Gem Theater, Kansas City

Originally named the Star Theater, the Gem was built in 1912 by the Shriner and Powellson Amusement Company as a silent-movie palace serving Kansas City’s African American population. It was renamed the Gem in 1913, and by 1929 had become an established fixture in the 18th & Vine neighborhood, where it operated as a movie theatre until 1960. Kansas City Mayor Richard Berkley and then-City Councilman Emanuel Cleaver spearheaded the revitalization of 18th & Vine in the 1980s, positioning the Gem Theater as a centerpiece of the district’s renovation efforts.