story by Emma Willibey, photos by Caroline Fiss
The 1920s scene was roaring, spontaneous, reckless. Rumbling jazz filled 18th and Vine venues like the Hi-Hat and the Hey Hey as audiences wriggled free of Prohibition laws and danced to artists that would shape modern music. Although Kansas City occupies 316 square miles, its culture thrived almost exclusively on the intersection of two inner-city streets.
Yet today’s creativity that zips from First Fridays to the Brookside Art Fair suggests that the city’s dynamic has shifted. No longer restricted to downtown nightclubs, artistry thrives in the boutiques and barbecue hot spots that intersperse Waldo and the West Plaza. As for downtown, public spaces like the Bartle Hall Convention Center and the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts have modernized the now-historic jazz site. Although Kansas City bursts with award-winning venues, the three establishments below have satisfied STA’s thirst for the visual, performing and culinary arts like few others.
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art: The Bloch Building
Hours slog by as sunlight pours through its panels. Yet when darkness jets across the horizon, the building’s glass pulses against the sleek night sky. Beside it, four identical cubes tumble down a slope and engulf the 840-foot expanse in electric white.
“The Bloch Building runs the line of traditionalist and modernist,” Adam Johnson, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art’s head of public programs, said. “Traditionalists hate it; anyone with an appreciation for modern art enjoys it.”
The building’s conception began in the late 1990’s, when the Nelson-Atkins challenged architectural firms to enlarge the Nelson-Atkins without obstructing the 1933 museum. Of the nine qualifying firms, eight suggested renovating Nelson-Atkins’ north side. The remaining group, Steven Holl Architects, presented a layout that astounded Nelson-Atkins trustees.
“Steven Holl was the only one who did not have the addition to the north side,” Johnson said. “The board was very impressed with his design.”
Holl’s outline consisted of five underground “lenses”—glass forms that topple down the Kansas City Sculpture Park’s east edge. Intrigued, the Nelson-Atkins invested about eight years and $200 million into Holl’s plan of the Bloch Building, a parking garage and an entry plaza. Since opening in 2007, the Bloch Building has housed the Nelson-Atkins’ contemporary art, African art and rotating photography. Despite positive press, Johnson said that the building has revealed weaknesses, such as failing to sustain a café.
“[The Bloch Building is] a part of the building that people don’t naturally go into,” Johnson said. “In the use of the space, [the Nelson-Atkins has] been learning new things, [and] there are parts that have not been successful.”
However, Johnson said that the Bloch Building’s space has enabled the Nelson-Atkins to expand its resources, especially for teenagers. The museum’s Teen Advisory Group (TAG), a board of about 20 teens that organize activities for high school audiences, has utilized the Bloch Building to plan events. “Chill Out Before You Freak Out,” a pre-finals party, invited teens to gather on the hillside for food, beverages and fireside games.
“[The Bloch Building] gave the museum more space, and that space has allowed us to create more offerings,” Johnson said.
Rosie Riordan, the Nelson-Atkins’ head of school and educator services, agreed that the additional room has led the Nelson-Atkins to broaden its collection. According to Riordan, the Bloch Building not only certifies the Nelson-Atkins as an “encyclopedia of art,” but claims singular artistic merit.
“The building itself is like a work of art, and that was the intent of the architect who designed it,” Riordan said. “To me, [the Bloch Building is] the best-kept secret around.”
Starlight Theatre
The carnival clings to its vestiges of life: popcorn bags, ticket stubs and lingering applause. Hours earlier, former gymnast Cathy Rigby suspended herself over the audience, sprinkling pixie dust over 8,000 heads. The venue will relive each detail tomorrow, inviting new viewers to recline beneath the stars.
“We have a beautiful venue here and we want to keep it filled,” Karen Massman VanAsdale, Starlight Theatre communications director and mother of STA freshman Kay VanAsdale, said of plays like 2012’s “Cathy Rigby is Peter Pan.”
According to its website, Starlight is the United States’ second-largest theater, and VanAsdale said that it caters to all audiences. The theater presents concerts from rock group Styx to teen idol Victoria Justice in the hopes of amassing a diverse fan base, VanAsdale said.
“[There is] not one particular genre [Starlight is] trying to attract,” VanAsdale said. “We’re trying to be broad and have something for everyone.”
To draw high school students, Starlight not only offers incentives like student discounts but maintains teen performing arts programs. Starlight encourages students to join its “STARS of Tomorrow,” a 7th- to 12th-grade group that performs before summer shows, and to apply for scholarships and summer camps.
“Starlight has an educational arm,” VanAsdale said.
In addition, Starlight hosts Kansas City’s branch of the Blue Star Awards, a countrywide theater program that honors school productions. According to VanAsdale, STA earned its first Blue Star for the lighting of 2011’s “Curtains” and could receive a nomination for November’s “Little Shop of Horrors.” Blue Star winners such as the “Curtains” team not only enact a number at Starlight’s ceremony, VanAsdale said, but could accept a Rising Star Scholarship that grants access to New York’s national Blue Stars.
“We’re really proud of [the Blue Star Awards],” VanAsdale said.
However, VanAsdale said that Starlight’s most distinct feature is commitment to self- or co-producing many of its performances. According to VanAsdale, most theaters recruit touring casts, but Starlight employs an artistic producer to direct its plays. Paired with outdoor seating, Starlight is one of three of its kind nationwide, a statistic that VanAsdale said heightens the theater’s status.
“We [at Starlight] have beautiful grounds, we have acreage, we have fountains,” VanAsdale said. “We’re typically ranked as one of the best concert venues in KC.”
Regardless of national distinction, VanAsdale attributed Starlight’s appeal to its longstanding reputation as a local fixture.
“[Starlight is] just known as a landmark [and has] been a beloved spot in KC,” VanAsdale said. “It’s not just seeing a show, it’s having the experience.”
Kin Lin Chinese Restaurant
Christmas Eve descends, and vacant storefronts shudder as their owners flock to fireside family gatherings. Yet on East 51st Street, light flickers inside a cozy restaurant sandwiched between a Subway and a Mediterranean café. Inside, UMKC students crowd around plates of Chinese food that Joanna Ruan, co-founder of Kin Lin Chinese Restaurant with husband Jeff Ruan, has prepared. According to Kin Lin manager Donnie Quinn, Joanna opens the restaurant for Chinese college students before certain holidays to provide a home away from home for those distanced from their families.
“Joanna feels like a mother to [the students],” Quinn said. “[Kin Lin’s owners] love to feel part of people’s lives.”
Famed as much for its friendly staff as its $8-9 platters of lo mein and moo shu, Kin Lin has secured a spot as one of the South Plaza’s go-to solutions for Chinese food cravings. However, the restaurant did not achieve its treasured status easily: the road to Kin Lin’s current reception stretched over 20 years and 10,000 miles.
“[At a family-owned restaurant], the potential is only limited by how hard you’re willing to work,” Quinn said. “Jeff was willing to work.”
A first-chair violin and an opera singer, respectively, Jeff and Joanna departed from Changsha, China to the United States in 1985 with their daughter, limited knowledge of English and aspirations of launching a business. Working as a busboy in San Francisco, Calif., Jeff developed the work ethic that would lead him to create an air purifier, a violin shoulder cradle (a rest that violinists position between their neck and the violin to practice comfortably) and, most importantly, Kin Lin.
“[Jeff] wanted to start a better life for him, his wife and his daughter,” Quinn said. “[He and Joanna] realized the ‘American Dream,’ if you will.”
Despite the Ruans’ embrace of American ideals, Quinn attributes Kin Lin’s appeal to its distinctly Chinese philosophy of cuisine. According to Quinn, the Chinese consider sharing food a gesture that people should only perform with the utmost care. While this outlook ensures that Kin Lin will strive to produce high-quality dishes, Quinn said that obsession with customer satisfaction can leave Joanna frenzied at unfinished meals.
“‘Why didn’t they finish their food?’” Quinn said, recalling Joanna’s reaction to half-eaten orders. “[Joanna] personally wants to make sure everyone who comes in enjoys the food.”
Similarly, Joanna refuses to serve meals that she would not taste herself, Quinn said. Although Kin Lin offers Chinese staples like crab rangoon and General Tso’s chicken, Quinn said that Jeff and Joanna commit themselves to fixing recipes like those from their home province, Hunan.
“We [at Kin Lin] have an authentic, extensive menu,” Quinn said. “We get people from Hunan who say, ‘Oh my gosh, this is the taste of home.’”
According to Quinn, Kin Lin’s accessibility, whether through its traditional meals or open atmosphere, invites customers to claim the restaurant as their own. Neighboring residents’ reliable business has established not only Kin Lin’s success but its role in Kansas City culture, Quinn said.
“I went to Rockhurst [High School] myself and I remember girls going to St. Teresa’s who loved [Kin Lin],” Quinn said. “Many people in the Brookside area have adopted [Kin Lin] as their restaurant. It’s kind of like a living entity here.”
The Pitch
While the Dart compiled three bests of KC, The Pitch compiled a large list of bests of KC 2012. The Dart has selected a few of their categories to share some of the best of KC.
Best pancakes: Succotash is a restaurant located at 2601 Holmes, that according to the Pitch has the best pancakes in Kansas City. So, if you’re tired of eating the same old pancakes, you may want to try out “the best pancakes” in KC. “Succotash is amazing,” senior Katie Wilhelmus said. “Their biscuits and gravy are delicious, and they have this rainbow cake that’s really good too.”
Best park for walking/running: After school in the spring, you can’t walk by this place without seeing a bunch of people walking around, STA girls included. We like to hang out with our friends here, do homework, whatever we like. “Loose Park is like the greatest park in the area,” freshman Kristina Coppinger said. “It’s so versatile and family friendly. You see everything happen there: people sunbathing in the summer and jogging in the fall…Loose Park is the ultimate park.”
Best candles: Located in Brookside, 5B & Company was voted best candles in 2012. If you haven’t been into 5B, you should check it out. Who wouldn’t love a candle called clean undies? “The candle company has really different scents and great names,” senior Annie Steinert said. “My family and I could spend hours in there.”
Best Thrift Store: Red Racks, located on 8026 Wornall, was considered the best thrift store by the Pitch. This is a thrift store frequented by many STA students looking for gear for Sion games and senior theme days. “I love Red Racks because it used to be like a DAV thrift store and it was always dirty and gross,” senior Mattie Davis said. “[Red Racks] gets a lot better quality used things now.”
Best Royal: Billy Butler, the only KC Royal represented at the All Star Game. While he was snubbed for the home run derby, he is batting over a .300 and proves to be one of the Royals’ greatest hitters. “I really like Billy Butler because he’s a really great baseball player, and I like his charity, Hit it a Ton that provides food for people living in Kansas City,” senior Andie Drummond said.
