Devan’s Dozen: Streetcar Edition
The Radical Wraps of RideKC’s First Five Years
Published May 6, 2021
First Friday in the Crossroads Arts District is a rite of passage for anyone who hopes to don the distinction of calling themselves a Kansas Citian. While First Fridays are a year-round affair, there has always been something particularly special about the first friday of May. Every year, it seems that Mother Nature gives KC a much-needed break in the weather so that local artists can share the fruits of their wintertime labor with the onlooking masses. As thousands descend upon the Crossroads, it is as if food trucks and street vendors spring up from the sidewalks below. As the sun goes down, offices, lobbies, and retail spaces transform into art galleries.
This is the weekend that Crossroads awakens from a long slumber. The district arises from hibernation like an ephemeral butterfly whose beauty we can only hope to bask in. For the summer and fall months to come, the artistic brilliance for which the Crossroads is known is on full display. In many ways, that weekend is the unofficial harbinger of summer in KC.
While every May’s First Friday is special, there will always be one that stands heads and shoulders above the rest. Exactly five years ago today was a special day for this city and there will never be another First Friday quite like it.
As someone who lives and works downtown, I could feel the electricity in the air the moment I woke up. There was a levity around the city as businesses and restaurants offered a slew of incredible promotions and geared up for a celebration. And there was much to celebrate! It felt like I had dropped those notarized blue envelopes containing a ballot checked “YES” into the blue metal USPS box thousands of times. It seemed as if I’d spent decades navigating the construction on Main Street. And yet, the day I thought would never come had arrived. For on May 6, 2016, the RideKC Streetcar made its inaugural voyage.
I wish I could describe what it was like to be in the Crossroads that day. It was as if, what is now, the entire Streetcar loop was somehow blanketed in a collective case of the goosebumps. There was a sense of civic pride that emanated from complete strangers and the streets of the city herself that I have only felt one other time - during the 2015 World Series parade. If you have experienced this organic groundswell of pride and civic accomplishment, then you know exactly what I am talking about. If you have not, I can never hope to adequately describe the feeling.
<KLING! KLING!>
I remember the first time that I heard that bell ring. On that day, May 6, 2016, over 12,000 people rode the Streetcar; and I was one of them. Over the past five years, I have taken the KC Streetcar hundreds of times but I will never forget that first ride. I remember crowding into this glossy white bullet like sardines in a tin. For my entire ride from 16th Street to the River Market, I could not see anything except for the bodies around me and the strap that I was holding onto. In fact, I would not have been able to tell you that the seats were cerulean until I took my second ride the following week. Nonetheless, it was exhilarating.
There have been many moments since I moved to Kansas City where I felt like we had “arrived” as a city but for me, that ride was the most notable. Where other major cities had tried and failed, Kansas City had succeeded. We had provided free, energy-efficient public transportation to our urban core.
Since it made its first run, the RideKC Streetcar has been a symbol of progress in this city and a source of civic pride. In more recent years, that display of civic pride has been much more literal. Select cars have had their token white and graphite enveloped by beautiful wraps and designs that highlight the best of our city. More than a simple mode of transportation, the streetcar has become a canvas to celebrate Kansas City’s accomplishments and showcase the creativity of locals.
In recognition of the RideKC Streetcar’s fifth birthday, I decided to look back, and rank, the best Streetcar wraps of the past five years.
12. The Birthday Suit (2017)
First birthdays are always special. While the early wraps were not full wraps and seem underwhelming against the level we see today, this particular one marked a momentous occasion and important milestone. Kansas City made national headlines for introducing free, energy-efficient public transportation downtown. In the first year, the KC Streetcar shattered several expectations by welcoming nearly 2 million passengers! The early success of the Streetcar led to the purchase of additional cars and helped secure the funding that will drive future expansion of accessible, affordable public transportation along the Main Street corridor.
In 2017, the KC Streetcar celebrated its first birthday after welcoming nearly 2,000,000 passengers in its inaugural year. PHOTO COURTESY OF - RideKC Streetcar
11. Tourney Time (2017)
Kansas City has hosted the NCAA Men’s Final Four more than any other city. The original college basketball blue blood is just 45 miles away. This is most definitely a college basketball town! Every March, downtown Kansas City becomes the ultimate party as we welcome the Big XII Men’s Basketball Tournament to the T-Mobile Center. March of 2017 was doubly great because it was the first Big XII Tournament that the KC Streetcar was in operation AND because Kansas City was chosen as the site of the Midwest Regional in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. To the best of my knowledge, this simple “wrap” to welcome basketball fans was the first-ever makeover to the KC Streetcar. While wraps have definitely evolved since 2017, this is the one that opened the door to the brilliant designs we enjoy today. This “wrap” is unique in that it has made multiple appearances since its debut. When March rolls around every year, the KC Streetcar rolls down the track letting us all know it’s tourney time in Kansas City.
Every March, downtown Kansas City throws the ultimate party as we welcome the Big XII Men’s Basketball Tournament to the T-Mobile Center. In 2017, that party became a two weekend affair when KC hosted the Midwest Regional of the NCAA Tournament. PHOTO COURTESY OF - RideKC Streetcar
10. Season’s Greetings (2019)
There’s just something about the holidays. Every year when the Plaza lights come on, the Mayor’s tree goes up, and the skating rink opens at Crown Center, I am reminded of that feeling of childlike wonder than that the holidays can evoke. I still remember in December of 2019 when I took my out-of-town nieces to Crown Center via the KC Streetcar. As the car rolled up to my stop, my four year old niece Riley shrieked, “Uncle Devan! We’re riding on a Christmas train?!” Indeed one of the KC Streetcars that season was wrapped with a green and red bow that read “Season’s Greetings”. Within the car, ornaments were strung from the ceiling. I am certain that was the highlight of her trip. To me, the Season’s Greeting car was a welcome sight, a nice gesture, and a festive reminder of the holiday season every time I saw it. To my niece, and I’m sure several children around the city, it was a magical experience.
In December 2019, the holiday season was made just a bit more magical in KC by the addition of the “Season’s Greetings” streetcar. PHOTO CREDIT - Malcolm Kenton
9. Mask Up KC (2020)
For many, when the NBA suspended their season on March 11, 2020, was the first time we all felt the arrival of the Coronavirus pandemic in the United States. In the coming weeks we saw travel suspended, live events and sports canceled, business shut down operations, and millions of job taken remote as we entered quarantine to “flatten the curve”. In an effort to help raise awareness and encourage healthy habits, the KC Streetcar joined all Americans in masking up. The simplicity of the wrap is what makes it so impactful. The masked streetcar continues to remind all of us the importance of cleanliness, wearing a mask, and social distancing during this trying time.
When the Coronavirus pandemic hit the United States in March of 2020, the KC Streetcar joined us all in masking up and raising awareness about the need for social distancing.
8. Party Car (2018)
In 2018, the KC Streetcar celebrated two impressive milestones. First, the cars had logged a total of 300,000 miles and secondly, RideKC had welcomed more than 5 million riders since the Streetcar’s inception. The unprecedented ridership and demand in the first 30 months led to RideKC ordering two more cars and installing two more shelters at stops along the loop.Fortunately, thanks to the Art in the Loop project, Kansas City already had the appropriate streetcar to celebrate the occasion. Designed by local artist Amy Kligman as a nod to the city’s artistic spirit, our city was treated to (best I recall) the first full wrap of one of the cars - THE PARTY CAR! Now sure, hopping on the Party Car and not seeing a disco ball, DJ, and an airplane style drink cart was a bit of a disappointment. However, it was still festive, fun, and a brilliant way to highlight local artists and later, as a way to bring attention to these milestones. As the first full wrap, it also showed entities around the city what a streetcar wrap and partnerships with RideKC could be. It also showed us all the versatility of the streetcar and the variety of forms that art can take.
As part of the Art in the Loop project, The Party Car, designed by local artist Amy Kligman, was the earliest full wrap of the KC Streetcar that I can recall. When RideKC surpassed the 5 million rider mark a few months after the wrap’s debut, it was the perfect car to celebrate on. PHOTO COURTESY OF - RideKC Streetcar
7. PrideKC (2019)
Every June, LGBT Pride Month is celebrated in the United States in commemoration of the famed Stonewall Riots of 1969. Beginning in June of 2019, RideKC became PrideKC for the month to encourage all riders and those who saw the streetcar, and similarly wrapped buses and bicycles, to celebrate diversity and inclusion in our city. For over forty years, the colors of the rainbow have been synonymous with the struggle for equality for all genders and sexual orientations. This six stripes sent a message that not only did our streetcar welcome all and want to promote an environment of safety and inclusion, but that Kansas City does as well.
During the month of June, RideKC becomes PrideKC. As can be seen in the image above, the initiative includes a number of transit options that extends to the streetcar and buses. PHOTO COURTESY OF - RideKC Streetcar
6. Always Royal (2019)
Hall of Fame second baseman Rogers Hornsby once said, “People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.” In 2019, the Kansas City Royals teamed up with RideKC to give us a streetcar that let us all know that spring had arrived. A concept designed by local advertising agency Walz Tetrick, the first ever full-body streetcar wrap brought the thrills of The K to downtown. Depending on your vantage point, the wrap gave the illusion of a giant Whit Merrifield or Adalberto Mondesi sliding safely into second all along Main Street. The inside of the car was adorned with Kansas City Royals flags and pennants. The KC Streetcar may not be the quickest way to travel but for a short time, it helped remind us all “what speed do”.
In 2019, RideKC teamed up with our beloved Boys in Blue to give us this wrap that featured Whit Merrifield (pictured) and Adalberto Mondesi sliding safely into second. PHOTO COURTESY OF - RideKC Streetcar
5. Hail to the Chiefs (2019)
There are few things that Kansas Citians love to do more than proclaim this to be the “home of the CHIEEEEEFFFSSS!” A historic NFL, and AFL before it, franchise, Chiefs Kingdom had largely known heartbreak since the early days of Hank Stram and Len Dawson. With the team set to start it’s 60th season, hope was in the air. A quarterback drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs had won a game for the first time in thirty years. Then, Patrick Mahomes II had preceded to take home NFL MVP honors and got the hometown Chiefs within a coinflip of a Super Bowl berth. There was a belief among many that the 2019-20 season would finally be the Chiefs’ year and what do you know? It was. During the previous year’s playoffs, the Chiefs were the first professional sports team to partner with RideKC on a wrap but in their second iteration, they followed the Royals’ lead and opted for a full-body wrap that celebrated the stars of today and paid homage to six decades of Chiefs’ football. During the season, while all of Kansas City donned their red best on Fridays, the streetcar wore it every day. Perhaps this was the spark that allowed Kansas City to win both the Lamar Hunt Trophy and the Vince Lombardi Trophy for the first time in fifty years. Chiefs Kingdom can only hope that their lucky charm will be brought back in 2021.
The Kansas City Chiefs wrapped KC Streetcar sits in front of Union Station after the Chiefs brought home the Lamar Hunt Trophy for the first time in 50 years. PHOTO COURTESY OF - RideKC Streetcar
4. Hope & Gratitude (2021)
“In Flanders fields the poppies blow, between the crosses, row on row…” Since John McCrae first penned these words, the red poppy has been associated with gratitude for those who fought in World War I and the hope for a better tomorrow. In 2020, as part of Art in the Loop, local artist Ada Koch wrapped a streetcar in a field of red poppies to honor and celebrate all veterans while also conveying the promise of a brighter future. Today, the National World War I Monument and Museum are the greatest reminder of Kansas City’s contributions and role during “The War to End All Wars.” Koch took inspiration from the museum’s most famed exhibit, an installation of 9,000 fake poppies near the museum’s entrance – each one representing 1,000 combatant deaths during World War I. Equally beautiful, hopeful, and sorrowful, Koch’s wrap brought this display to the streets of downtown Kansas City and even inspired local poet Glenn North to write the poem, Standing Strong, An Ode to Kansas City.
inspired by the installation of poppies at the entrance of the National World War I Museum, Ada Koch’s “Hope & Gratitude” wrapped a field of red poppies around the KC Streetcar to honor all veterans and instill hope of a brighter future.
3. One Sporting Way* (2020)
Sporting Kansas City may have been the last professional team to jump on the full streetcar wrap train (pun intended!) but there is no denying that they did it with the most style. When the SKC Streetcar debuted on the day before their first match of 2020, it was an event! Riders were treated to photo opportunities with the club’s mascot Blue and promotional giveaways. And as for the wrap itself? It utilized some of the team’s most iconic looks. The Missouri/Kansas Stateline down the middle served as a reminder that Kansas City spans two states and that the team represents both of them. It also served to pay homage to the jerseys worn by the 2013 MLS Cup Champions. The Dark Indigo half was covered in the Swiss Dot pattern of the 2020 jerseys while the Sporting Blue half displayed the club’s primary color proudly. Additionally, the car incorporated aspects of the “Hoops” and “Argyle” kits that have long been popular with fans. And best of all, Sporting Kansas City was not shy about using their wrap to remind the city about all seven trophies (2 MLS Cups, 4 Lamar Hunt US Open Cups, and 1 Supporters Shield) that the Club has won in the last twenty years. Year in and year out, Sporting Kansas City is considered one of Major League Soccer’s best dressed clubs. It should come as no surprise that their streetcar was outfitted thusly.
Donning some of the club’s most iconic looks, the Sporting Kansas City streetcar was dressed to impress as it rolled along Main Street. PHOTO COURTESY OF - Sporting Kansas City
2. Mervin the Monarch (2019)
With a third entrant on this list, it is clear that Art in the Loop has provided some of the most memorable streetcar wraps. Created by local artists Amanda Gehin and Christina Bereolos, Kansas Citians were treated to the sight of a giant caterpillar crawling along Main Street in 2019. Lovingly nicknamed “Mervin the Monarch”, the black and yellow striped streetcar was the epitome of beauty in its simplest form. Beyond the actual wrap, the artists actually worked in conjunction with local entities and organizations to install micro-habitats along the route that served as feeding stations for caterpillars and butterflies. The food source of the monarch caterpillar and butterfly is milkweed. While native to Missouri and Kansas, the number of plants has dwindled across the region in recent years and is nearly unheard of in an urban landscape. Introducing this plant along Main Street gave monarch caterpillars, like the ones depicted by Mervin, an opportunity to feed and grow into beautiful butterflies.
Art in the Loop’s “Mervin the Monarch” crawls his way through downtown in 2019. Micro-habitats installed along the route actually helped grow the population of monarch butterflies and caterpillars in the city. PHOTO COURTESY OF - RideKC Streetcar
1. KC Monarchs 101 (2021)
For many, the first time they saw the red, blue, and cream car rolling down the track, they may have mistaken it for a wrap from local clothier Charlie Hustle. After all, their KC Heart logo is ubiquitous across the metro. What many fail to realize is that Charlie Hustle borrowed the concept from a sleeve patch worn by the greatest professional sports team in the history of our city, the Kansas City Monarchs. On February 13, 1920, the Negro National League was founded at the Paseo YMCA in Kansas City, Missouri. Since the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic prevented many of the plans the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum had to celebrate the centennial in 2020, they chose instead to blow out the 101st anniversary with #NLBM101. #NLBM101 is a year-long celebration of the 101st anniversary of the founding of the first organized Negro professional baseball league as well as the founding of the Monarchs. As part of the celebration, the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum partnered with RideKC to wrap a streetcar in the colors of our city’s greatest sports dynasty. Reminiscent of the team’s 1942 home jersey, one side of the car prominently displays the arched word “Monarchs” in the team’s block lettering. In the same font, the opposite side bears a large red number “22” in remembrance of the founder of the Negro League Baseball Museum, and legendary Kansas City Monarchs manager and first baseman, Buck O’Neil. A longtime champion of preserving the stories of the Negro Leagues and one of the greatest ambassadors that baseball ever had, Buck O’Neil’s spirit and stories are kept alive for a new generation through the efforts of the Negro League Baseball Museum.
As part of a year long celebration of the 101st anniversary of the founding of the Negro National League and the Kansas City Monarchs, the Negro League Baseball Museum partnered with RideKC to honor the museum’s founder, Buck O’Neil, with this streetcar wrap.
Living and working downtown, it has been a privilege to watch the RideKC Streetcar grow up, and to watch this city grow up around it. The Kansas City Power & Light District has become the living room for the city that was always envisioned. There are constantly new businesses and restaurants opening along the Main Street corridor and new cranes frequently spring up in the downtown skyline. The almost immediate success of the Streetcar led to early conversations about the track extending beyond Union Station. In the next five years, those musings will become reality.
I snagged this poster on May 6, 2016 when the RideKC Streetcar made its debut. It now proudly hangs in my friend’s dining room. I will never forget that first ride. PHOTO CREDIT - Jonathan Wilson
In August of 2020, the Federal Transit Authority (FTA) announced that Kansas City had been awarded $50 million in federal funding to expand the Streetcar route south. Earlier this year, it was announced that the city had officially received $174 million in funds from the FTA that would allow the RideKC Streetcar to expand all the way down to Brookside to the University of Missouri - Kansas City (UMKC).
This extension will bring visibility to the metro’s urban campus and connect those students to downtown. Last month, it was announced that the RideKC Streetcar would be expanding three-quarters of a mile north to the Berkeley Riverfront park which will incorporate this fledgling, but rapidly growing, district into the Streetcar loop. Soon enough, the Missouri River will be connected to the River Market, Downtown, the Crossroads, Union Station, Liberty Memorial, Union Hill, Midtown, Westport, the Country Club Plaza, the art museums, UMKC, and Brookside via free public transportation.
<KLING! KLING!>
That sound outside my window lets me know that the Streetcar is about to make its last turn of the night. About once a week, I still rush to the window when I hear that bell to watch the RideKC Streetcar’s final stretch as if I were watching Trolley disappear into King Friday XIII’s Neighborhood of Make Believe. I hear that bell and I like to think about how far this city has come.
While we still have a long way to go as a city, the Kansas City Area Transit Authority and the Streetcar Authority should be applauded for everything they have done to enhance our city’s infrastructure. The continual improvement and availability of bus routes, the implementation of RideKC bikes, the construction of downtown bike lanes, and, of course, the establishment and coming expansion of the RideKC Streetcar, should be celebrated.
<KLING! KLING!>
That second and final chime lets me that the RideKC Streetcar is about to truly call it quits after providing another day of faithful, reliable service to the people of this city. It tells me that the Streetcar is about to pass through that chain link gate and go to bed, and that I should start thinking about doing the same.
When I think about it, that tone is very bittersweet. I am reminded of all the ballots I cast in favor of the RideKC Streetcar in my early years of residence. I am reminded of all the years that downtown public transportation was unreliable and in many ways, nonexistent. I remember a time when driving and walking were the only viable options. It makes me grateful every time I hear that bell ring now. It makes me proud that those votes became something tangible. Knowing that these cars have evolved beyond that, to the point of becoming art; I cannot adequately express the glee and excitement that every new wrap brings when I see the streetcar lumber down Main Street.
When I hear the Streetcar’s eager toll, I realize that if and when the day comes that I move away from downtown KC, that “kling” will be among the things I miss most of all. But when that day does come, I know that bell will continue to ring for the coming generation of Kansas Citians. And I know that the next wave of Cowtowners will have free, energy-efficient transportation that will allow them to navigate the downtown corridor as they make our wonderful city their very own.
And that, in itself, is something worth celebrating.
Happy 5th Birthday RideKC Streetcar and Happy Returns for Many, Many, Many More!
Those Pesky Endnotes That I Often Insist On
*On April 30, 2021, Sporting Kansas City chose to debut a new wrap for the 2021 Season. At the time of this release, I had already established my Top 12 of the first five years. Make no mistake, the latest Sporting Kansas City entrant is, to no one’s surprise, a sharp looking wrap! The hoops of Sporting Blue and Dark Indigo look incredible patrolling Main Street! I chose not to let this impact my rankings but for the sake of these rankings, let’s consider One Sporting Way 2.0 to be in a draw (SOCCER TERM USAGE INTENDED!) for third in these rankings with the original SKC car. The recency of some of the best wraps has me unbelievably excited for the looks we will see over the next five years.
Well, what do you know? This became a Dignan’s [Baker’s] Dozen after all. How do you like them apples?
What did my rankings get right? What did I get horribly, horribly wrong? What is your favorite memory of the RideKC Streetcar? What’s been your favorite wrap? Let me hear it in the comments!
As always, thank you for reading and visiting disKCovery!
