What the Jazz Museum Was Going To Be, Part 2

On March 11, 1989, Dizzy Gillespie attended the official announcement in Kansas City of the International Jazz Hall of Fame. The complex unveiled that day would evolve into what we know today as the American Jazz Museum.

I was there, as chairman of the Kansas City Jazz Commission. A booklet was distributed, full of plans, illustrations and hyperbole for the press to reproduce and quote. Last week and this week I share that booklet, so you, too, can see what the jazz museum was originally going to be.

(Clicking on any image should open a larger and more legible version of it.)

This illustration shows Vine Street, looking north from 22nd Street, as it would look upon completion. On the left, the former public works buildings have been converted to the International Jazz Hall of Fame. On the right, the Vine Street castle is home to the Black Archives of Mid-America.

These two pages describe all of the elements that would comprise The International Jazz Hall of Fame.

The Site Plan

These architectural plans detail the two floors planned for The International Jazz Hall of Fame. 

Introduction to a section providing background on the 18th and Vine Historic District.

These two pages put the location in context.

The significance of 18th and Vine.

 

The booklet closes with The Black Archives of Mid-America.