The area between 29th and 30th Streets along Gillham Road is popular today, with refurbished apartment buildings, coffee shops, and new construction projects in the works.
A resident who lives near the Filling Station – a coffee shop in the triangle between Gillham, 30th, and McGee Street Trafficway – asked what we knew about the area, specifically the block north of the coffee shop.
An early Sanborn Fire Insurance Map (from 1896 to 1907) shows the area before McGee Street Trafficway cut through the area at a diagonal. The map shows six homes on the east side of Gillam on that block between 29th and 30th.
In 1918, the von Unwerth family occupied one of the homes at 2905 Robert Gillham Road. Miss Gertrude von Unwerth, who died in the home, taught German at Manual Training High School for many years before being assigned to Northeast High School.
While it looked like a quiet neighborhood, the creation of McGee Street Trafficway opened the area to a new wave of development led by Cadillac dealer Robert Greenlease, who distributed cars in western Missouri and northeast Kansas. Greenlease Cadillac had been located at 16th and Grand, but the dealer thought moving to the rapidly developing “south side” would put him closer to customers and give him room to spread out.
“Until McGee Road came, there was no location in Kansas City to meet our requirements for a permanent sales and service building,” Mr. Greenlease told the Kansas City Star. “Motor car business depends on both a successful car and successful service. Retail sales have increased rapidly, which meant we had to look for more room. The increasing number of women drivers demands a service building outside the downtown congestion. McGee Road is going to be our Michigan Boulevard.”
Greenlease also planned a service station, repair shop, painting department, and other automobile-related services on the block.
A photo from 1940 shows Greenlease Used Cars occupying the area across the street from the Cadillac showroom. In 1943, the company bought additional property on Gilliam across the street from its building, including the Unwerth property.
The Robert C. Greenlease Cadillac dealership has been converted into 29 condominiums.
Other car dealers and auto services joined Greenlease Cadillac. The corner of 30th and McGee Trafficway became “Ford Corners” in the 1950s, as the Newman-Fox Motor Company took over all four corners of the intersection.
Rose Brothers sold appliances at 2930 Gilliam in 1040.
A later map after the auto businesses moved in.
The photos below show the blocks’ homes and buildings from 29th to 30th, Cherry to Gillham, in 1940. Several of the houses on Cherry Street are still in existence.
As part of our Uncovering History Project, the Midtown KC Post is examining each block in Midtown. A set of 1940 tax assessment photos is available for many blocks.
All photos courtesy Kansas City Public Library, Missouri Valley Special Collections.
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