It is history day at the Midtown KC Post, and we’ve got a new map that shows how Troost Avenue changed between 1880 and 1920, transforming from millionaire’s row into Kansas City’s premier shopping street. The best way to see the transition is by studying old maps of 29th to 32nd Streets and Troost.
The map below is based on a 1907 property ownership map of Troost when most of the grand mansions built in the 1880s still stood. You will notice from the names of the property owners that the male businessmen had, in many cases, died, and the property was then owned by their wives. By the 1920s, as residents moved south and the Troost streetcar followed, the mansions were replaced by a thriving commercial shopping district where everyone in Kansas City went to find the latest goods.
As part of our Uncovering History Project, the Midtown KC Post is examining each block in Midtown. A set of 1940 tax assessment photos is available for many blocks.
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