Starting in the 1880s, Italian and Sicilian immigrants established a vibrant community in Kansas City’s North End neighborhood. This area stretched from 8th Street to the Missouri River and from Main Street to Woodland Avenue. Renamed Columbus Park in 1967, the neighborhood has experienced many changes and challenges, including the construction of trafficways and bridges that have isolated it from surrounding communities.
Director Jon Trozzolo and producer Jody Valet discuss their documentary-in-progress titled The Neighborhood: The North End Becomes Columbus Park, exploring the history of Kansas City’s “Little Italy,” and highlighting some of the hardworking and devout Italian immigrants who settled there and prospered.
The film will feature Columbus Park residents, past and present, who describe their experiences growing up in a vibrant and close-knit Italian American community and how it's changed over the years.
The Neighborhood: The North End Becomes Columbus Park is produced in partnership with the Kansas City Chapter of UNICO, the Crossroads Media Group, and Kansas City Italians. Proceeds from the film will help fund a monument honoring Kansas City’s prominent Italian immigrants, which will be placed in Columbus Park.
