Search results

Title: Going off the Rails: Exploring the Impact of the Railroad on the Development of Musical Culture in Kansas City, Missouri
Description: Thesis in musicology presented to the faculty of the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a degree - Master of Music. Abstract: Kansas City, Missouri, is a musical oasis in the United States. In addition to being considered one of the four original jazz centers, local audiences also enthusiastically welcome art music and experimental music of all kinds. This deep appreciation for music and the arts can be traced to the development of the railroad in Kansas City and how it connected the city to the artistic lifeblood of the country. This thesis explores the existing research about the establishment of Kansas City as a railroad hub and the subsequent cultural blossoming experienced in the city at the turn of the century. This thesis project makes a connection between the railroad and the growth of music culture. The development of various aspects of music in Kansas City including, band, orchestra, opera, theater, vaudeville, music education, and music publications which the research in this thesis indicates is traced back to the societal impacts the railroad had on the frontier town in the last three decades of the nineteenth century. Next, this thesis project provides commentary on the function of demographics, including a brief consideration of gender, in the musical culture of Kansas City - specifically the way women defined culture and programming. Finally, this project summarizes and contextualizes the trends, habits, and preferences that make up the music culture in the city within the musical expectations and culture specific to the United States. The establishment of the railroad in Kansas City connected the city to the musical trends of the United States; because of this artistic connection, Kansas City developed into a musical microcosm of the United States’ musical narrative.
Date: 2021
Object Type: Manuscript

Title: Gem Theater
Description: View looking south of the entrance of the Gem Theater at 1615 E. 18th Street.
Object Type: Photograph

Title: Kansas City Power and Light Building
Description: View looking northwest of the Kansas City Power and Light Building at 104 W. 14th Street. The image was captured from Walnut Street between 14th Street and Truman Road. The Main Street Theater and the Baltimore Hotel can be seen.
Object Type: Photograph

Title: Newman Theater
Description: View looking west of the Newman Theatre building that once stood at 1112-1118 Main Street. The marquee is advertising the 1925 silent film Shock Punch starring Richard Dix and "Radio Franks & Sheik Band."
Date: 1928
Object Type: Photograph

Title: Auditorium Theatre and Hotel
Description: View looking northeast of the Auditorium Theater and Hotel, once located at 9th and Holmes streets.
Date: 1923
Object Type: Photograph

Title: Coates Opera House
Description: View looking northeast of the rear of the Coates Opera House from about 10th and Washington streets in the Quality Hill area.
Date: 1877
Object Type: Photograph

Title: Old Coates Opera House
Description: View looking northwest of the Coates Opera House that once stood at 10th Street and Broadway Boulevard.
Date: 1870
Object Type: Photograph

Title: The Re-Opening of the Isis Theatre
Description: Three interior and exterior photographs of the Isis Theatre in the Wirthman Building on the southwest corner of 31st Street and Troost Avenue. The left hand photograph shows an exterior view of the Isis Theatre looking northwest along Troost Avenue. Several people standing in the street can be seen. Signs for B&G Hosiery, Bo-Peep Juvenile Shop, Walker's Lunch, Vogue Hosiery, and Linwood State Bank are in view. The middle photograph shows an interior view of the Isis Theatre. The right hand photograph shows an exterior view looking southwest along Troost Avenue. Several people standing in the street can be seen. Signs for Dr. John R. Stivers, L. L. Potts Dentist, Royal Shirt Shop, Thom McAn, Vogue Hosiery, and B&G Hosiery are in view. A Troost streetcar is in view. A label beneath the photograph reads: The Isis Theatre was destroyed by fire on March 9, 1939 and was re-opened to the public on October 6, 1939. The 3100 block on Troost Avenue was closed to traffic and it was estimated that 25,000 people attended the celebration.
Date: 1939-10-06
Object Type: Photograph

Title: Looking Southwest from 4th
Description: View looking southwest from 4th Street west of Wyandotte Street. The Coates House Hotel and the Coates Opera House can be seen in the distance. Early downtown buildings and houses are in view.
Date: 1870
Object Type: Photograph

Title: Coates Opera House and Coates House Hotel
Description: View looking northeast of the Coates Opera House and Broadway Hotel, later renamed the Coates House Hotel, at 10th Street and Broadway Boulevard. The Broadway Pond, once located at the southwest corner of the intersection can be seen. Cows can be seen in the image.
Date: 1871
Object Type: Photograph

Title: Orpheum Theater
Description: Postcard of the Orpheum Theater.
Object Type: Postcard

Title: Willis Wood Theater
Description: Postcard of the Willis Wood Theater that once stood at 11th Street and Baltimore Avenue.
Date: 1909-08-20
Object Type: Postcard

Title: Grand Opera House
Description: Postcard of the Grand Opera House, once located on Walnut Street between 7th and 8th streets.
Date: 1912
Object Type: Postcard

Title: Willis Wood Theater
Description: Postcard of Willis Wood Theater.
Date: 1907-07
Object Type: Postcard

Title: Lyric Theatre
Description: View of the Lyric Opera building. A sign for KMBC-TV 9 can be seen.
Date: 1989
Object Type: Photograph

Title: New England National Bank Building
Description: View looking southeast of the New England National Bank Building at 10th Street and Baltimore Avenue. Pedestrians, a car and a sign for the 10th Street Theatre can be seen.
Date: 1910
Object Type: Photograph