Middle, Upper Class Families Were First Residents of Crestwood Block

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Like the rest of the J.C. Nichols-developed subdivision, this block of the Crestwood neighborhood (E. 54th to E. 55th from Cherry to Holmes) attracted middle- and upper-middle-class residents after development began in 1919. According to the National Register of Historic Places nomination, the homes reflect various historically based revival styles popular in America after World […]

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Prohibition Raid Found ‘One of Finest Distilleries’ in South Plaza

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One of the greatest troves of Midtown history comes from the crime logs, which hold fascinating newspaper accounts of car wrecks, runaway wives, domestic robberies, suicides, murders, and other events.  They sometimes offer the best window into a past that was not intentionally preserved. That is true of the South Plaza block from 51st  Street

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Black, White families, Shared Westport Block in Early 1900s

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On one block of Westport around 1900, black families lived next to white families, and a church founded by a former slave and his brother stood just down the block from a grocery store in one of the oldest buildings in Kansas City. The block of Westport from Pennsylvania to Mill between 40th and Westport Road has seen

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How One Family Came to this Rockhill Block

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As well-to-do Kansas Citians moved south in the 1920s, several settled on a newly-developed block of the Rockhill neighborhood, from roughly Rockhill Terrace south to 45th Street. One of these new families, Alfred and Grace Schauffler, moved in around 1928, joining their well-off neighbors as commercial and civic leaders. All of the Rockhill neighborhood originally

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Westwood Park Block Attracted Families in Early 1920s

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Doctors, dentists and lawyers were among the first residents of the Westwood Park block from 50th to West 50th Terrace between Wyoming and Westwood Terrace. They settled in the neighborhood next to salesmen, bank presidents and undertakers in the 1920s as the development of Midtown moved south. The block is part of what is known today

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Female Architect Left Her Stamp On This Countryside Block

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Built when well-off residents of Kansas City were moving south of the Plaza and located right next to Loose Park, it is no surprise that this Countryside neighborhood block was built by prominent architects and attracted prominent families. The block from Wornall to Wyandotte between W. 54rd Street and W. 53rd Terrace is part of the

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Mansions at Armour and Main Gradually Repurposed, Replaced

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Today’s historical post looks at the block from Armour to 36th Street, from Main to Walnut, which undertook a radical transformation in a few brief decades. From an exclusive enclave of wealthy families like the Armours in the early 1900s, the block became a center of culture around the Conservatory of Music in the 1940s. Main

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