Every neighborhood has its legends, great characters and weird events. They should not be forgotten.
The 3700 block of Troost and Forest today plays an important role in Kansas City life, as the site of the DeLaSalle Education Center. The same block holds other important history: it was once the home of a man who made his fortune by believing in Kansas City’s future, and later the home of a Catholic […]
From a Deer Park to A School in Manheim Park Read More »
Anyone who knows Midtown Kansas City will encounter some pretty familiar places and things with slight twists when reading the book Of Stones and Feathers. There’s the barely-disguised Nelson Museum of Art with its shuttlecocks and sheep sculptures; Gillham Road and Penn Valley Park; Martini Row with its Never-Sleeping, Three-Headed Velvet Dog-Jaws of Death; the
Coleman’s book invites rediscovery of Midtown – and reimagining of Kansas City Read More »
The businesses that once lined the southeast corner of Armour and Troost are mostly gone now, with the remaining ones boarded up. But in earlier days, the block from Armour south to 36th Street, from Troost to Forest, was a lively part of Armour Boulevard’s apartment hotel district. And the corner of Armour and Forest
A Shootout on Armour Boulevard Read More »
Instead of drinking away their paychecks, developer S.H. Taylor advised working citizens of Kansas City to invest in real estate. In an 1887 advertisement in the Kansas City Star, Taylor listed multiple reasons that buying a home in his Bunker Hill neighborhood was better than frittering money away on cocktails or cigars. According to Taylor,
Developer Said Don’t Waste Money on Cigars – Buy a Home Instead Read More »
It is history day at the Midtown KC Post, and we’ve got a new map that shows how Troost Avenue changed between 1880 and 1920, transforming from millionaire’s row into Kansas City’s premier shopping street. The best way to see the transition is by studying old maps of 29th to 32nd Streets and Troost. The map
When Troost Was Millionaire’s Row Read More »
Warwick Boulevard 1894. Looking north from 41st Street. Last week, our Uncovering History story featured a block of the Southmoreland neighborhood around 43rd and Main. That prompted a reader to ask what history might be available on the 4100 block of Warwick. I’d like to tell you more about that shortly, but first the story
A Neighborhood Dispute Over a Cow 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 »
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 »