18th and Vine – Downtown East, Kansas City
18th and Vine is a neighborhood of Kansas City, Missouri. It is internationally recognized as a historical point of origin of jazz music and a historic hub of African-American businesses. Along with Basin Street in New Orleans, Beale Street in Memphis, 52nd Street in New York City, and Central Avenue in Los Angeles, the 18th and Vine area fostered a new style of jazz. Kansas City jazz is a riff-based and blues-influenced sound developed in jam sessions in the neighborhood's crowded clubs. Many notable jazz musicians of the 1930s and 1940s lived or got started here, including Charlie Parker. Due to this legacy, U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver said 18th and Vine is America's third most recognized street after Broadway and Hollywood Boulevard.
18th and Vine Historic District | |
U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
| Location | Roughly bounded by 18th St., Woodland Ave., 19th St., and The Paseo in Kansas City, Missouri |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 39°05′20″N 94°33′40″W |
| Area | 9 acres (3.6 ha) |
| MPS | 18th and Vine Area of Kansas City MPS |
| NRHP reference No. | 84004142 |
| Added to NRHP | September 9, 1991 |
In 1991, the national historic district encompassing 35 contributing buildings was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.