Kansas City News Blog

​Last week's cover story, "Historian in Chief," describes efforts by UMKC history professor and ex-Chief Pellom McDaniels to get Kansas City interested in its comprehensive history.

He wants to engage people at the street level -- to take history out of museums and academia and make people connect to it in everyday life -- but sometimes his drive for results outpaces the 18th & Vine district's ability to act.

McDaniels suggested installing informational placards in the historic Lincoln Building, which is one of the district's older buildings in use today. In its heyday from the '20s to the '50s, the building housed an assortment of doctors and dentists. McDaniels' proposed placards would have described the building's history and provided perspective on the building's founding.

McDaniels brought his plan to the Black Economic Union, which has offices in the building today. But he couldn't set his plan in motion quick enough, even when he offered to write the placards' text and pay for their production, he said.

At the Black Economic Union, community organizer Cathy Jackson remembers working with McDaniels beginning in 2008. She said the organization is receptive to the project, but the process has been tripped up by security and insurance concerns.

"I have no idea when it might be done," Jackson said recently. "It's still ongoing. Every good thing takes process. This is the preparation before the actual process."

McDaniels answered by going bigger. Working with his wife, Navvad, McDaniels is developing an idea to install 25 or so outdoor placards around the district. As imagined, each plaque would stand waist-high and would feature a historic photo, some text and a way for people to get more information -- either a toll-free number or a central filling station for an audio track.

McDaniels says he thinks this will help stimulate the area's economy and correct some of the district's challenges with drawing business. Simply stated, he wants to bring more people into the district and is counting on businesses to follow.

By early October, McDaniels was still networking to find the people who could propel his idea. For now, McDaniels and Navvad continue to craft their proposal, even as their idea remains theoretical.