Architects, developers, dreamers, artists and musicians. All sorts of people have had an impact.
The history of Midtown Kansas City is full of tales of fortunes made and lost in real estate, but the Plaza Westport neighborhood’s past tells a different kind of story. A real estate developer and builder there, Will Corbin, is remembered for finding a way to help working-class people in Kansas City afford the modern […]
Builder Helped Working People Buy Homes Read More »
In the early 1900s, the residents of a rapidly expanding Midtown worked at various jobs: they were salesmen, teachers, real estate developers, packing house employees, bookkeepers, and business owners. However, on one block, 47th to 48th between Charlotte and Campbell, one type of work predominated – local streetcar jobs. “Street railway” workers made up the majority
A 1920s Block Filled with Streetcar Workers Read More »
Like the rest of the J.C. Nichols-developed subdivision, this block of the Crestwood neighborhood (E. 54th to E. 55th from Cherry to Holmes) attracted middle- and upper-middle-class residents after development began in 1919. According to the National Register of Historic Places nomination, the homes reflect various historically based revival styles popular in America after World
Middle, Upper Class Families Were First Residents of Crestwood Block Read More »
Built when well-off residents of Kansas City were moving south of the Plaza and located right next to Loose Park, it is no surprise that this Countryside neighborhood block was built by prominent architects and attracted prominent families. The block from Wornall to Wyandotte between W. 54rd Street and W. 53rd Terrace is part of the
Female Architect Left Her Stamp On This Countryside Block Read More »
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 »
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 »
(This post originally ran on April 23, 2017) When Barbara Bescher bought a lot at the corner of 39th and Main in 1901, the home she built for herself was practically the only thing on the block. But just two decades later, in 1924, the savvy businesswoman sold the property for more than 20 times what
The NE Corner of 39th and Main Holds Layers of History Read More »
It must have been quiet on this Summit Street block when D.P. and Sophia Thomson moved in around 1900. Although the Roanoke subdivision had been platted and laid out, it had been slow to develop. When the Thomsons moved in, theirs was the only home on the block that is today’s focus: Summit Street (now
Pioneering Photographer Was First Owner of This Roanoke Block Read More »
Like many neighborhoods in Kansas City, the large homes on this North Hyde Park block (from Charlotte to Campbell between 33rd and 34th) suited the extended families, servants, and boarders who lived there at the turn of the 20th century. Over the next few decades, families often moved on to smaller homes or the modern new residential
North Hyde Park Block Was Home to Early Kansas City Police Officer Read More »
A well-known spiritualist, a pioneering druggist, and a grocer were among the early residents of the 4100 block of Oak Street in the Southmoreland neighborhood. Records indicate the home at 4120 Oak was for rent as early as 1894 by the Whipple Loan and Trust Company. By the 1900 census, grocer William Crute and his
On Southmoreland’s Oak Street, Grocers, Railroadmen, and Salesmen Raised their Families Read More »