Explore
This historic area was the center of commerce and culture for Kansas City’s African-American community for over forty years. Here was truly a community within a city. When large numbers of African-Americans moved to Kansas City, starting in the 1920’s, segregation kept them living and trading in a small geographic area. Eighteenth Street was the main stem: the heart of the community, where you could find literally everything, from clothes to cars, a doctor or a dance, food or a funeral.
This tour focuses on the district listed on the National Register of Historic Places, which lies generally between The Paseo and Woodland, 17th Terrace and 19th Street. The map is a composite of best-known and remembered locations and people from the 1920’s through the 1950’s. As you walk, picture a bustling community of cars, streetcars, music everywhere, and, of course, people. Crowding the sidewalks, greeting friends, buying crawfish and hot potatoes from a vendor, dressed up to go to a dance, or just hanging out. As one resident put it, “Twelfth Street was joints. Eighteenth Street was class. If you wanted to see someone or be seen, Eighteenth was it. Meet you at Eighteenth and Vine.”