The earliest residents of Kansas City’s Southmoreland neighborhood were wealthy businessmen looking to escape the hustle and bustle of downtown. Even though many of the mansions they built in the late 1880s have not survived, their confidence in the area set the stage for the neighborhood as it stands today. Historians credit the move of […]
History in Stone Walls Read More »
The fine old mansions of Midtown’s Roanoke neighborhood stand seemingly unchanged by time. Roanoke, just west of Southwest Trafficway between 36th and 38th, was one of the first residential suburbs to be developed. Allen B.H. once owned this section of Kansas City. McGee was an early pioneer and Westport settler. McGee’s home was in the
Roanoke Neighborhood Undisturbed by Time Read More »
Some step into history easily, often people who lived much of it and paid attention. Among them is Merrill William “Bill” Day of the Volker neighborhood. Day, 67, worked as a bus driver and a milkman and saw streetscapes change before his eyes. His grandfather was a streetcar driver, and his father was a mechanic,
History Buff Tracks the Past from Volker Read More »
This block of row houses is a one-of-a-kind in Midtown. There are several reasons for that. First, it predates much of the architecture in this part of the city, built in the early days of the southward development. And its style – Queen Anne with some Eastlake elements – is also uncommon in Midtown. The
Row Houses Are Unique Midtown Architecture Read More »
Among Midtown’s historic neighborhoods, Coleman Highlands may be the most unique because it lacks anything other than houses. Since it was platted in 1907, Coleman has been exclusively a neighborhood of homes, tucked away from residential businesses and heavy traffic—the kind of oasis its developers pictured. The 80-acre parcel that eventually became Coleman Highlands changed hands
Coleman Highlands: “Like a Trip to a Park” Read More »
On a day this hot a century ago, Midtowners would have hopped on the streetcar and headed south to 46th and the Paseo, where the popular Electric Park with its beach, roller coasters, and dancing awaited them. At the turn of the century, the first Electric Park, a popular destination for Kansas Citians, was located
Electric Park Was Midtown’s Coney’s Island Read More »
Today, this peaceful, tree-lined street doesn’t look much like it did when this scene was created around the turn of the 20th century. But it was one of the most celebrated streets in town, proudly featured in numerous postcards showing Kansas City’s new boulevard system. The street is Armour Boulevard, back before it became a
The Armour Family’s Short Stay on Armour Boulevard Read More »
The building is gone, and the name has been changed, but Midtown once had a school at the corner of 33rd and McGee known as the Hyde Park School. Originally, the land was a cornfield, part of the 60-acre Jacob Ragan farm at Armour Boulevard and Gillham Road. But in the late 1800s, the eight-room
Hyde Park School Served a Growing Population in 1899 Read More »
The Orphan Boy’s home in the 1960s. Before the current shopping center was built in the 1960s, the corner of Westport Road and 43rd Street was home to the Kansas City Orphan Boys Home. An old map shows the Orphan Boy’s home between Westport Road, Southwest Trafficway, and 43rd Streets. Image courtesy Kansas City Public
Early Orphan Boys Home Story Has a Tragic Twist Read More »
The year is 1897, and the Kansas City Star told the story of the hundreds of apple trees that drew a large crowd to 40th and Warwick, not far from today’s Westport High School. In 1867, Lowell Alonzo Goodman built a red brick home there and added an orchard on the surrounding 53 acres, from
Apple Trees Drew Crowds in the Spring Read More »