Before it became a major city park, Penn Valley was a deep ravine with 300 homes scattered across its hillsides, as seen in this photo from 1890. Photo courtesy of the Board of Park and Recreation Commissioners, as seen in the new book “Kansas City’s Parks and Boulevards.” Midtown would be a completely different place […]
Book Details Lessons from Park and Boulevard History Read More »
Like other commercial corridors in Midtown today, Broadway started as a residential area. But in the 1920s, it evolved into the commercial corridor it is today, with businesses and apartments taking the place of stately homes that had once stood along it. The photo above shows Broadway in 1917, right where the Kansas City Life Insurance
Former Mansion on Broadway Boulevard Read More »
William Rockhill Nelson is best remembered as the founder of the Kansas City Star, but Nelson once said he enjoyed nothing more than building houses. Nelson the journalist was also an avid real estate developer and planner. He was among the first of the Kansas City elite to move south – helping start the movement
Nelson’s Country Mansion Became Site of Nelson-Atkins Museum Read More »
This week, a delegation from China will tour Midtown sites in the Volker, Valentine, and Hyde Park neighborhoods. This is all part of an ongoing relationship between China and Kansas City created by journalist Edgar Snow. The Chinese dignitaries will be in Kansas City for the annual Edgar Snow Symposium. Kansas Citians Mary Clark and E.
Edgar Snow’s Midtown Roots Form Lifelong Kansas City-Chinese Bond Read More »
By Joe Lambe To step into a certain Hyde Park stone home is to walk into history, some of it recent. Past owners range from brewery president George Muehlebach Jr. in the 1920s to current Mayor Sly James. The 1908 house at 743 Manheim Road is in this year’s Hyde Park Homes Tour, which is
Historic Hyde Park Home Housed a Brewer, a Mayor and Musicians Read More »
As the PBS series on the Roosevelts continues this week, few in Kansas City remember the time when President Theodore Roosevelt visited Kansas City. But on May 1, 1903, crowds filled the streets to see him. “For nearly three hours this forenoon President Roosevelt rode between solid banks of cheering people that lined miles and
When Teddy Roosevelt Came to Kansas City Read More »
Postcards from around 1900 offer a glimpse of how proud Kansas City was of its new grand boulevard, the Paseo. The Paseo takes its name from the “Paseo de la Reforma” in Mexico City. Kansas City Parks and Boulevards designer George Kessler meant for Kansas City’s Paseo to be a great street. He envisioned it
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The North Hyde neighborhood in Midtown is one of the oldest parts of town, and today we’re taking a look back at one if its homes in 1940. This 1940 photo was taken as part of a Works Administration Program that year. Using manpower from the Jackson County Tax Assessors Office and other agencies, a
Snapshot in time: North Hyde Park home in 1940 Read More »
A century ago, Kansas Citians often headed outside on hot summer nights like these. And one popular spot was always Armour Boulevard, a place where people from all walks of life were likely to show up. The Kansas City Star in 1905 described the scene. “The boulevards are the most popular breathing spots at night
Armour Boulevard Was the Place to Beat the Heat Read More »
When Kansas City pioneer Webster Withers moved his family to this block in 1883, he said he’d decided to move to “the country.” He built his mansion on forty acres of ground on a spot few would recognize today – 31st Street and Troost Avenue. “We were tired of town life,” Withers’ wife told the Kansas
Midtown Millionaire’s Row at 31st and Troost Read More »