Category: Streets
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Do you know the history of this Heart of Westport neighborhood block?
As part of our Uncovering History Project,the Midtown KC Post is taking a look at the 1940 tax assessment photos of each block in Midtown. This post from our archives (originally posted in March of 2016) features homes on the 3900 block of Central in the Heart of Westport neighborhood. Central Street is just one block east of Broadway.…
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West side of 3800 block of Main thrived in developing Midtown
In the 1930s, while most of their 3800 Main Street block was being saturated with storefronts, the Madrid Theater and a garage that would become the Unicorn Theater – but it was still the long-time home of the Dunn family. And they heard a suggestion that they were “losing money in their front yard.” The Dunn’s home at…
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The NE Corner of 39th and Main holds layers of history
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 she paid for it. The property she purchased…
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Midtown mansion converted to business, moved to Main Street
When Midtown began to develop in the late 1800s, it was a posh residential area where well-to-do Kansas Citians built mansions to escape the crowded downtown. They settled along streets such as Broadway, Troost and Main. But by the 1920s, rapid development in the area and the streetcar lines along those major streets caused a rapid…
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Mastin Mansion Once Dominated the Block at Armour and Main
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…
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Do you remember this block between Main and Wyandotte, from 31st to 31st Terrace?
The block between Main Street and Wyandotte, from 31st Street to 31st Terrace never contained many homes, but held a number of businesses that served the residents of Midtown. Auto repair shops, an ice company, and a popular softball park were all features of the block. As part of our Uncovering History Project, the Midtown KC Post…
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Home at 30th and Troost housed millionaires and musicians
Despite being known as perhaps the grandest home in Kansas City at the turn of the 20th century, the mansion at 3000 Troost was razed in 1938 to make way for commerce and apartment buildings. Mrs. Samuel B. Sebree (formerly Alice Smith) remembered the days between around 1900 to 1920 when she lived in the home…
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Do you remember this block of Westport Road from Broadway to Central?
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…
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Armour Family left behind their name, legacy in Midtown
If they hadn’t left behind their name on Armour Boulevard and several neighborhoods south of the Plaza, the Armour family’s brief prominence in Kansas City might easily be forgotten. Best known as part of the Chicago-based meatpacking dynasty, the Armours who ran the Kansas City branch of the company were a major influence on social…
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The heyday of the block of Armour south to 36th from Walnut to Warwick
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 a comfortable life 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…