Midtown has more than two dozen unique neighborhoods and several commercial and cultural districts. No two are alike. They are all interesting.
In the early 1900s, this block from Brush Creek Boulevard to Cleaver Boulevard between Tracy and Virginia was best known as the home of the original Parkview Pharmacy. Located just east of the popular Electric Park, in those days, the block was a mixture of commercial buildings, apartments (even one designed by Nelle Peters), and […]
Parkview Drugstores Started on this Manheim Park Block Read More »
Some blocks of Midtown Kansas City were built to house Kansas City elites, and others were created as working-class enclaves. Today’s block, in the Troostwood neighborhood from 49th to 49th Terrace and Tracy to Troostwood, was developed in the early 1920s for middle-class families who wanted a shady neighborhood away from the hustle and bustle of
Troostwood Block Offered Shade, Bungalows, and Two-Car Garages Read More »
Isaac Levy and his family were among the earliest residents of this Volker block from 36th to 37th between Genessee and Wyoming. Levy was a pioneer Kansas City butcher and appears to be the first homeowner on the block. This Tuttle & Pike map from 1907 shows the Levy home in blue, just above a street called
Levy Meat Company Family Lived on this Volker Block Read More »
How does this block of Hyde Park come to have several formerly luxurious old homes mixed in with a 1950s, post-war apartment building? The answer lies in the changing housing trends that influenced Midtown Kansas City’s development and redevelopment. On this block, from Armour to E. 36th between Charlotte and Holmes, the earliest residents sought space
Hyde Park Block Responded to Changing Residential Trends Read More »
I’m finding it hard to describe all the changes on this Old Hyde Park block in one overarching headline. The block is between Main Street and Grand Avenue, from 31st Terrace to 32nd Street, a little north of Costco. Just after 1900, the block was dominated by the home of prominent doctor D.W. Hunter, who was so
Old Hyde Park Block Has Seen Many Changes Since Dr. Hunter’s Time Read More »
Kansas City architect E.O. Brostrom – designer of the Newbern Hotel, several churches and an advocate in the 1930s of tiny houses – was just one of the noted early residents of a Roanoke neighborhood block. The homes in the area from W. 37th to W. 38th between Jarboe and Valentine were built between 1900 and 1930, when the
Noted Architect Lived on This Roanoke Block of Well-off Families Read More »
Most of the homes we now occupy in Midtown were built in a relatively short period – from 1900 to about 1920. While some of Kansas City’s wealthiest families had moved south in the 1880s, the majority of homes were constructed to meet a rapidly-growing population after the turn of the century. For example, the
Volker Homes Built Around 1910 To Meet The Needs of Immigrants Read More »
As Thanksgiving approached in 1927, it’s a pretty good bet that Effie Kauffman of Central Hyde Park was working on her holiday planning. Mrs. Kauffman’s prize-winning Thanksgiving menu was shared in the Nov. 22 Kansas City Star that year. It included a grapefruit cocktail, turkey with oyster dressing, peas in cream, leaf lettuce with Thousand
How Central Hyde Park Prepared for Thanksgiving Read More »
As Kansas City neighborhoods filled up with residents after the turn of the 20th century, this block, like many others in Midtown, became home to many immigrants. In 1910, the residents of the area from Summit to Jefferson between 34th to 35th Streets came from Russia, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, and Canada, mixing in with other families who
In 1910, a Block of Immigrant Families in Valentine Read More »
J.C. Nichols, certainly one of the most important residential developers in Kansas City, started developing this block of the Country Club Plaza in 1922. Nichols had been building residential neighborhoods to the south of Brush Creek since 1907, and he saw the need for an area to provide goods and services for the new residents
In 1923, Work Began on First Block of Country Club Plaza Read More »