Category: People
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Memorial tribute: Pioneer George Sedgewick and his block of Armour and Virginia
A Midtown Memorial Day tribute goes to George Sedgewick, a Kansas City pioneer who lived at Armour and Virginia before his 20 acres were platted as Sedgewick Place. Like many pioneers, Sedgewick wasn’t born here, but he was attracted to the growing railroad hub and potential for Kansas City’s growth. When Sedgewick, born in 1823,…
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A pioneer family once owned this Valentine block
Early maps of this Valentine neighborhood street show most of it once was owned by Nellie G. Nelson, the daughter of Kansas City pioneer A.B.H. McGee. Nellie married William W. Nelson, himself the son of a pioneer family, in what was one of the most celebrated weddings in Kansas City history in 1890. Nellie later…
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Do you remember this Manheim Park block, from 39th to 40th between Troost and Forest?
The 3900 blocks of Troost and Forest were described by their original developer as an “ideal residence park where all homes are complete, well-designed, original and artistic.” Most of the homes were built around 1909-1910, and since then, the neighborhood has had its ups and downs, but current residents say Manheim is making a comeback.…
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Early Plaza Westport neighborhood builder helped working people buy homes
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…
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Do you remember the 3700 block of Troost and Forest?
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…
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President Theodore Roosevelt, race relations and the Kirkwood home
(The latest Rockhill Neighborhood Association newsletter contained two articles with some interesting neighborhood history, and they’ve given us permission to reprint them. Yesterday, Rockhill resident Todi Hughes profiled Laura Nelson Kirkwood. Today, UMKC Professor Emeritus Robert M. Farnsworth shares a story that occurred at the home of I.H. Kirkwood, later the Rockhill Tennis Club, which…
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The legacy of early Rockhill neighborhood resident Laura Nelson Kirkwood
(The latest Rockhill Neighborhood Association newsletter contained two articles with some interesting neighborhood history, and they’ve given us permission to reprint them. Today, Rockhill resident Todi Hughes profiles Laura Nelson Kirkwood. Tomorrow, the link between President Theodore Roosevelt, race relations and the Kirkwood house in Rockhill.) Reprinted with permission from the Rockhill Neighborhood newsletter by…
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Remembering George Southwell of Main Street, the king of band music
The Southwell Building, an art deco masterpiece at 3941 Main and home to Harlings, takes its name from a family that made its mark on Midtown – and across the country. Little remembered today, George Southwell was a composer of band music played in bandstands in small towns across the country, the Kansas City Star…
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Do you know the history of this Plaza block, 47th to 48th and Summit?
A row of three iconic apartment buildings at the back of the Bloch Cancer Survivors Park on the Plaza is threatened by demolition, as we reported last week. So we’re taking a look back at the two blocks around the apartments, from W. 47th to W. 48th Streets, from Roanoke Parkway to Jefferson, to get…