Kansas City changed a lot in the early 1900s. For example, in 1910, the block of Old Hyde Park between 36th and 37th, from Central to Wyandotte, was home to well-off families. Still, by 1940, some of the older homes on the block had been replaced by apartment buildings, and many of the homes had […]
Transition from Large Homes to Boarding Houses Read More »
Presidents, vice presidents, and company owners – that’s who lived on this block of Sunset Hill in 1940. Sunset Drive, 51st Street and 52nd Street bound the block. The large homes set on big wooded lots were intended by their developer to attract those who could afford the most exclusive addresses in Kansas City, and J.C.
Captains of Industry Settled in Sunset Hill Read More »
Midtown’s South Hyde Park area developed rapidly after 1905, spurred by new city water service and the expansion of streetcar lines to newly built middle-class homes. Today’s focus block, from 42nd to 43rd, from Holmes to Charlotte, is composed of modest homes that still look much like they did when built more than 100 years
Bungalows in South Hyde Park Read More »
Decades ago, Midtown Kansas City had a grocery store in almost every neighborhood. Before the advent of large chain “supermarkets,” grocery stores were often literally mom-and-pop businesses. They grew up along streetcar lines and within walking distance of Midtown residential areas. This map shows all the groceries within Midtown boundaries in 1949, based on a
Almost Every Neighborhood Had a Grocery Store Read More »
Around 1905, major development of Midtown Kansas City started moving for the first time south of Brush Creek, to an area that became known as the Country Club District. One of the earliest homes built in the area was on the block we’re focusing on in this post, from 52nd to 54th, between Oak and Brookside
The Beginnings of the Country Club District Read More »
Today’s historical post looks at the block from Armour to 36th Street, from Main to Walnut, a block that undertook a radical transformation in a few brief decades. From an exclusive enclave of wealthy families like the Armours in the early 1900s, the block became a center of culture around the Conservatory of Music in the
Mansions at Armour and Main gradually repurposed, replaced Read More »
As Midtown became home to many of Kansas City’s wealthiest families in the early 1900s, they built mansions to house their families. Many of these families later moved on as new districts developed to the south, but they left behind large homes built to last decades, and a number of those homes were repurposed by
Once Exclusive Mansions Became Part of UMKC Read More »
Union Cemetery, the final resting place for many of Kansas City, Westport, and Midtown’s pioneers, has been added to the National Register of Historic Places. The Union Cemetery Historical Society maintains Kansas City’s oldest public cemetery, which is in the historic Union Hill neighborhood, established in 1857, and one of the oldest neighborhoods in Midtown.
Union Cemetery Receives National Designation Read More »
Although his apartment building and small homes along Armour Boulevard no longer stand, W.H. Collins is remembered as a pioneer who left his mark on Midtown Kansas City. Collins’ structures once dominated the block from Armour Boulevard to 36th Street, from Central to Wyandotte, although neither his groundbreaking apartment building or workingmen’s cottages remain today.
Armour Boulevard Apartments, Workingmen’s Cottages, Now Gone Read More »
While many blocks of Midtown have barely changed since the early 1900s, this block of Armour at the Paseo looks like a different place today. The heyday of the block began just after the turn of the 20th century when wealthy and successful captains of the industry started building along the Paseo. However, the prestige
Mansions at Paseo and Armour Have Been Lost Read More »