Much has changed along Armour Boulevard since the early 1900s, but one block, the north side of Armour to 34th Street from Campbell to Charlotte, remains much the same. One of the Armour mansions is no longer there, but the remaining homes of the block look pretty much the same as when they were built. […]
Some of Armour Blvd.’s Mansions Remain Read More »
Many blocks of Midtown look much the same today as they did 100 years ago, but this corner of Armour and Main is wholly changed. In the early 1900s it was a peaceful street lined with new mansions built for wealthy Kansas Citians who were moving south. Today, the mansions on the block are gone,
Armour Boulevard and Main Street, Then and Now Read More »
Their original developer described the 3900 blocks of Troost and Forest 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. The block
Manheim Park Called Ideal and Artistic Read More »
A recent Google Maps view of the 4300 block of Walnut. One important name stands out in the history of a block of the Southmoreland neighborhood from Warwick Boulevard west to Walnut and from 43rd to 44th, that of architect Albert Turney. Perhaps best known for the design of Kansas City Fire Department Building #2 in 1905, Turney
Architect Saw Value in Southmoreland Read More »
Working-class families from Sweden, Missouri, and Kansas lived on this West Plaza block in 1940. Residents had a variety of jobs: salesman, flour mill hand, marble cutter, machinist in a canning factory, upholsterer, piano tuner, landscaper, bookkeeper, radio serviceman, railroad freight clerk, and barber. The area developed around 1907 when newspaper ads hawked lots in
Swedish Families Settled in West Plaza Read More »
Midtown has several distinctive streets: some characterized by their commercial importance, some for their grand residential apartment hotels, and some for their classical turn-of-the-century architecture. Warwick Boulevard, clearly one of Midtown’s most important thoroughfares, played a unique role in Midtown’s development. Few other streets attracted several wealthy and well-known citizens. As they hired prominent architects
Warwick Boulevard Home to Prominent City Leaders Read More »
A hulking white building at 911 E. Linwood was in the news this week, with a developer successfully requesting assistance to overhaul it. The building – formerly a hotel, a nursing home and a government headquarters – is now slated to reopen as market-rate apartments in 2017. According to the Kansas City Star, developer Ted Sleder
A Midtown Hospital for Hemorrhoids Read More »
Every block of Midtown Kansas City has a unique history, and the block between Armour and 36th, McGee and Gillham is steeped in Catholic history and the transformation of Armour Boulevard from a boulevard of mansions to a busy street lined with luxury residential hotels. Sanburn map from 1909-1950 showing the block and surrounding areas
A Grand Home on Armour Boulevard Read More »
It would be easy to drive past Drexel Hall at the corner of Linwood and Baltimore daily without knowing the layers of history within its walls. Beginning with its unusual beginnings as a spur-of-the-moment purchase by a shrewd businesswoman, to its early days of concerts, dances, and suffrage association meetings, to the fiery union rallies
Drexel Hall Built by Shrewd Businesswoman Read More »
The Swedish Evangelical Mission Church in the Volker neighborhood was once a center of Swedish life in Midtown. In 1940, the church still stood at the corner of 42nd and Terrace Streets. The history of the surrounding block shows the diverse cultures that settled the area, with Swedish and other immigrants moving into the homes
Swedish Immigrants Settle in Volker Read More »