Panorama Project

This past weekend I was at my father's house in Kansas City, Missouri. In our free time we drove around town and saw many different sights. We were able to visit places mostly located on the west side of town, where my dad lives. It was a fun experience and I had the opportunity to see many different cultures within one city. The diverse areas that exist on one side of town amaze me.


First we went to Grinders Pizza on the corner of Holmes and 18th near the 18th and Vine district. Historically in Kansas City, Troost has served as a dividing line between areas predominantly African-American and areas that host other cultures. Down the street from Grinders past Troost Avenue, is the 18th and Vine district, an area filled with Jazz clubs, Parade Park, and has the Negro Leagues Baseball museum. On the side of 18th street we were on, hipster culture is prevalent and Grinders Pizza represents that. Inside of the restaurant, tunes from Nirvana, Blink-182, Greenday, and  Alanis Morissette filled the room. It was a fun scene and on the back of the building Grinders is attached to, there is a huge mural of Tupac. The back of the Western Auto sign is visible from Grinders and it serves as some nice scenery for the location. The pictures I took in this area included a record store, a Tupac mural. a burned down building, and the Western Auto sign.


Our next stop was the southwest area of Kansas City. The southwest side is predominantly latino and features some nice graffiti art murals. On this side of town I got a picture of a Kansas City themed mural. The final location we visited was the West Bottoms. The west bottoms is perhaps the most interesting area in the entire city. In the industrial days, the west bottoms was home to industries that made steel and other goods of that nature. These large factories are now defunct and for awhile vacant skyscrapers just stayed in the area. Now these buildings have been turned into restaurants, antique shops, and boutiques. I think it's pretty cool that some Kansas Citians have found a way to make this area useful after it went through some changes. The picture I got in this area was a photo of some broken down buildings across from some train tracks. My time in Kansas City was fun and the next time I'm at my dad's house I will have to explore some more.