Demolition of 23 homes and other buildings in the Valentine neighborhood is continuing this month between 33rd and 35th Streets from Pennsylvania to Southwest Trafficway. The story of these demolitions began more than 50 years ago when the Kansas City Life Insurance Company and other groups proposed demolishing a larger area and replacing the homes […]
The Plan that Began Valentine Demolitions Read More »
Demolitions continue in the Valentine neighborhood between 33rd and 35th from Pennsylvania to Southwest Trafficway. The Valentine Neighborhood says 23 homes and other structures are being demolished without a plan for what will replace them. According to a recent historical survey of the area, all of these structures would have qualified for addition to the
Valentine Demolitions Continue Read More »
As Kansas City neighborhoods filled up with residents after the turn of the 20th century, this block, like many others in Midtown, became home to many immigrants. In 1910, the residents of the area from Summit to Jefferson between 34th to 35th Streets came from Russia, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, and Canada, mixing in with other families who
In 1910, a Block of Immigrant Families in Valentine Read More »
A popular fairground that lasted for only five years left a lasting mark on the development of Midtown. In the 1800s, fairs that showcased agriculture techniques and equipment and offered wildly popular horse races were held all over the United States. From 1882 to 1887, the Kansas City Inter-State Fairgrounds operated on land stretching from
Map Shows Fairground Racetrack That Became Curve of Valentine Road Read More »
Waverly Way – once a street lined with residences and apartment buildings in a thriving Midtown – has now disappeared. Even its name is gone. The street is now called W. 34th Terrace, sandwiched in between the vacant MGE Building at 34th and Broadway and the Metropolitan Community College Health Sciences Institute just to the south.
Valentine’s Waverly Way Has Disappeared Read More »
A recent historical survey of Westport suggested that the Our Lady of Good Counsel Church on this block of the Valentine neighborhood might be a candidate for the historic register. The church and the rest of the block help tell the story of how churches followed their congregations as residential development moved from downtown to the
A Block Dominated by Churches in Old Westport Read More »
One of the major transformations in Midtown in the mid-1900s was the construction of Southwest Trafficway, a traffic artery meant to carry downtown business people and shoppers to their homes in the suburbs. Although less congested routes were clearly needed at the time, an unintended consequence was the transformation of Summit from a local business
NE Corner of 39th Street and Summit Once Housed Local Shops, Apartments Read More »
Among the earliest homes in what is now Midtown were those of wealthy Westport settlers built in the mid-1800s. Those homes, such as the lavish Bernard mansion in what is now the Valentine neighborhood, were often replaced to make room for “modern” homes in the early 1900s. Because they sometimes occupied key intersections, many of
Corner of 39th and Pennsylvania Was Home to Westport Pioneer Family Read More »
On a block of Broadway known today as the home of the Uptown Theater, the history of a home-turned-posh residential hotel has nearly faded. The Rochambeau, once the home of Valentine and Roanoke neighborhood “father” A.B.H. McGee, was called one of Kansas City’s finest luxury hotels. However, a fire in the 1930s erased it from
1932 Arson Destroyed Fine Old Broadway Residential Hotel Read More »
Valentine Road between Broadway and Southwest Trafficway has been home to Kansas City pioneers, wealthy widows, churches, and modest apartment dwellers. It may also have been home to the first plus-size clothing shop in Kansas City in 1925. The street was originally called W. 35th Street and was part of the regular Kansas City grid
Valentine Road History: Mansions, Churches – and a Plus-sized Dress Shop Read More »