On a day this hot a century ago, Midtowners would have hopped on the streetcar and headed south to 46th and the Paseo, where the popular Electric Park with its beach, roller coasters, and dancing awaited them. At the turn of the century, the first Electric Park, a popular destination for Kansas Citians, was located […]
Electric Park Was Midtown’s Coney’s Island Read More »
Today, this peaceful, tree-lined street doesn’t look much like it did when this scene was created around the turn of the 20th century. But it was one of the most celebrated streets in town, proudly featured in numerous postcards showing Kansas City’s new boulevard system. The street is Armour Boulevard, back before it became a
The Armour Family’s Short Stay on Armour Boulevard Read More »
The building is gone, and the name has been changed, but Midtown once had a school at the corner of 33rd and McGee known as the Hyde Park School. Originally, the land was a cornfield, part of the 60-acre Jacob Ragan farm at Armour Boulevard and Gillham Road. But in the late 1800s, the eight-room
Hyde Park School Served a Growing Population in 1899 Read More »
The Orphan Boy’s home in the 1960s. Before the current shopping center was built in the 1960s, the corner of Westport Road and 43rd Street was home to the Kansas City Orphan Boys Home. An old map shows the Orphan Boy’s home between Westport Road, Southwest Trafficway, and 43rd Streets. Image courtesy Kansas City Public
Early Orphan Boys Home Story Has a Tragic Twist Read More »
The year is 1897, and the Kansas City Star told the story of the hundreds of apple trees that drew a large crowd to 40th and Warwick, not far from today’s Westport High School. In 1867, Lowell Alonzo Goodman built a red brick home there and added an orchard on the surrounding 53 acres, from
Apple Trees Drew Crowds in the Spring Read More »
The address the Kansas City Star called “the most conspicuous building on the skyline” in 1914 doesn’t stand out that much today. But the St. Regis Hotel, which has stood solidly at the northeast corner of Linwood and The Paseo for 100 years, was once the tallest building outside of downtown and one of the
One of Kansas City’s Tallest Buildings in 1914 Read More »
Many Midtowners drive past a building at 31st and Gillham without realizing it was once heralded as the “dairy of tomorrow.” The Aines Farm Dairy Building at 3110-30 Gillham is on the National Register of Historic Places. It was once where pasteurized milk, ice cream, butter, cottage cheese, and condensed milk were produced for Kansas
Gillham Building Produced 100,000 Gallons of Milk a Day Read More »
The Kansas City St. Patrick’s Day parade – said today to be the 6th largest in the country – started out strong in 1873, but by 1891, anti-Catholic sentiment drove it to a close. It wasn’t until 1973 that a conversation in a cocktail lounge brought it back to life. And for a while, after
Local St. Pat’s Day Parade Almost Ended Read More »
It’s a slow news day, so we thought it was an excellent opportunity to check out some Kansas City history through the Kansas City Public Library’s collection of historic photos. Here’s one of the Armour Boulevard and Troost Avenue intersection showing the Armour Hotel, Advanced Launderers and Cleaners, and Crown Drugstore.
Back in Time: Armour and Troost Read More »
by Joe Montanari (reprinted from the West Plaza neighborhood newsletter) Traveling east or west on 39th Street, on the southwest corner of 39th and Roanoke Road, one notices a handsome old building known as “The Loretto.” It’s a little tricky to see out the car window as you drive by, but if you approach from
Loretto School Faced Desegration Fight in 1947 Read More »