Businesses vandalized, windows shattered in Kansas City’s 18th and Vine District
Several businesses were vandalized in Kansas City’s 18th and Vine Jazz District this week, according to workers in the historic entertainment area.
Windows at several museums and businesses on the north side of 18th Street were broken or shattered Thursday morning.
Workers repairing glass at the Juke House Bar and Restaurant said the damage was done sometime Tuesday night.
Damaged property included the Blue Room and the building that holds the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and American Jazz Museum, and the Ethnic Art Gallery.
Marissa Baum, a spokeswoman for the American Jazz Museum said in a statement that the organization stands with the other affected businesses.
“As a cultural anchor at 18th & Vine, we are deeply saddened by and disappointed in the senseless vandalism that occurred throughout the district, including The Blue Room, on Tuesday night,” the statement said.
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said he saw the damage for the first time while driving into work Wednesday morning. He said it appeared to be caused by rocks thrown at windows.
Lucas, who lives in the 18th and Vine District, said he was disappointed to see the damage and worried about the impact and financial to local businesses.
“I stand with them as they’re trying their best to avoid a lot of these challenges,” Lucas said. “There are a lot of people who are trying so hard to make our community better.
“I hope that we never see something like this in our community again.”
The city is working with the Kansas City Police Department to understand what happened and who is responsible, Lucas said.
The vandalism hit “almost exclusively Black-owned businesses or city-owned facilities,” Lucas said. He said has concerns that the vandalism could be racially motivated but feels it is more important to investigate the crime, regardless of motive.
“This area has a long wonderful history in our city and we won’t let a few vandals distract from that,” he said.
Star reporter Cortlynn Stark contributed to this report.
This story was originally published July 16, 2020 at 11:54 AM.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story has been corrected to reflect that businesses on the north side of 18th Street were reported vandalized.
