West Plaza Block: Immigrants, Births, Deaths, Weddings, Soldiers

Much of the history we read celebrates outstanding architecture, elite families, and unusual lives. But it is equally interesting to study blocks like this one in West Plaza, between 45th and 46th Street from Fairmount to Wyoming.  Perhaps its most unusual event was a gas explosion in 1962 that destroyed eleven houses in the neighborhood (more about […]

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Block of Boulevards Shifts from Residential in 1920s

If location is all-important in real estate, location along two boulevards must be even better. The intersection of Linwood Boulevard and The Paseo (now called Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard) historically attracted elite families who moved into substantial homes before the turn of the 20th century. However, the location also made the block a target

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Newly-renovated Scottish Rite Temple Anchors Historic Linwood and Paseo Block

May 13, 2019 The Kansas City Scottish Rite of Freemasonry Temple is a massive structure that has fascinated those driving along Linwood and the Paseo for years. Last week, the Temple was opened for a public tour to showcase its renovations. The Scottish Rite, the largest branch of Freemasonry, still uses the building for meetings

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Parkview Drugstores Started on this Manheim Park Block

In the early 1900s, this block from Brush Creek Boulevard to Cleaver Boulevard between Tracy and Virginia was best known as the home of the original Parkview Pharmacy. Located just east of the popular Electric Park, in those days, the block was a mixture of commercial buildings, apartments (even one designed by Nelle Peters), and

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Troostwood Block Offered Shade, Bungalows, and Two-Car Garages

Some blocks of Midtown Kansas City were built to house Kansas City elites, and others were created as working-class enclaves. Today’s block, in the Troostwood neighborhood from 49th to 49th Terrace and Tracy to Troostwood, was developed in the early 1920s for middle-class families who wanted a shady neighborhood away from the hustle and bustle of

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On the Edge of Midtown, A Home for Orphan Girls

A home for orphans that took in hundreds of children between 1880 and 1960 was a well-known part of the Midtown landscape. The St. Joseph Orphan Girls’ home took up the entire block between SouthweTrafficway (then called Summit) and Pennsylvania north of 31st Street (Karnes). Although it was called the Orphan Girls’ Home, the institution did

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Hyde Park Block Responded to Changing Residential Trends

How does this block of Hyde Park come to have several formerly luxurious old homes mixed in with a 1950s, post-war apartment building? The answer lies in the changing housing trends that influenced Midtown Kansas City’s development and redevelopment. On this block, from Armour to E. 36th between Charlotte and Holmes, the earliest residents sought space

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Old Hyde Park Block Has Seen Many Changes Since Dr. Hunter’s Time

I’m finding it hard to describe all the changes on this Old Hyde Park block in one overarching headline. The block is between Main Street and Grand Avenue, from 31st Terrace to 32nd Street, a little north of Costco. Just after 1900, the block was dominated by the home of prominent doctor D.W. Hunter, who was so

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Noted Architect Lived on This Roanoke Block of Well-off Families

Kansas City architect E.O. Brostrom – designer of the Newbern Hotel, several churches and an advocate in the 1930s of tiny houses – was just one of the noted early residents of a Roanoke neighborhood block.  The homes in the area from W. 37th to W. 38th between Jarboe and Valentine were built between 1900 and 1930, when the

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