Today, we call the area around 31st and Oak Street “Martini Corner” in honor of the bars and restaurants that fill it.
A look back to the 1940s shows that the buildings in this area have housed a constantly changing array of local businesses that serve Midtown since they were originally built.
As part of our Uncovering History Project, the Midtown KC Post is examining each block in Midtown. A set of 1940 tax assessment photos is available for many blocks.
While not much history is written about the area, this early map from 1896-1907 shows Martini Corner housing a drugstore, tin shop, meat market, and cabinet shop.
Just to the southeast of the corner, the Little Sisters of the Poor were running their Home for the Aged. The residents were Irish immigrants, war veterans, and others. The only requirement was that they were over 60 years of age, and even that rule was sometimes violated. “To enter there one must be without funds, without means of support, without friends to support him,” The Kansas City Star reported on Dec. 25, 1910.
In this later map from 1909-1950, the Little Sisters for the Poor property has been replaced with the El Torreon Ballroom and the Aines Farm Dairy was in operation. On the southwest corner, the Linwood Ice Cream factory tempted residents. Along 31st Street, the buildings were now home to a drugstore, neon sign manufacturer, and electrical goods warehouse. A gas station had filled in the corner of 31st and Gilliam.
