Midtown has more than two dozen unique neighborhoods and several commercial and cultural districts. No two are alike. They are all interesting.
A bank building now sits at the southwest corner of Armour Boulevard and Main Street, offering no hint of the important mansion that once occupied the site. But from the time it was built in 1888 until it was razed in 1927, the Thomas H. Mastin home was one of the best known mansions in […]
Mastin Mansion Once Dominated the Block at Armour and Main Read More »
The block between Main Street and Wyandotte, from 31st Street to 31st Terrace, never contained many homes but had several businesses that served Midtown residents. The block featured auto repair shops, an ice company, and a popular softball park. A recent aerial photo of the block. Main Street Storerooms, Signs, and Ambulances From the earliest
A Business Block at 31st and Main Read More »
Census records from 1920-1940 show a two-block area of Coleman Highlands as a thriving section of the Midtown’s Redemptorist Parish – its well-built homes packed with large Catholic families. A reader asked for more information about W. 33rd Street Terrace in Coleman Highlands, so today’s look back at history includes the area from the south side
Coleman Highlands from the 1920s to 1940s Read More »
An “apartment city” that once stood where Home Depot is located today was billed as “an innovative approach to multi-use residential development.” Built in 1926, the Warner Plaza development included two seven-story buildings on Main Street near Thirty-third Street and a roadway also called Warner Plaza with a long row of apartment buildings on either
Current Home Depot Site Was Once Warner Plaza “Apartment City” Read More »
The West Plaza neighborhood is one of Midtown’s historic areas where working-class families owned and rented homes in these photos. This block of Belleview and Jarboe between 45th and 46th is a great example. Residents in these 1940s photos included streetcar and meatpacking workers, a movie theater projectionist, and the owner of a watch repair business.
Small Bungalows Lined Belleview, Jarboe in 1940 Read More »
On one block of Westport around 1900, black families lived next to white families, and a church founded by a former slave and his brother stood just down the block from a grocery store in one of the oldest buildings in Kansas City. The block of Westport from Pennsylvania to Mill between 40th and Westport Road has seen
Black, White Families, Church, Businesses shared Westport block in Early 1900s Read More »
As one of the oldest parts of Kansas City, the block of Westport from Pennsylvania to Mill between 40th and Westport Road has seen several distinct stages of development. The area first came to life in the mid-1800s, when historic churches, courtrooms, wagon-making, and grocery shops mingled with small frame homes. Despite efforts to preserve
On Westport Block, Frontier History Meets 20th Century Read More »
Although Westport is best known for its role as a frontier trading outpost, few remnants of that pioneer past remain standing. The Westport we know today, including this block from Westport Road to Archibald and from Broadway to Central, was mostly built in the early years of the 20th century, with Westport Road making the
Do You Remember this Block of Westport Road from Broadway to Central? Read More »
In the early 1900s, Armour Boulevard and its surrounding blocks were the center of life for many wealthy Kansas Citians, who built large mansions and lived comfortable lives attended by their servants. That’s true of the block between Armour and 36th Street from Walnut to Warwick. But by 1940, Armour’s elite residents had moved on,
The Heyday of a Block of Armour Read More »
This block of Midtown, from Armour to 34th between Cherry and Kenwood, is perhaps best known as the home of the Longan School (now Academie Lafayette) and the Trinity United Methodist Church. However, the block was not completely dominated by these institutions. It also offered three homes along Kenwood, four on Cherry, and a luxury
Church, School, Homes Share a Block Read More »