The North Hyde neighborhood in Midtown is one of the oldest parts of town, and today we’re taking a look back at one if its homes in 1940.
This 1940 photo was taken as part of a Works Administration Program that year. Using manpower from the Jackson County Tax Assessors Office and other agencies, a photograph of every building in Kansas City was taken. They’re now in the Kansas City Public Library, where you can find your house by using the collection. The fellow in each photo is the WPA worker holding the sign with the property’s identification number.
North Hyde Park stretches from Armour to 31st, Gillham to Troost. The area south of it, shown in gray on this map, is called Central Hyde Park, and below the gray area is a section of the neighborhood referred to as South Hyde Park. All three areas are part of the Hyde Park Neighborhood Association.
Several homes on the 3300 and 3400 blocks of Harrison in North Hyde Park are among the earliest buildings, constructed for wealthy residents when the “South Side” of Kansas City was just starting to develop. Most of the homes were built between 1890 and 1911, with several constructed between 1890 and 1899 that show evidence of the slightly different style of that period.
North Hyde Park also contains some significant apartment buildings along Armour Boulevard. The Central Presbyterian Church, Trinity M.E. Church and Longan School are also in North Hyde Park.