18th and Vine
In 1917, twenty-five African American musicians joined together to form Musicians Protective Union Local No. 627. The support offered by the new union enabled many of them to turn their music into full-time careers by helping secure fair contracts and working conditions, and allowing them to put down roots in Kansas City instead of working as itinerant musicians. In 1929, the union was officially incorporated and purchased an apartment building at 1823 Highland Avenue, which the union converted into its headquarters. The union thrived, in 1958 creating the Mutual Musicians Foundation to manage the building and other union assets. Though Local 627 was forced to merge with the white musicians union, Local 34, in 1970, the Mutual Musicians Foundation remains a social club and living museum, a testament to Kansas City's rich musical history and the power of labor organizing.
The American Jazz Walk of Fame was established on August 23, 2014 when the tradition of honoring jazz artists began under the influence of Congressman Emanuel Cleaver II. Every year, a committee of musicians selected one or more musicians and dedicated a medallion in their honor in the sidewalk in front of the American Jazz Museum and the historic Gem Theater. Over the years, these medallions have formed a "Walk of Fame" within the heart of the 18th & Vine Jazz District. The medallion dedication ceremony has become an annual event, with celebrated jazz musicians performing in nearby venues to honor new inductees.
Built in 1912, the Gem Theater, originally named the Star Theater, served Kansas City's African American population as a “silent movie palace” (VisitKC). It was renamed the Gem Theater in 1913 and soon became an “established fixture” in the 18th & Vine district. Eventually, the theater switched from movies to live performances before falling into disrepair after the 1960s. However, unlike many other architectural landmarks of 18th & Vine's jazz age, the Gem Theater escaped the razing that took place in the 1970s and 1980s as part of urban development projects. In the 1990s, the theater was renovated in a process that removed much of the original interior to make space for a modern performance venue.
Since opening in 1997, the American Jazz Museum has offered a blend of traditional museum experiences centered on artifacts and interpretation along with performances and educational programs. The museum is located in the 18th and Vine Historic District, and its exhibits and programs are centered on the historical and artistic contributions of the musicians who lived and worked in this part of Kansas City. The museum includes interactive exhibits and educational programs that are connected to the Blue Room, a working jazz club with nightly performances that are open to all. The Museum also operates the neighboring Gem Theater, a historic 500-seat performing arts center. In addition, staff work closely with area music educators and Mutual Musicians Foundation, a union that dates back to 1917. As a Smithsonian Affiliate, the American Jazz Museum also presents music-related exhibits from the Smithsonian Institute.
A modern landmark within the historic 18th & Vine district, The Blue Room Jazz Club is connected to the American Jazz Museum and showcases some of the most significant jazz musicians. A museum by day and hopping jazz club at night, the Blue Room blends music and entertainment with history and is a favorite for many residents of the Kansas City metro area. Established by Reuben and Ella Street as part of the Street Hotel (or "Street's," as it was known) in the early 1920s, the Blue Room became one of the most important venues in the geography of Kansas City jazz. The original Blue Room and the hotel that housed it were located just a few steps west of the current Blue Room. That historic building was razed in the 1980s and is now home to Soiree and several other businesses.
This eighteen foot statue commemorates the life and career of Charlie Parker, one of the most influential jazz musicians of the 20th century. Parker grew up in Kansas City and played at many Vine Street nightclubs before pursuing a musical career in New York and California. He is widely considered to be one of the creators of bebop. The statue features Parker's head tilted downward, eye shut, and lips pursed as if he were playing the saxophone. At the base of the status, an inscription reads "Bird Lives" a reference to Parker's nickname and his long-lasting legacy.
Located at 1822 Vine Street, the Eblon Theater was Kansas City's first African American owned and operated theater. 1The club was constructed in 1922 with a Spanish colonial facade and seating for up to 1,000 patrons1. The Theater opened in 1923 as a venue for vaudeville and motion pictures. In 1933 the Eblon Theater closed and the Cherry Blossom club opened up in its place.1
Downtown
Now a parking lot, this was the site of one of Kansas City's leading jazz clubs of the 1930s. Prior to 1939 when reform elements took control of Kansas City, this was the site of the original 12th Street Reno Club, one of the most successful jazz clubs during the era when Kansas City's jazz scene thrived under the "protection" of Tom Pendergast. Here, patrons could see jazz legends such as Count Basie, Charlie Parker, Hot Lips Page, and Mary Lou Williams. This was also the location of experimental radio broadcasts that shared the sounds of Kansas City Jazz with audiences well beyond the city. Like most establishments in the city, the Reno Club was segregated with the main floor being reserved for white patrons while African Americans could be admitted to the balcony.
The Jenkins Music Company Building in Kansas City, Missouri, was originally constructed in 1911-1912. The building was built to serve as the general offices, retail headquarters and the wholesale division of the prominent musical instrument and music publishing firm, the Jenkins Music Company, founded in 1878 by John Wesley Jenkins, Sr. During the 1890’s, the Jenkins Company became one of the largest manufacturers of guitars and mandolins in the world and one of the most distinguished publishers of sheet music in the nation. The structure was designed by locally-based architectural firm, Smith, Rea & Lovitt, especially by the firm's senior partner, Charles A. Smith. It is a significant example of unaltered, Modernistic-style commercial architecture, combining Late Gothic Revival and Art Deco decorative elements. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
In 1964 the Kemper Foundation commissioned artist Elizabeth Powers to create “Jazz Musicians,” an outdoor public art installation for the north facade of the 811 Main Street building. Artist Elizabeth Powers was a Kansas City native who earned a degree at the Kansas City Art Institute and exhibited at the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art. At the time of the commission, the artist was living and working in her sculpture studio in Florence, Italy.In preparation of the commission, Powers sketched Kansas City jazz musicians playing in local night clubs. The trumpet man was inspired by watching and listening to Emmett Finney, and the bass player was inspired by Milt Abel, although neither are formal portraits. While the commission is symbolic of Kansas City’s strong jazz tradition, it also serves as a memorial to Lt. David Woods Kemper, James M. Kemper’s son, who passed away in World War II.
This mural of Kansas City jazz musicians is located on the east wall of the historic Phoenix Building which was constructed in 1888 and a contributing property within the Garment District which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The most striking feature of this historic three-story Neo-Romanesque building is the cast iron arch at the 8th street entryway. Since 1990 the first level of the former hotel has been home to The Phoenix, a live music venue that offers nightly jazz. In 2002, the city named the section of 8th Street from Broadway to Central as “Scamps Alley" in honor of an iconic jazz band with Kansas City roots dating back to the Great Depression.
Now a restaurant called The Majestic, the historic James Fitzpatrick Saloon Building was erected in 1911 and is a contributing property of the Wholesale District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This historic landmark has been around for 111 years and has been at the epicenter of city growth. The Majestic has seen much of Kansas City's history from the jazz era, Wild West, the first rail crossing of the Missouri River, the birth of Kansas City barbecue, and emergence of the garment industry. The building is in excellent condition and features a two-story projecting bay, and stained glass windows above the entrance.
The Gayety Theater operated at this location, the SE Corner of 12th and Wyandotte, from 1909 to 1935. The theater was constructed at the site of meatpacker A.W. Amour's former mansion and showed movies and also hosted musical performances and the occasional burlesque performance. Many of the leading jazz musicians performed here during the 1930s. The College Inn nightclub operated in the budling in the 1940s and the building was demolished around 1950 when the Muehlbach Hotel (now part of the Marriott) expanded.
31st Street to the Plaza
The Pla-Mor Ballroom was a popular jazz venue and entertainment complex that operated from 1927 to 1951. The legendary Kansas City venue opened on Thanksgiving 1927 to a crowd of 4,000 patrons who came out to dance to the sounds of the Jean Goldkette Orchestra.1 The Pla-Mor was home to more than music, and the complex claimed to be the largest indoor amusement center in the country in the 1920s, offering a bowling alley and billiards room underneath the ballroom and an ice hockey rink next door.4 In 1931 the Pla-Mor complex added the largest swimming pool west of the Mississippi.4 During its heyday the Ballroom welcomed jazz greats such as Ella Fitzgerald, Claude "Fiddler" Williams, Louis Armstrong, and Frank Sinatra. The popularity of the Pla-Mor ballroom declined in the 1940s as suburbanization drew populations out of the city and ballroom entertainment became less attractive. The ballroom permanently closed in 1951 with other attractions at the Pla-Mor complex following soon after. in 1971 the site was demolished and replaced by a car dealership. 4
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Jazz musicians in Kansas City shaped the genre in the 1920s and 1930s, and area artists like Bettye Wilson Miller contributed to the "modern jazz" movement from the 1950s to the 1970s. Bettye Miller met Milt Abel at the Horseshoe Lounge, which was located at 3243 Troost Avenue, and the pair formed a professional partnership that grew the Kansas City sound. The duo, who would later be married, took the Kansas City music scene by storm. Her vocals and piano skills paired with Milt's bass skills led to sold-out performances throughout Kansas City as well as national performances. Bettye also mentored youth and supported musical education through her support of the Charlie Parker Memorial Foundation until she passed away in 1977 after an extended battle with cancer. The Horseshoe Lounge was demolished in the latter half of the 20th century, but the legacy of her influence continued in the generations of Kansas City musicians that followed.
Milton Morris opened a jazz club at this location in 1934. Blues and Jazz singer Julia Lee was called by the local media the “Princess of the Boogie Woogie” and was known for her husky, throaty voice. She played piano and sang in her brother George E. Lee's Orchestra from 1920 to 1934. Lee was known for her straightforward piano style, and the easy, heartfelt way of singing. In a professional career that spanned four decades, Lee built a national reputation as one of the great female blues singers of all time.
In the late 1930s and early 1940s, one could regularly listen to future American Jazz Walk of Fame inductee Jay McShann at this location which was home to the Century Room. American Jazz pianist, vocalist, and bandleader James Columbus “Jay” McShann had a music career that spanned over 60 years and is credited with the creation of the distinctive Kansas City jazz sound through swing music and big bands. Born in Muskogee, Oklahoma, on January 12, 1916, Jay McShann was passing through Kansas City, Missouri in 1936 when he decided to stay after securing a regular gig at the Monroe Inn on Independence Avenue. During the next three years, he formed a small group, then a big band, which soared to national prominence and bolstered McShann's career along with Charlie "Bird" Parker and vocalist Walter Brown.
Demonstrating the continuity between the jazz that made Kansas City famous in the 1930s and the performers of the latter half of the century, Ida Mae McBeth was a vocalist who was inducted into the American Jazz Walk of Fame in 2017. For nearly 20 years, she McBeth regularly played here at Jardines, a club that opened in the 1990s and operated until 2011. McBeth was known for her captivating, elegant, mystifying and delightful music. Ida’s musical style is so unique that it is hard to classify. Over the years, her repertoire has included pop-style ballads, jazz and blues, show tunes, funk, R&B, gospel and well-known standards.
Charlie Parker
This Tour is a Multi-zone Tour.
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Starting with the Mutual Musician's Building, this trail includes landmarks related to Kansas City's iconic jazz history. Highlights of the tour include current and former jazz clubs, the American Jazz Museum, and the American Jazz Walk of Fame. More stops will be added to this trail soon.
