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Short answer: The Crossroads Community Association calls the Crossroads Kansas City’s creative neighborhood of boutique shops, restaurants, studios and galleries; First Fridays began around 2000 to 2001 and the association was formed in 2001.
How we checked: the Crossroads Community Association’s home, history, food and drink and First Friday pages, and Visit KC’s neighborhoods page. All read on November 3, 2026. Hours, prices, rules, closures and road status change, so check the named agency or business before you rely on them. Anything we could not check is marked Not Confirmed where it appears. General guidance on this page is labelled as general guidance. This is not safety, medical or legal advice; where a safety or legal rule appears, the quoted words are the official source’s own.
At a Glance
What The District Prints
- AssociationThe Crossroads Community Association describes an eclectic enclave of boutique shops, one-of-a-kind restaurants, creative businesses, studios and art galleries.
- Visit KCOnce-vacant warehouses now house galleries, with art both in showrooms and painted on building exteriors, and restaurants, breweries and speakeasies rounding out the neighborhood (Visit KC).
- StreetcarVisit KC lists free things to do along the KC Streetcar line; the Crossroads association’s timeline dates the streetcar’s first passengers to 2016.
First Fridays
The association runs First Friday in the Crossroads, a monthly gallery night. Its event listings for the first Friday of November 2026 showed gallery openings with evening start times such as 5 pm and 6 pm. The association’s First Friday page we read showed one older listing, so check the page for the current night’s galleries and times.
Film Row and History
The association says that in the 1930s Hollywood chose Kansas City as one of its largest distribution points, which created Film Row: nearly twenty buildings in four square blocks, with tenants including MGM, 20th Century Fox, Warner Brothers, Paramount and United Artists. It says Kansas City has one of the most intact Film Row districts in the nation.
| Year | Milestone as the association prints it |
|---|---|
| 1985 | Leedy-Voulkos Gallery opens |
| 1998 | Freight House renovation completed |
| 1999 | Union Station reopens |
| 2000 to 2001 | First Fridays begin |
| 2001 | Crossroads Community Association formed |
| 2003 | Renovated buildings bring an influx of residents |
| 2012 | Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts opens |
| 2014 | KC Streetcar construction begins |
| 2016 | KC Streetcar starts carrying its first passengers |
Eat and Next
Frequently Asked Questions
What is First Friday in the Crossroads?
A monthly gallery night run by the Crossroads Community Association; the association’s First Friday page lists the current galleries.
What was Film Row?
Per the association, a 1930s distribution hub for Hollywood studios in the Crossroads, with nearly twenty buildings in four square blocks.
When did the Crossroads Community Association form?
2001, per its own timeline.
Sources
- Crossroads Community Association, home, read November 3, 2026 (association page)
- Crossroads Community Association, history, read November 3, 2026
- Crossroads Community Association, food and drink, read November 3, 2026
- Visit KC, neighborhoods, read November 3, 2026
Read on November 3, 2026. How we check: editorial standards; spot a mistake? Tell us.
Cite this page: It's Missouri, “Crossroads Arts District Visitor Profile: First Fridays, Film Row, Dining”, itsmissouri.com/destinations/crossroads-arts-district/ (updated ). By the It's Missouri editorial team. Free to quote with attribution and a link to this page; data and tables are licensed CC BY 4.0.