Hollywood's KC Legacy: Repurposed Film Row Buildings

0:00It's April 29th. This is Kansas News Today, AI-powered stories from your city. I'm Corey with the story. Back in the 1930s, downtown Kansas City was a key spot for Hollywood, with an area called Film Row near 17th and 18th Streets, by Wyandotte serving as a major hub for shipping movies, Nationwide. Studios picked this central location because of the rail lines that could get films out fast to theaters everywhere. Studio players like Universal Pictures set up shot right there, using heavy vaults to store real safely from fires, complete with skylights to vent, any blazes. A couple doors down, buildings handled distribution for MGM in Columbia, while across the street stood Warner Brothers Custom Spot for cutting-and, previewing films before they hit the road. Today, those same three buildings house modern creative firms, like architecture and design outfits, and you can still spot outlines of old film bolts. An even projection room peepholes that hint at the glory days.

1:01These repurpose spaces are getting spotlighted this week during Kansas City Design Week, a big A-day event celebrating the area's design scene, across disciplines like architecture and graphics. The festivities wrap up Thursday at 5.30pm at the Nelson Atkins Museum, so if you're nearby, swing by kcdesignweek.org for the full. Line up and catch a piece of that Hollywood history reborn.