Do you remember this block of Wyandotte and Central in Old Hyde Park?

Large homes in Old Hyde Park were well-suited to families around 1910, when many families still had servants who helped run their households. By 1940, this block between 36th and 37th, Wyandotte to Central, had become much more densely populated, with apartment buildings filling in vacant lots and large homes being converted to rooming houses.

Large homes in Old Hyde Park were well-suited to families around 1910, when many families still had servants who helped run their households. By 1940, this block between 36th and 37th, Wyandotte to Central, had become much more densely populated, with apartment buildings filling in vacant lots and large homes being converted to rooming houses.

the-blockKansas City changed a lot in the early 1900s. For example, the block of Old Hyde Park between 36th and 37th, from Central to Wyandotte, was home to well-off families in 1910, but by 1940, some of the older homes on the block had been replaced by apartment buildings, and many of the homes had been converted to boarding houses to accommodate the growing population of the city.

As part of our Uncovering History Project, the Midtown KC Post is taking a look at each block in Midtown, including a set of 1940 tax assessment photos which is available for many blocks. (Many people seem confused by the tax assessment photos, which all include a man holding a sign. Here’s the story behind them).  Today, the block between 36th and 37th, from Wyandotte to Central. 

This chart (scroll through it to see the whole block) shows the changes that took place between 1910 and 1940. The chart lists those families and their servants which were listed in the 1910 census of the block. The servants came from various backgrounds, and were listed by their race and nationality. The column to the right shows how the block had changed in 1940, when many of the large homes had become boarding houses or where families had taken in lodgers to help with the housing shortage in the city.

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The slideshow below shows the houses on the block as they looked in 1940.

Historic photos courtesy Kansas City Public Library/Missouri Valley Special Collections.

Do you have memories or more details about this area of Midtown? Please share them with our readers. Would you like us to focus on your block next week? Send us an email.

 Our book, Kansas City’s Historic Midtown Neighborhoods, is available now. Let us know if you want us to come to your neighborhood association or organization’s meeting to share what we’ve learned about Midtown neighborhood history and tell your members how they can help preserve Midtown history. If you’d like to order the book, email Mary Jo Draper at mjdraper@midtownkcpost.com. 

2 Comments

  1. R E says:

    Just a note, the 1940 tax photos shown are of the block just to the south (block 128), between 37th and 38th St. What it should be is block 123 of district 11.

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