Although the historic Boone Theater has been sitting empty since 1970, that’s all about to change.
Located in the historic 18th and Vine jazz district (1701 E. 18th St., KCMO), the 1924 theater is undergoing an $8.7 million makeover, and as part of it, the theater will house the Black Movie Hall of Fame.
Originally conceptualized by the Hall of Fame’s executive director Shawn Edwards in 2003, the Black Movie Hall of Fame will now have a permanent home in the theater. Edwards, who is a film and television producer, says he felt “obligated” to highlight Black actors and filmmakers. The Hall of Fame is set to feature artifacts and classic movie posters as well as interactive presentations and videos.
Edwards says he wants to maintain an “old-school museum feel” but have the flexibility to “tell different stories” with modern technology. Exhibits will chronicle the impact of Black movie makers from the days of early Hollywood through the modern era.
Having the Hall of Fame housed in the same building as the Boone Theater is a natural partnership, Edwards says. The renovated historic theater will provide a dramatic space to show modern and classic Black films, he says.
“Movies are great documentation of what actually happened in the world,” Edwards says. “You can’t go back and change that. Movies help to protect the truth. Movies help to protect that history, and we’re going to play a large part in that.”
With the American Jazz Museum and the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum’s planned expansion, locating the Hall of Fame in the 18th and Vine community is the perfect spot.
“Now that district will feature the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, the American jazz Museum and the soon-to-be Black Movie Hall of Fame,” Edwards says. “The important thing about that is I think that it creates the best historical corridor in the United States, when you talk about the history that those three entities will represent. It also means a lot to Kansas City.”
The Black Movie Hall of Fame is set to open in February of 2026.
