A Walk Down Main Street

[Travis Butler]

Part 1: TWA/Crossroads


20240609-SDIM0682 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

The KC Streetcar line runs along Main Street from River Market to Union Station. But when I want to run around downtown, I usually park near the old TWA Headquarters Building. I worked there for a few months on a contract job, and it was really cool what they'd done with the interior.


20240609-SDIM0690 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

TWA Headquarters is at the north edge of the Crossroads, an art and dining district..


20240609-SDIM0687 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20240609-SDIM0689 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20240609-SDIM0685 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20240609-SDIM0696 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20240609-SDIM0703 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

The tall building in the background is the Kansas City Power & Light building, a classic Art Deco skyscraper that's a highlight of the KC skyline.

And here's the streetcar, so it's off to the market!


20240609-SDIM0699 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

 

[Travis Butler]

Part II: River Market


20240609-SDIM0705 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

River Market/City Market is the oldest part of Kansas City, going back to the first fur trappers setting up a trading post as Westport Landing. After serving as a commerce center for close to a century, the area went into a decline near the end of the Great Depression. A semi-successful redevelopment effort in the 1970s refurbished a set of commercial buildings built in the 1930s, forming the heart of today's City Market.


20240609-SDIM0718 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

Three long buildings in a 'U' shape the permanent core of the market, with rooms for shops/restaurants and a covered sidewalk running in front.


20240609-SDIM0732 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20240609-SDIM0735 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

The center is filled with parking and roofed sidewalk area for the weekly farmer's market, with a few bits of decoration scattered around.


20240609-SDIM0708 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20240609-SDIM0707 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

The fourth side of the square is another row of shops anchored by the Arabia Steamboat Museum (sadly closed by the time I got there), with a nice little plant/decoration shop.


20240609-SDIM0713 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20240609-SDIM0715 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20240609-SDIM0717 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20240609-SDIM0750 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

A city block uphill from the market square is another little group of restaurants and the River Market West streetcar stop, with a nice look back up towards downtown.


20240609-SDIM0756 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20240609-SDIM0757 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20240609-SDIM0759 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

And here's the streetcar again, to take us back into the city center!

 

[Travis Butler]

Part III: Power & Light


20240609-SDIM0762 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

Remember the Kansas City Power & Light building? It lent its name to the Power & Light District, a mid-2000s mixed-use redevelopment plan on the south side of the downtown loop.


20240609-SDIM0768 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

I'd honestly give it mixed results. Some of the areas are lively and active whenever I go by. Others, well...


20240609-SDIM0772 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

Still, the area is pretty and the new buildings are mostly nice.


20240609-SDIM0771 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20240609-SDIM0781 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20240609-SDIM0783 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

There's the Power & Light building itself, behind the historic Hotel President. Sadly, the lighting at this time of day doesn't do it justice from this angle.


20240609-SDIM0787 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20240609-SDIM0797v1.dng by Travis Butler, on Flickr

Old & New - the Mainstreet Theater backstopped by 3 Light.


20240609-SDIM0802 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

Time to head back down to the Crossroads!

 

[Travis Butler]

Part IV: Crossroads Again


20240609-SDIM0806 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20240609-SDIM0809 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

Welcome back!


20240609-SDIM0813 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20240609-SDIM0815 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20240609-SDIM0820 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

Another look at the TWA Headquarters.


20240609-SDIM0823 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

I can take or leave some of the streetcar paint designs, but I really like this one for the library.


20240609-SDIM0829 by Travis Butler, on Flickr


20240609-SDIM0831 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

Last stop, Union Station!

 

[Travis Butler]

Part V: Union Station


20240609-SDIM0833 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

Just had to put this one in for @Pete_W. Railyards at the back of Union Station.


20240609-SDIM0837 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

I love the Western Auto building, but the railyard overpass isn't the best angle; I prefer shooting it from ground level.

20240609-SDIM0838 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

This is one of my favorite shots of Union Station, when the lighting's right; the glass wall gives a beautiful reflection.


20240609-SDIM0844 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

Unfortunately, that means the lighting's completely wrong for the front of the building. Oh, well.


20240609-SDIM0850 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

And that's the tour! Full album is up on Flickr.

Now that that's done... I'd love to see what everyone here can do with their downtown areas. Hoping to spark some good photo walks! What kind of cool buildings and areas do you have in your city?

 

[Pete_W]

Great set of photos Tarvis! I really enjoyed the "walk" around the city through your lens!

And thanks heaps for the train photo. Love those UP locomotives.

If I get the opportunity I will do a my own city walk, although it might take a few weeks before I can get to it.