Laborers, most of them immigrants or the children of immigrants, were the first residents to occupy the block of the Volker neighborhood between Holly and Mercier from W. 40th to W. 41st. Some worked at the stockyards, but most were employed in Kansas City’s thriving railroad industry. Reader Andrew Findlay, who lives on the block, […]
This Volker Block Was Home to Hard-Working Laborers Read More »
Contrary to how some folks perceive the past, Midtown families did not always stay in one place for many decades. It was more typical for people to move in and out of homes, whether rented or owned, as family members died, married, or moved to another neighborhood. This was true of the block bounded by
Families Moved In and Out of this Midtown block Read More »
Midtown households in the 1930s were predominantly made up of typical nuclear families: a working father, stay-at-home mother, and several children. But a glimpse at the 1930 makeup of the Valentine neighborhood block from Pennsylvania to Jefferson between 37th and Valentine shows other trends: a proportionally large number of households headed by widows, families that
Valentine Block Was Home of School Board President Read More »
The block of South Hyde Park, bounded by Holmes, Kenwood, 41st, and 42nd, is now mostly single-family bungalows. However, from the 1920s to the 1940s, it also held a grocery store and was home to the Meiners grocery family. Census records illustrate how the block began to fill in during the early 1900s with families
South Hyde Park Block Once Had a Grocery Store Read More »
Like most of Midtown, people moved in and out of this South Hyde Park neighborhood from the time its small homes and apartments were built in the early 1900s. Owners and their families occupied some of the small bungalows; others were rented from real estate companies. Today, the block bounded by Holmes, Gillham and 43rd
Small Bungalows, Apartments Made Up South Hyde Park Block Read More »
Before the Walnuts, among Kansas City’s most high-end apartments, were erected in 1929, a large home stood on the same site at Fifty-first and Wornall. The mansion—also known as the Walnuts —became a famous venue for entertaining well-to-do city residents until a developer saw the site’s potential as a luxury residential hotel. Today, block between
Walnuts Apartments Replaced Famous Mansion of the Same Name Read More »
A few of the homes on the block between 51st and Rockhurst from Forest to Tracy, including one where an early crusader for the blind lived, have been replaced by buildings associated with Rockhurst University. However, most of the bungalows and other single-family residences stand as they have since the early 1920s, a decade after Rockhurst was established. This
Early Advocate for the Blind Lived on this Block near Rockhurst Read More »
Residents began moving into the block around E. 31st Street from Charlotte to Campbell in the late 1800s, and as the population grew, 31st Street (formerly known as Springfield Avenue) became a commercial street offering services such as cleaning, furniture making, and a grocery store. Recently, we explored the history of on E. 31st Street
Most Modern Poultry House in the City Read More »
Fewer than a dozen homes lined what was once known as Glen Airy Place in the North Hyde Park neighborhood, but the street still retains a tucked-away quality that sets it apart from other streets around it. Reader Dale Ealey recently asked what history is known about this unique block. The Kansas City Star noted
Glen Airy Place Tucked Away in North Hyde Park Read More »
An important homestead once stood where the south edge of the Valentine neighborhood touches Westport, near what is now the parking lot of the Sunfresh grocery store. The home of Westport pioneer George Schaefer proudly occupied the corner of Pennsylvania and Schaefer Street (now known as West 39th Street Terrace). The family built the home
Valentine Mansion Once Housed Pioneer Family, Children of Working Mothers Read More »