This section of 39th Street, like many Midtown blocks, was a quiet residential area in the early 1900s. The rising popularity of automobiles and the development of residential housing led to a major transformation in the 1920s as W. 39th Street became a commercial corridor. The story of the block from 39th to Valentine Road between Wyoming and […]
W. 39th Street: A Unique Mix of Business and Residential Buildings Read More »
Do you ever get that deja vu feeling while traveling around Kansas City? If you’ve ever stopped for a double-take after after thinking, “I’ve seen this before,” you might recognize one distinctive building type either tucked away along quiet, park-side boulevards. Those who remember the now lost neighborhoods of Midtown might also recall the Tudor 12-plex building
Repeated Building Designs: The Tudor 12-plex Read More »
This photo shows 4118 Mercier in 1940. When the developer of Bonfils Place in the Volker neighborhood died, the Kansas City Journal called him “one of the most colorful survivors of the Old West.” Fred Bonfils, who gave the subdivision his name, started a lottery in Kansas to buy property in Kansas City and helped
Volker Developer Fred Bonfils Lived a Colorful Life Read More »
Scott Burnett, a longtime resident of the Roanoke neighborhood, is conducting audio interviews with interesting people in Kansas City. So far, he’s talked to the owners of Fric and Frac, a Volker gathering place, and Kerry Browne and John McClain, owners of Browne’s Irish Market, the oldest Irish business outside of Ireland. Follow the conversations here.
Conversations with Scott Burnett Read More »
Isaac Levy and his family were among the earliest residents of this Volker block from 36th to 37th between Genessee and Wyoming. Levy was a pioneer Kansas City butcher and appears to be the first homeowner on the block. This Tuttle & Pike map from 1907 shows the Levy home in blue, just above a street called
Levy Meat Company Family Lived on this Volker Block Read More »
Most of the homes we now occupy in Midtown were built in a relatively short period – from 1900 to about 1920. While some of Kansas City’s wealthiest families had moved south in the 1880s, the majority of homes were constructed to meet a rapidly-growing population after the turn of the century. For example, the
Volker Homes Built Around 1910 To Meet The Needs of Immigrants Read More »
In the late 1800s, a popular entertainment site at Thirty-Ninth and Roanoke was called one of the most beautiful spots in Kansas City. For many years, German immigrant Frederick Esslinger’s house, vineyards, and wine garden were popular destinations for many Westport and Kansas City residents. After the wine garden was closed around 1900 and the house
A Westport Wine Garden at 39th and Roanoke Read More »
Small corner stores with living quarters above are a feature of many neighborhood corners in Midtown, including the southeast corner of 39th and Bell in the Volker neighborhood. This corner shop housed several different drugstores in the early 20th century and has also been used as a neighborhood tavern. These businesses have shared the block between
Corner Drugstore at 39th and Genessee Served the Neighborhood Read More »
It is common to find families moving in and out of Midtown neighborhood blocks in the early 1900s, but this Volker area, with many Swedish immigrants, was much more stable. Census records from 1910 to 1940 show several families that stayed on the block the entire time, while others moved in and stayed for two
Swedish Families Settled and Stayed for Decades on This Volker Block Read More »
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 »