Want to explore Kansas City’s Westside neighborhood? Start with this beginner’s guide

This story was first revealed in KCUR’s Artistic Journey publication. You possibly can signal as much as obtain tales like this in your inbox each Tuesday.

On the bluffs simply west of Kansas Metropolis’s downtown core is the Westside, one of many oldest neighborhoods within the metropolis, with roots that run deep because of the Mexican households who settled right here and introduced their love of household, meals and traditions.

Leaving their houses at the beginning of the Mexican Revolution in 1910, households got here to Kansas Metropolis for railroad jobs or work within the meatpacking stockyards within the close by West Bottoms.

At present the Westside is a family-friendly place the place a number of generations and revenue ranges dwell facet by facet, the place artists are given house to create, and the place you could find houses, colleges, a library, neighborhood facilities, parks, church buildings, eating places, retail, and manufacturing all co-existing in a colourful and close-knit method.

The neighborhood has at all times been self-sufficient; there are nonprofits that assist with housing and supply medical companies or job coaching, all whereas creating gathering spots like Sacred Coronary heart, Guadalupe Facilities, Mattie Rhodes Heart and Tony Aguirre Group Heart, all of which give programming and neighborhood help for residents of all ages.

These facilities additionally function the cultural heartbeat of the neighborhood, internet hosting lots of the hottest Westside festivals like Dia de Los Muertos and Cinco de Mayo, which celebrates Mexico’s 1862 defeat of the French empire within the Battle of Puebla.

Like most neighborhoods, the Westside has its personal distinctive architectural fashion, a mix of colourful Victorian houses, modest bungalows and brand-new fashionable containers. The neighborhood enjoys views of the downtown skyline with out truly being immersed within the hustle and bustle of the humanities and leisure choices accessible by bus, automotive, bike, scooter or on foot.

The Westside is damaged into two elements, north and south — and it’s a lot bigger than most individuals understand. Its boundaries are I-670 to the north and thirty first Road to the south, Broadway Boulevard to the east and Beardsley and State Line roads to the west.

There’s lots to discover, so let’s get began.

Deliver your strolling sneakers and a bottle of water as you hike hilly terrain to see a few of the neighborhood’s fairly parks, playgrounds, trails and fields. West Pennway is an nearly 20-acre inexperienced house that runs by means of the north a part of Westside, from West seventeenth Road and Beardsley Highway southeast to West twenty sixth Road. Sit underneath the shade bushes on benches that line the boulevard.

Climb up the hill to Statement Park, and deal with your self to views of downtown and the Crossroads Arts District that may take your breath away. You possibly can cross both the ”Flock” artwork bridge or the Summit Road bridge and see dazzling views of Kansas Metropolis up shut.

The northernmost level of the neighborhood ends at Mulkey Sq., the place you could find “Bob,” the fiberglass and metal Hereford bull that sits on a platform excessive within the air. It was inbuilt 1954 to sit down on high of the American Hereford Affiliation headquarters, earlier than it was moved in 2002 straight throughout I-670 to the park, the place it nonetheless overlooks the downtown skyline.

Into video games?

Tony Aguirre Group Heart options a big indoor basketball court docket for these seeking to shoot some hoops.

Legacy Skates is a greatest in school retail skate store the place you should purchase indoor or outside curler skates that may have you ever rolling into a close-by car parking zone to strive them out. Take a look at Boulevard’s Excursions & Recreation Heart to play regulation shuffleboard with considered one of Kansas Metropolis’s hometown beers in your hand.

Get a grip at Sequence, a mountain climbing health club, then head throughout seventeenth Road for an incredible therapeutic massage at Inexperienced Leaf Spa Salon.

Time to eat!

Beginning with some basic, old skool eating places on Southwest Boulevard, get pleasure from a pork tenderloin sandwich on the Tenderloin Grill, birria tacos from Tacos El Gallo, or strive a smattering of low cost and cheerful tacos from Rico’s Tacos Lupe.

Panaderia de las Americas has a scrumptious tres leches cake. A number of doorways away is Palacana, a Mexican ice cream retailer promoting paletas, bowls and fruit cocktails in conventional flavors. As a Westside ceremony of passage, get a margarita at Ponak’s Mexican Kitchen.

Lastly, don’t miss the Mexican breakfast alternatives at Los Alamos Cocina, on the nook of seventeenth and Summit streets.

There are not any scarcity of domestically owned locations to pattern on the Westside, together with Fox & Pearl (with Chef Vaughn Good’s Night time Goat BBQ accessible Sundays solely), Chez Elle, Westside Native, Blue Chicken Bistro, Clay & Hearth, Seven Swans Creperie, Café Ollama (recognized for its Mexican café de olla), La Bodega, Rochester Brewing & Roasting Firm, Alma Mader Brewing, Goat Hill Espresso & Soda, Minsky’s Pizza, and, opening quickly for the season, Panther’s Place and Outpost Social Membership.

Discover it on the Westside

You’ll find loads of retail retailers dotting the Westside, every with its personal distinctive vibe. Westside Storey is the place to get all of your favourite KC T-shirts and classic sports activities attire, together with different native items.

Store rOOTS KC for his or her superior information and choice of tropical vegetation, pots, equipment and reward objects. Pop into Zero Zero Pasta for a field of freshly made pasta, lasagna or focaccia bread for dinner.

And browse MADI Attire to seek out eco-friendly and moral vogue made right here in Kansas Metropolis. For each merchandise bought at MADI, a pair of underwear is donated to somebody who wants it.

One ultimate factor to notice: Due to its location on the sting of downtown, the Westside produces some scrumptious, quintessential Kansas Metropolis staples.

Yoli Tortilleria (not too long ago acknowledged as a James Beard Award semifinalist), The Roasterie espresso, Christopher Elbow Goodies, Perez Meals Merchandise corn chips and tortillas, Parisi Espresso, and Boulevard Brewing Firm beer are all made in factories positioned on the Westside.