Congressman Cleaver Revels In Kansas City Boone Theater Resurrection

Shared simply for the apt quote that's kind of inspiring for the East side beyond local politics . . . 

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.

“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.

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .

KC's resurrected Black Wall Street, cultural corridor raises the curtain on $8.7M renovation