People

Architects, developers, dreamers, artists and musicians. All sorts of people have had an impact.

On Southmoreland’s Oak Street, Grocers, Railroadmen, and Salesmen Raised their Families

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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 […]

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Corner of 39th and Pennsylvania Was Home to Westport Pioneer Family

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Among the earliest homes in what is now Midtown were those of wealthy Westport settlers built in the mid-1800s. Those homes, such as the lavish Bernard mansion in what is now the Valentine neighborhood, were often replaced to make room for “modern” homes in the early 1900s. Because they sometimes occupied key intersections, many of

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Valentine Block Was Home of School Board President

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Midtown households in the 1930s were predominantly made up of typical nuclear families: a working father, stay-at-home mother, and several children. But a glimpse at the 1930 makeup of the Valentine neighborhood block from Pennsylvania to Jefferson between 37th and Valentine shows other trends: a proportionally large number of households headed by widows, families that

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Early Advocate for the Blind Lived on this Block near Rockhurst

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A few of the homes on the block between 51st and Rockhurst from Forest to Tracy, including one where an early crusader for the blind lived, have been replaced by buildings associated with Rockhurst University. However, most of the bungalows and other single-family residences stand as they have since the early 1920s, a decade after Rockhurst was established. This

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Valentine Mansion Once Housed Pioneer Family, Children of Working Mothers

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An important homestead once stood where the south edge of the Valentine neighborhood touches Westport, near what is now the parking lot of the Sunfresh grocery store. The home of Westport pioneer George Schaefer proudly occupied the corner of Pennsylvania and Schaefer Street (now known as West 39th Street Terrace). The family built the home

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On Westport Block, Frontier History Meets 20th Century

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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

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