‘Dead ain’t dead’: KC’s resurrected Black Wall Street, cultural corridor raises the curtain on $8.7M renovation
May 12, 2026 | Taylor Wilmore
The Boone Theater, center, sits alongside the GEM Theater in Kansas City's 18th and Vine historic jazz district, amid a sprawling neighborhood-wide overhaul; photo by Tommy Felts, Startland News
Relaunching the Boone Theater runs parallel to the rebirth of 18th and Vine itself, said Emanuel Cleaver II, joining a chorus of community leaders to celebrate the renovation of both the venue and the surrounding jazz district.
U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II, D-Missouri, a mayor of Kansas City for an eight-year stretch in the 1990s, speaks May 1 during a grand opening event for the Boone Theater; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News
“Everything that appears to be dead ain’t dead,” said U.S. Rep. Cleaver, D-Missouri. “This is a resurrection. We have a story to tell.”
For the Boone Theater, that story stretches back to the district’s roaring heyday when the space opened in 1924 as the New Rialto Theater, later renamed for legendary Black pianist and composer John William “Blind” Boone. Through the decades, the building evolved from a theater into a military armory before eventually sitting vacant for years.
Missouri Sen. Barbara Anne Washington traced the area’s role in Black business, medicine, culture, and civic life during a May 1 grand opening event at the space.
“This is our Black Wall Street. This is where black dentists served. This is where Leona Pouncey, the first black woman attorney in Kansas City, had an office,” Washington said. “This is Kansas City history. This is why we’re famous.”
Missouri Sen. Barbara Anne Washington speaks May 1 during a grand opening event for the Boone Theater; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News
Like 18th and Vine, the theater now is reimagined as a mixed-use cultural hub — purpose-rebuilt to showcase Black arts, history, and entrepreneurship.
Led by the Vine Street Collaborative and local investors, an $8.7 million renovation provides homes to new tenants like the Black Movie Hall of Fame, The Black Repertory Theatre of Kansas City, and Parson + Associates.
Shomari Benton, co-founder of the Vine Street Collaborative, center, shares a laugh with fellow developers during a ribbon cutting event at the Boone Theater; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News
Tim Duggan, investor and principal at Phronesis, center, joins in a May 1 ribbon cutting outside the Boone Theater; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News
“It had been abandoned for a long time, and yet the team felt as if with enough love, enough hard work, and with enough tears, we could get it going,” said Jason Parson, CEO of Parson + Associates.
The reopening comes roughly 18 months after developers first unveiled plans for the project during a groundbreaking event inside the deteriorating structure.
Tim Duggan, investor and principal at Phronesis, described the restoration process as “intentional” and “collaborative,” while noting additional redevelopment phases are already planned around the district.
“Know that this is Phase 1, and we’re super excited about what’s next,” he said.
A crowd gathers outside the Boone Theater for a May 1 ribbon cutting event; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News
Kansas City Councilmember Melissa Patterson Hazley speaks during a May 1 grand opening event for the Boone Theater; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News
Kansas City Councilmember Melissa Patterson Hazley used the event to advocate for preserving older structures across the city rather than replacing them.
“Everything doesn’t have to be shiny and new, because we have existing things that are beautiful, and the Boone Theater is an example of that,” she said. “We really need individuals in the community that can look at something old and something that has a lot of legacy and be able to breathe new life into it.”
The project truly has been a labor of love, said Adam Jones, investor and owner of Clay and Fire.
“As a developer of historic buildings in Kansas City for over 40 years, I consider this to be the finest, most dynamic preservation project in the 18th and Vine Jazz District,” he added.
Parson pointed toward future projects still to come in the iconic neighborhood.
“The Vine is alive,” he said. “This is just the first project of many to come forth.”
RELATED: Developers unveil ‘The Parker’ at historic jazz site; the latest 18th & Vine reboot project
1701, East 18th Street, 18th and Vine, Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri, 64108, United States
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