 in from Newton, KS as the flagman (aka passenger brakeman) earlier that morning. I wouldn’t go on duty to work #3 back to Newton until 11:50 PM. I was a 25 year old railfan working in train service for my beloved Santa Fe. In suit & tie I had ridden into town on a direct descendant of the world-famous Super Chief. And for all this I was getting paid! My spirits could not possibly have been any higher.

It was a beautiful day, and I was eager to explore downtown. So I grabbed my camera & some extra K-64 and hit the street. I walked around for a couple of hours looking for photo opportunities, but only shot a handful of slides. I had seen several places that would make for some interesting extended exposure, night-time shooting. But the daylight streets had an edgy atmosphere I could sense rather than really see. The sidewalks were full of people hurrying to & fro, no doubt the regular tide of humanity going about their daily business. There were not many smiles to be seen, and with a camera around my neck I even received a couple of not-so-friendly glances.

I was getting hungry so I went back to my room and showered early for my return to work later that night. It was dusk as I went back down to the street. I had my tripod along with me, knowing I had have unrestricted access to the entire passenger platform to shoot whatever was around. (Can you picture a 25 year old in full Amtrak passenger apparel bent over a tripod down on the platform?) I walked the few blocks down to this Italian place I had seen in my exploration. I got brave and tried a zesty dish of spaghetti with all the extras. It only cost me a mild case of heartburn…

It was now completely dark as I brazenly started my photo ‘walk-about’ (with apologies to Crocodile Dundee). The streets were mostly deserted. There were only a few scattered human shapes sauntering about to which I paid no mind. Starting with the restaurant I ate in earlier I shot through almost 2 rolls of K-64, pointing my camera every which-way. Around 10:30 PM I made my way back to the Continental to get ready to go back to work. Walking up Baltimore Avenue I spotted something laying on the side walk. It was a small fake-leather satchel. Inside were 2 hypodermic needles, both in a somewhat ‘used’ state. This gave me a moment of pause. With a slight electric tingle I realized these were probably heroin needles. I looked around and deposited them in an over-flowing trash bin. I went back up to my room to get my Amtrak uniform on.

After midnight at Union Station and my conductor & I were sitting around waiting on #3 to arrive. He was friendly to the idea of railfan photography and asked me if I had found anything interesting to shoot, meaning RR subjects. When I mentioned my little downtown photo-study he looked at me like I was a damn fool. He told me I was l probably lucky I didn’t get mugged (or worse). He explained how my camera would have been a great source of pawn shop money had some junkie approached me closely. I gave a little shudder as I recalled the needles I had thrown in that trash bin…

“Now you know this ain't no through street
The end is dead ahead
The poor folks play for keeps down here
They're the living dead”*

Fast-forward 36 years. There was still a bit of daylight left after last night’s Roundtable dinner & presentation in Kansas City. I headed south across the Missouri River and pulled up at a red light at 3rd St & Grand Avenue. A KCSA streetcar had just departed the ‘River Market North’ station. It looked really cool silhouetted in the pale sunset. So I parked and just waited for the next car. I got a few shots, and now I was all fired up to do some more shooting. I drove down Main St and found a place to park south of the I-670 overpass. Within a couple of blocks I managed over 4 dozen shots from multiple locations & angles. For some time I had known about the revitalization of downtown Kansas City. And now the new KCSA streetcar system was up & running. I took great enjoyment in my shooting, but I really wasn’t prepared to see up-close how alive & pulsating downtown had actually become. It was only Thursday and there were busy bars & pubs everywhere. In between streetcars I was enjoying just taking in the entire spectacle. And then a young and very attractive girl in tight gym shorts came jogging up the sidewalk all by herself. She was obviously & completely fearless. I drifted back 36 years and remembered the heroin needles I had stumbled across: just a few blocks from where this girl was jogging. My oh my: How much downtown had changed!

Next time you’re in Kansas City find your way downtown. Park anywhere along the new KCSA streetcar route. Take your camera and push that ISO way up! The new night time downtown Kansas City is friendly, warm & very vibrant. You will enjoy it…

1. Italian Gardens restaurant @ 1110 Baltimore Avenue in Kansas City, MO.
Photo date: September 3, 1980.

2. KCSA car #802 is stopped at a red light at 3rd St. A green light will send this new streetcar swinging around to the left (south) onto Delaware St for the short jog down to & across I-70 where it will merge into Main St for another run down to Kansas City Union Station.
Photo date: June 2, 2016

Thanks for looking!
Lance Garrels
santafe199

*In 1981 Van Halen released their 4th album Fair Warning. The lead track is a tune called “Mean Street”. The picture of the hypothetical street painted by the lyrics is NOT pretty. The tune did not chart on Billboard’s Top-40.

DJ Sir L

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Great story!!  Italian Gardens was a very famous, well-liked restaurant in Kansas City.  It finally closed after 78 years on December 24, 2003.  Back in the day it was the place to dine in Kansas City.  There is a book out there called "A History of Kansas City Through Its Famous Restaurant".  Too bad its couldn't have survived a decade or more to thrive with the rebirth of downtown.

That first shot is a beaut!

Great place to eat.  Wish it was still there. 

Roberto
 

It may have not charted well for the band, but that song was a Van Halen classic from an excellent album.  Back when VH were great.

Great story,one that has been repeating itself around the country. 30 years ago downtown Tulsa was the same, now there are hundreds of condos, shops, restaurants and clubs with people living there. When I started rail photography in the 1970's the railroad always seemed to be built on the wrong side of town, but that's where the trains were so that's where I went. Got some good shots, odd looks and a few blank stares followed by, "You went where!" Now with the new revival of downtown I can carry my gear and set up anywhere, anytime.
Nice shots, as usual you are not afraid to point the camera in any direction. We enjoyed your presentation in Wichita. Marc

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