Ted Ihde's Blog: Ted Ihde author of “Thinking About Becoming A Real Estate Developer?”, page 8
December 7, 2024
Neighborhoods are often interwoven by unique neighborhood features…and in KC’s Brookside, arguably, that unique neighborhood feature was that trolley…
Brookside is a proud collection of charming, quaint, leafy neighborhoods. Located in a southern section within Paris of the Plains – Kansas City, Missouri. Brookside also happens to be the largest contiguous master-planned community in the United States. Master-planned communities…that topic shall be left for another writing.
Part of the Country Club District, original plans for Brookside neighborhoods included building new homes for middle-income families, upper middle-income families, as well as high-income families. The more expensive homes in Brookside neighborhoods tended to have been built towards the west. Oftentimes, higher home values in Brookside neighborhoods have been assumed to be able to be determined based upon how far east – or how far west – of Main Street the home was originally built.
Brookside’s Trolley Track Trail…
The Harry Wiggins Trolley Track Trail. This iconically-Brookside-only feature, named after the KC-born Missouri state senator Harry Wiggins – is a six-mile long pathway which runs right through the middle of those charming Brookside neighborhoods.
There is no trolley that one would ever find today on this Brookside trolley trail. No trolley, and no trolley tracks either. But at one time, there had been a trolley. Trolley tracks too. That old Brookside trolley run in Kansas City had been born in the late 19th Century.
By the late 1800’s, similar to cable cars which were already running out west in San Francisco, early-day KC trolleys, traveling along the Harry Wiggins Trolley Track Trail – through Brookside – were propelled by underground cables. The earliest Brookside trolleys ran by gripping underground cables. The underground cables were built along – I.e.: built underneath – the Brookside trolley track.
As the late 19th Century transitioned into the early part of the 20th Century, the means by which KC streetcars and trolleys were propelled – the underground cable system – was replaced with a streetcar and a trolley propulsion system, powered by electricity.
Those old Brookside trolley tracks we are talking about here have long since been torn up. The Harry Wiggins Trolley Track Trail is a now KC favorite among walkers, runners and cyclists. Not trolleys. Those old, adorable KC trolleys in Brookside – as well as the trolley tracks on which Brookside trolleys once traveled – long since having been replaced by a walking path. And by Kansas Citians walking, jogging or cycling over to Roasterie to enjoy a nice latte. In Brookside.
At its inception, the Harry Wiggins Trolley Track Trail fostered a trackbed, wooden cross ties, and the ballast. Facilitating a trolley’s passageway, through Brookside neighborhoods. This trolley line? This was the Country Club Line.
The Country Club Line took trolley patrons south in KC…over to Brookside Shops at 63rd Street and Brookside Boulevard. To a fun-filled day of Brookside shopping.
Founded in 1920, the Brookside Shopping District was Kansas City’s first suburban shopping center. Thirty-seven years after the Brookside Shopping District first opened, the last KC trolley chugged along that old Country Cub Line, and into Brookside. That was in 1957…1957 being the year the last trolley traveled into Brookside.
At one time, Kansas City had one of the most extensive streetcar systems – and trolley systems – in the country. In 2024, Kansas City – happily, once again – has its own fabulous KC streetcar system. One which is quite unique to Kansas City.
During the latter part of the 19th Century – and on in to the early part of the 20th Century – Kansas City’s streetcar system functioned as the primary mode of public transportation for Kansas Citians.
Times changed. Kansas City, like most cities by the mid-20th Century, replaced their streetcar system – as well as their trolley, and their trolley tracks – with buses. And bus routes.
Long, long ago those old trolley tracks in Brookside were torn up. Streetcar lines were torn up throughout Kansas City. The end of KC’s streetcar. The end of KC’s Brookside trolley.
In Brookside, this end-of-an-era transportation transformation led to the adoption of the Harry Wiggins Trolley Track Trail as a Brookside neighborhood favorite. For walkers, joggers and cyclists.
The Harry Wiggins Trolley Track Trail.
Part of the Country Club District, original plans for Brookside neighborhoods included building new homes for middle-income families, upper middle-income families, as well as high-income families. The more expensive homes in Brookside neighborhoods tended to have been built towards the west. Oftentimes, higher home values in Brookside neighborhoods have been assumed to be able to be determined based upon how far east – or how far west – of Main Street the home was originally built.
Brookside’s Trolley Track Trail…
The Harry Wiggins Trolley Track Trail. This iconically-Brookside-only feature, named after the KC-born Missouri state senator Harry Wiggins – is a six-mile long pathway which runs right through the middle of those charming Brookside neighborhoods.
There is no trolley that one would ever find today on this Brookside trolley trail. No trolley, and no trolley tracks either. But at one time, there had been a trolley. Trolley tracks too. That old Brookside trolley run in Kansas City had been born in the late 19th Century.
By the late 1800’s, similar to cable cars which were already running out west in San Francisco, early-day KC trolleys, traveling along the Harry Wiggins Trolley Track Trail – through Brookside – were propelled by underground cables. The earliest Brookside trolleys ran by gripping underground cables. The underground cables were built along – I.e.: built underneath – the Brookside trolley track.
As the late 19th Century transitioned into the early part of the 20th Century, the means by which KC streetcars and trolleys were propelled – the underground cable system – was replaced with a streetcar and a trolley propulsion system, powered by electricity.
Those old Brookside trolley tracks we are talking about here have long since been torn up. The Harry Wiggins Trolley Track Trail is a now KC favorite among walkers, runners and cyclists. Not trolleys. Those old, adorable KC trolleys in Brookside – as well as the trolley tracks on which Brookside trolleys once traveled – long since having been replaced by a walking path. And by Kansas Citians walking, jogging or cycling over to Roasterie to enjoy a nice latte. In Brookside.
At its inception, the Harry Wiggins Trolley Track Trail fostered a trackbed, wooden cross ties, and the ballast. Facilitating a trolley’s passageway, through Brookside neighborhoods. This trolley line? This was the Country Club Line.
The Country Club Line took trolley patrons south in KC…over to Brookside Shops at 63rd Street and Brookside Boulevard. To a fun-filled day of Brookside shopping.
Founded in 1920, the Brookside Shopping District was Kansas City’s first suburban shopping center. Thirty-seven years after the Brookside Shopping District first opened, the last KC trolley chugged along that old Country Cub Line, and into Brookside. That was in 1957…1957 being the year the last trolley traveled into Brookside.
At one time, Kansas City had one of the most extensive streetcar systems – and trolley systems – in the country. In 2024, Kansas City – happily, once again – has its own fabulous KC streetcar system. One which is quite unique to Kansas City.
During the latter part of the 19th Century – and on in to the early part of the 20th Century – Kansas City’s streetcar system functioned as the primary mode of public transportation for Kansas Citians.
Times changed. Kansas City, like most cities by the mid-20th Century, replaced their streetcar system – as well as their trolley, and their trolley tracks – with buses. And bus routes.
Long, long ago those old trolley tracks in Brookside were torn up. Streetcar lines were torn up throughout Kansas City. The end of KC’s streetcar. The end of KC’s Brookside trolley.
In Brookside, this end-of-an-era transportation transformation led to the adoption of the Harry Wiggins Trolley Track Trail as a Brookside neighborhood favorite. For walkers, joggers and cyclists.
The Harry Wiggins Trolley Track Trail.
Kansas City’s Film Row
A film row is a collection of film studio offices which are located next to each other. Film rows functioned as motion picture industry sales hubs and fulfillment centers. Film rows also played host to meetings and events.
From the 1920’s and on through the 1970’s, Hollywood used film rows to produce and distribute content.
Kansas City’s Film Row was located in what is today Crossroads Arts District – 17 buildings within a four block radius. Most of those buildings are still there.
Columbia Pictures and Paramount had offices between Central and Wyandotte on 18th Street.
Where 17th Street intersects with Wyandotte, Warner Brothers and Universal Studios were across the street from one another. 1700 Wyandotte had been Universal Studios’ Midwest storage and distribution center.
United Artists had an office on the corner of Central and 18th Street.
Walt Disney Company was located on 18th Street…just off Wyandotte.
Disney evolved out of Laugh-O-Gram Studio. Laugh-O-Gram started out in the McConahay Building – 1127 East 31st Street.
The MGM building – built in 1930 – was at 220 West 18th Street.
National Screen Service – 18th Street and Baltimore – was one of the largest distributors of movie posters, accessories and print ads.
Screenland Café – Wyandotte and 18th Street – had two screening rooms as well as two theatre circuits. Those two theatre circuits would evolve into AMC Theaters.
AMC was founded in 1920 in KC by Maurice, Edward and Barney Dubinsky. The Durbinsky’s would go on to change their name. From Dubinsky to Durwood.
Prior to AMC, the Durwood’s had Durwood Theatres. Durwood Theatre started out on Baltimore Street. In Film Row.
From the 1920’s and on through the 1970’s, Hollywood used film rows to produce and distribute content.
Kansas City’s Film Row was located in what is today Crossroads Arts District – 17 buildings within a four block radius. Most of those buildings are still there.
Columbia Pictures and Paramount had offices between Central and Wyandotte on 18th Street.
Where 17th Street intersects with Wyandotte, Warner Brothers and Universal Studios were across the street from one another. 1700 Wyandotte had been Universal Studios’ Midwest storage and distribution center.
United Artists had an office on the corner of Central and 18th Street.
Walt Disney Company was located on 18th Street…just off Wyandotte.
Disney evolved out of Laugh-O-Gram Studio. Laugh-O-Gram started out in the McConahay Building – 1127 East 31st Street.
The MGM building – built in 1930 – was at 220 West 18th Street.
National Screen Service – 18th Street and Baltimore – was one of the largest distributors of movie posters, accessories and print ads.
Screenland Café – Wyandotte and 18th Street – had two screening rooms as well as two theatre circuits. Those two theatre circuits would evolve into AMC Theaters.
AMC was founded in 1920 in KC by Maurice, Edward and Barney Dubinsky. The Durbinsky’s would go on to change their name. From Dubinsky to Durwood.
Prior to AMC, the Durwood’s had Durwood Theatres. Durwood Theatre started out on Baltimore Street. In Film Row.
The Kansas City Stockyards
In the late 1860’s, a young Illinois cattle dealer – Joseph “Cowboy” McCoy – had been scouting out locations. Cowboy McCoy was interested in an area along what became the Kansas Pacific rail line.
Cowboy McCoy was looking for the ideal setting. A destination point. Someplace Texas cattlemen could drive their cattle up north to before being sent on to Abilene, Kansas.
From Abilene, cattle would be shipped east. To Kansas City. Therein lies the origin for Kansas City’s emergence in the early Twentieth Century American cattle business.
A few years after Cowboy McCoy settled in Abilene, Kansas City got their stockyards. Kansas City’s stockyards were located in a section of KC known as the West Bottoms. The birth of KC’s stockyards? 1871.
One: Cowboy McCoy. Two: Abilene. Three: The cattle business and Kansas City. Further writing, focused upon the latter. The two formers…mentioned as historical occurrences, relevant to the latter…
Ten years prior to KC getting their stockyards, Kansas City’s population had been about 4,000. By 1900, KC’s population grew to 160,000. Kansas City’s cattle industry was the driving force behind the city’s population growth.
Kansas City’s stockyards enabled livestock owners to transport their cattle to an exchange. At this newly-formed exchange in Kansas City, cattle could be sold to the highest bidders. Prior to the establishment of KC’s stockyards – and the exchange – livestock owners were only able to sell their cattle at whatever price railroad men offered to pay…limiting earning potential for cattle men. Kansas City’s stockyards – coupled to the establishment of the Kansas City Livestock Exchange – created a market for cattle men. The result? Higher cattle prices.
The Kansas City Livestock Exchange Building was constructed in 1911. At that time, the Kansas City Livestock Exchange Building was the largest livestock exchange building in the world.
The Exchange Building in Kansas City once housed over 400 offices. Telegraph offices. Beauty shops. Cattle tradesmen. Packing house buyers. Banks. All could be found in the Exchange Building in KC early in the 20th Century.
If you strolled through Kansas City’s stockyards early in the 20th Century, you could have found yourself in either Kansas or Missouri. The stockyards straddled both states.
KC’s stockyards were established in Kansas. Along the Kansas River. Two-thirds of KC’s stockyards were located in Kansas. The remainder of KC’s stockyards were located in Missouri.
By 1914, KC’s stockyards consisted of over 200 acres. Sixteen railroads converged in KC’s stockyards. The growth of the KC cattle trade – as well as the growth of the railroad – significantly contributed KC’s population growth. And to the growth of Kansas City’s economy. Kansas City’s first Union Station opened in the stockyards. In 1878.
By 1923, over 2.5 million head of cattle were shipped through KC’s stockyards. Local Kansas City packing houses were purchasing over 1 million heads of cattle per year. Only Chicago – Chicago’s Union Stockyards – was processing more cattle than KC. In fact, a world record was set in those KC Stockyards. In 1923. The record? One day’s receipts of cattle: 60,206 head
The maximum daily capacity of KC’s stockyards grew to nearly 200,000 head of cattle. Creating thousands of jobs. The KC stockyards were taking in cattle from 35 states. Shipping cattle off to 42 states. Plus Canada. Hence, Kansas City’s nickname – Cowtown.
In KC’s West Bottoms, where the stockyards were once located, where the cattle industry once thrived, today, you won’t find any cows.
Today in the West Bottoms, Flaherty and Collins’ Stockyards Place is a beautiful 21st Century Midwest collection of condominiums. Luxury living. A trendy urban lifestyle. A bike trail which runs alongside the Kansas River. No cows.
KC’s stockyards processed their last head of cattle in 1991. In October of 1991, KC’s stockyards were closed for good. No more packing house buyers.
Today, a different form of buyers can be found where the KC stockyards once were. This new form of buyers? They’re Kansas City professionals. KC professionals who are shopping for a new condo. Buyers? Yes. Packing house buyers? No.
The Livestock Exchange in Kansas City was located on Gennessee Street. Just a stone’s throw away from that old exchange on Gennessee Street, today you’ll find Stockyards Place. Luxury living. Walking distance to wineries. To galleries. No cattle pens. No feedlots. No cows.
Cowboy McCoy was looking for the ideal setting. A destination point. Someplace Texas cattlemen could drive their cattle up north to before being sent on to Abilene, Kansas.
From Abilene, cattle would be shipped east. To Kansas City. Therein lies the origin for Kansas City’s emergence in the early Twentieth Century American cattle business.
A few years after Cowboy McCoy settled in Abilene, Kansas City got their stockyards. Kansas City’s stockyards were located in a section of KC known as the West Bottoms. The birth of KC’s stockyards? 1871.
One: Cowboy McCoy. Two: Abilene. Three: The cattle business and Kansas City. Further writing, focused upon the latter. The two formers…mentioned as historical occurrences, relevant to the latter…
Ten years prior to KC getting their stockyards, Kansas City’s population had been about 4,000. By 1900, KC’s population grew to 160,000. Kansas City’s cattle industry was the driving force behind the city’s population growth.
Kansas City’s stockyards enabled livestock owners to transport their cattle to an exchange. At this newly-formed exchange in Kansas City, cattle could be sold to the highest bidders. Prior to the establishment of KC’s stockyards – and the exchange – livestock owners were only able to sell their cattle at whatever price railroad men offered to pay…limiting earning potential for cattle men. Kansas City’s stockyards – coupled to the establishment of the Kansas City Livestock Exchange – created a market for cattle men. The result? Higher cattle prices.
The Kansas City Livestock Exchange Building was constructed in 1911. At that time, the Kansas City Livestock Exchange Building was the largest livestock exchange building in the world.
The Exchange Building in Kansas City once housed over 400 offices. Telegraph offices. Beauty shops. Cattle tradesmen. Packing house buyers. Banks. All could be found in the Exchange Building in KC early in the 20th Century.
If you strolled through Kansas City’s stockyards early in the 20th Century, you could have found yourself in either Kansas or Missouri. The stockyards straddled both states.
KC’s stockyards were established in Kansas. Along the Kansas River. Two-thirds of KC’s stockyards were located in Kansas. The remainder of KC’s stockyards were located in Missouri.
By 1914, KC’s stockyards consisted of over 200 acres. Sixteen railroads converged in KC’s stockyards. The growth of the KC cattle trade – as well as the growth of the railroad – significantly contributed KC’s population growth. And to the growth of Kansas City’s economy. Kansas City’s first Union Station opened in the stockyards. In 1878.
By 1923, over 2.5 million head of cattle were shipped through KC’s stockyards. Local Kansas City packing houses were purchasing over 1 million heads of cattle per year. Only Chicago – Chicago’s Union Stockyards – was processing more cattle than KC. In fact, a world record was set in those KC Stockyards. In 1923. The record? One day’s receipts of cattle: 60,206 head
The maximum daily capacity of KC’s stockyards grew to nearly 200,000 head of cattle. Creating thousands of jobs. The KC stockyards were taking in cattle from 35 states. Shipping cattle off to 42 states. Plus Canada. Hence, Kansas City’s nickname – Cowtown.
In KC’s West Bottoms, where the stockyards were once located, where the cattle industry once thrived, today, you won’t find any cows.
Today in the West Bottoms, Flaherty and Collins’ Stockyards Place is a beautiful 21st Century Midwest collection of condominiums. Luxury living. A trendy urban lifestyle. A bike trail which runs alongside the Kansas River. No cows.
KC’s stockyards processed their last head of cattle in 1991. In October of 1991, KC’s stockyards were closed for good. No more packing house buyers.
Today, a different form of buyers can be found where the KC stockyards once were. This new form of buyers? They’re Kansas City professionals. KC professionals who are shopping for a new condo. Buyers? Yes. Packing house buyers? No.
The Livestock Exchange in Kansas City was located on Gennessee Street. Just a stone’s throw away from that old exchange on Gennessee Street, today you’ll find Stockyards Place. Luxury living. Walking distance to wineries. To galleries. No cattle pens. No feedlots. No cows.
The West Bottoms
Kansas City’s stockyards – and the KC cattle business – once dominated a section of Kansas City, Missouri known as the West Bottoms.
The cattle industry had been Kansas City’s first multi-million dollar business. Actually, at one time, Kansas City’s stockyards were a multi-million dollar a day business. At their peak, Kansas City’s stockyards were the second busiest stockyards in the United States. Surpassed only by Chicago’s stockyards.
Long before trains transported cattle to and from the Kansas City stockyards, Kansas City’s West Bottoms were known as the French Bottoms. A place where French trappers and native Americans partook in commerce.
The Santa Fe Trail. Trade with Mexico. Western immigration routes. Steamships transporting goods along the Missouri River… At one time, one way or another, each converged in Kansas City’s West Bottoms. And in a country eager to expand its footprint to the West, Kansas City’s West Bottoms was the hub. As Kansas City became known as “the Gateway to the Southwest.”
In the early Twentieth Century, Kansas City executives oversaw livestock businesses from offices located in the West Bottoms. Today, many of those old offices are lofts. The West Bottoms has become a trendy destination…sought after by young urban professionals. That office space which was once been used by cattle executives? It now houses budding Kansas City entrepreneurs.
There is still manufacturing in the West Bottoms. There are still warehouses. Today, a West Bottoms manufacturing facility – or a West Bottoms warehouse -might just be located on the same block as a restaurant or a haunted house. Near The Beast. Or The Edge of Hell. Or The Chambers of Edgar Allan Poe…
In 1923, the West Bottoms received 3,500,000 hogs, 350,000 calves, 1,000,000 sheep, plus 40,000 horses. That same year, Kansas City’s stockyards set the world record for one day’s receipt of cattle: 60,206 head.
One hundred years later? No cattle.
The live cattle price of $2.88 USD per pound and the lean hog price of $.83 USD per pound? Not too relevant in the West Bottoms in 2024.
High-speed Internet connection? Great restaurants? Those are relevant.
Freight trains still roll through Kansas City’s West Bottoms. Often, transporting millions of gallons of Bakken crude. Railroad tracks run straight through the middle of the West Bottoms. Train engine horns still blare…everyday. At its peak, 16 railroads once converged in the West Bottoms.
The cattle industry had been Kansas City’s first multi-million dollar business. Actually, at one time, Kansas City’s stockyards were a multi-million dollar a day business. At their peak, Kansas City’s stockyards were the second busiest stockyards in the United States. Surpassed only by Chicago’s stockyards.
Long before trains transported cattle to and from the Kansas City stockyards, Kansas City’s West Bottoms were known as the French Bottoms. A place where French trappers and native Americans partook in commerce.
The Santa Fe Trail. Trade with Mexico. Western immigration routes. Steamships transporting goods along the Missouri River… At one time, one way or another, each converged in Kansas City’s West Bottoms. And in a country eager to expand its footprint to the West, Kansas City’s West Bottoms was the hub. As Kansas City became known as “the Gateway to the Southwest.”
In the early Twentieth Century, Kansas City executives oversaw livestock businesses from offices located in the West Bottoms. Today, many of those old offices are lofts. The West Bottoms has become a trendy destination…sought after by young urban professionals. That office space which was once been used by cattle executives? It now houses budding Kansas City entrepreneurs.
There is still manufacturing in the West Bottoms. There are still warehouses. Today, a West Bottoms manufacturing facility – or a West Bottoms warehouse -might just be located on the same block as a restaurant or a haunted house. Near The Beast. Or The Edge of Hell. Or The Chambers of Edgar Allan Poe…
In 1923, the West Bottoms received 3,500,000 hogs, 350,000 calves, 1,000,000 sheep, plus 40,000 horses. That same year, Kansas City’s stockyards set the world record for one day’s receipt of cattle: 60,206 head.
One hundred years later? No cattle.
The live cattle price of $2.88 USD per pound and the lean hog price of $.83 USD per pound? Not too relevant in the West Bottoms in 2024.
High-speed Internet connection? Great restaurants? Those are relevant.
Freight trains still roll through Kansas City’s West Bottoms. Often, transporting millions of gallons of Bakken crude. Railroad tracks run straight through the middle of the West Bottoms. Train engine horns still blare…everyday. At its peak, 16 railroads once converged in the West Bottoms.
Kansas City, in the very beginning
Kansas City… Kansas City, Missouri. Kansas City, Kansas.
There had been a few different beginnings for what we now know to be Kansas City. The very first one?
In the 1830s, we had the first one – Westport Landing.
Westport Landing was established on a section of 257 acres which would evolve into what would become Kansas City, Missouri.
The 257 acres had been sold by the federal government to a man of French ancestry…Gabriel Prudhomme. This land sale took place in 1831.
Whereas the land Gabriel Prudhomme purchased from the federal government would go on to become Kansas City, Missouri, Westport Landing was the early, pre-Kansas City, Kansas City development.
Westport Landing – strategically set up alongside the heavily-trafficked Santa Fe Trail – was an unincorporated collection of merchants. These were merchants who established their businesses in Westport Landing to provide Santa Fe Trail travelers with supplies.
The merchants were inland. And the Westport Landing merchants figured out they could reduce their costs by receiving supplies by way of the Missouri River. Rather than by land. And they did.
The waterway entry point at which Westport Landing merchants were able to receive supplies shipped to them on the Missouri River was located where what is now Grand Boulevard in Kansas City, Missouri intersects with the Missouri River. And it is at this intersection – where Grand Boulevard meets the “Big Muddy” – where we found Westport Landing.
Twenty years later – in 1850 – Westport Landing was incorporated as the Town of Kansas.
Three years after that – in 1853 – the Town of Kansas was reincorporated and renamed. The new name for the Town of Kansas? The City of Kansas. And this renaming – as the City of Kansas – took place eight years before the State of Kansas became the 34th state of the United States. In 1861.
In 1889, the name for the city – the City of Kansas – was changed. Changed to Kansas City. The very, very first Kansas City – that first Kansas City being, Westport – was annexed by Kansas City, Missouri eight years later. In 1897.
All the while, on the other side of the Missouri River – in the new Kansas Territory – small Kansas settlements were forming. And growing. Growing into small Kansas towns.
In 1872, a consortium of small Kansas towns – on the other side of the river – merged. And incorporated. Therein – in 1872 – we have the origin for Kansas City, Kansas.
Wherein the larger Kansas City – and the older Kansas City, too – is the one which is located in Missouri, and not in Kansas, the “Kansas” in Kansas City is not derived from the State of Kansas.
The name of the city – Kansas City, Missouri – was named after a river. Not a state. Not Kansas. That river being…the Kanza River.
The Kanza River would go on to become the Kansas River. The Kansas River provided the name – “Kansas” – for the city – Kansas City, Missouri.
So the city – Kansas City – which originally formed as Westport Landing, which would later go on to become the Town of Kansas, which would later go on to become the City of Kansas, which would later go on to become Kansas City…does not derive its name from its neighbor to the west – the State of Kansas.
There had been a few different beginnings for what we now know to be Kansas City. The very first one?
In the 1830s, we had the first one – Westport Landing.
Westport Landing was established on a section of 257 acres which would evolve into what would become Kansas City, Missouri.
The 257 acres had been sold by the federal government to a man of French ancestry…Gabriel Prudhomme. This land sale took place in 1831.
Whereas the land Gabriel Prudhomme purchased from the federal government would go on to become Kansas City, Missouri, Westport Landing was the early, pre-Kansas City, Kansas City development.
Westport Landing – strategically set up alongside the heavily-trafficked Santa Fe Trail – was an unincorporated collection of merchants. These were merchants who established their businesses in Westport Landing to provide Santa Fe Trail travelers with supplies.
The merchants were inland. And the Westport Landing merchants figured out they could reduce their costs by receiving supplies by way of the Missouri River. Rather than by land. And they did.
The waterway entry point at which Westport Landing merchants were able to receive supplies shipped to them on the Missouri River was located where what is now Grand Boulevard in Kansas City, Missouri intersects with the Missouri River. And it is at this intersection – where Grand Boulevard meets the “Big Muddy” – where we found Westport Landing.
Twenty years later – in 1850 – Westport Landing was incorporated as the Town of Kansas.
Three years after that – in 1853 – the Town of Kansas was reincorporated and renamed. The new name for the Town of Kansas? The City of Kansas. And this renaming – as the City of Kansas – took place eight years before the State of Kansas became the 34th state of the United States. In 1861.
In 1889, the name for the city – the City of Kansas – was changed. Changed to Kansas City. The very, very first Kansas City – that first Kansas City being, Westport – was annexed by Kansas City, Missouri eight years later. In 1897.
All the while, on the other side of the Missouri River – in the new Kansas Territory – small Kansas settlements were forming. And growing. Growing into small Kansas towns.
In 1872, a consortium of small Kansas towns – on the other side of the river – merged. And incorporated. Therein – in 1872 – we have the origin for Kansas City, Kansas.
Wherein the larger Kansas City – and the older Kansas City, too – is the one which is located in Missouri, and not in Kansas, the “Kansas” in Kansas City is not derived from the State of Kansas.
The name of the city – Kansas City, Missouri – was named after a river. Not a state. Not Kansas. That river being…the Kanza River.
The Kanza River would go on to become the Kansas River. The Kansas River provided the name – “Kansas” – for the city – Kansas City, Missouri.
So the city – Kansas City – which originally formed as Westport Landing, which would later go on to become the Town of Kansas, which would later go on to become the City of Kansas, which would later go on to become Kansas City…does not derive its name from its neighbor to the west – the State of Kansas.
Crossroads
During the latter part of the 19th Century, goods making their way to the Western-most points of an ever-expanding United States would have likely ended up trekking through Paris of the Plains. Through Kansas City. Through Crossroads.
Kansas City was (and is) truly an American Crossroads.
In a fast-industrializing early-20th Century United States, Kansas City – I.e.: Crossroads – connected an industrial Northeast to agricultural centers in the American west. And in the American southwest.
The Santa Fe Trail. Kansas City’s unique location at the confluence of two major rivers – the Kansas River and the Missouri River. And later, as a major railroad hub. A railroad hub which, during its heyday, was second only to Chicago’s railyards in terms of rail traffic, and rail capacity. Each converged in Kansas City. Kansas City became a Crossroads. Due to its geographical location. Due to America’s expansion west. Due to rail. Due to trade patterns. Crossroads…
Lewis and Clark arrived in Crossroads at the onset of the 19th Century. Lewis and Clark arrived in Crossroads at a time when the United States government was keen on opening up the west to American interests. The most effective pathway west at that time? That would have been the Missouri River. Kansas City was built alongside “Big Muddy.” Built alongside the Missouri River.
Switching eras. Fast forwarding in time. Switching methods of transportation. Yet staying on the subject of Crossroads..
In order to facilitate Kansas City’s unique position as an American Crossroads, nearly 100 years after Lewis and Clark arrived with their team of 50 – and 3 boats – by the late-19th Century, the first train depot opened in Kansas City. The year was 1878. And that Crossroads train depot would have been Kansas City’s Union Depot.
Kansas City’s Union Depot became the second union depot which opened in the United States. Indianapolis’s union depot was the first.
By 1945, nearly 700,000 rail passengers stepped foot in Kansas City’s train station. At its height, close to 200 trains pulled into Kansas City every single day. Crossroads.
A Crossroads. A gateway. To an exciting new 19th Century American frontier. A Crossroads for 20th Century American train travelers. A Crossroads for American soldiers during wartime. A Crossroads for American industry. A Crossroads for freight trains. Crossroads.
In the mid-20th Century, rail was the preeminent method of transportation for freight. In the mid-20th Century, rail was the preferred method of transportation for civilian passengers. As an American Crossroads, Kansas City quickly outgrew its original Union Depot.
Desiring – and requiring – additional capacity for their freight trains, the railroads which were collectively utilizing Kansas City’s Union Depot in KC’s industrial West Bottoms made a decision. Their decision? They were going to replace the outdated, ill-sized Union Depot with a new, larger more accommodative train station. Built in a new location. Union Depot was out. A depot in the West Bottoms – as the West Bottoms was prone to floods – was out. The new Kansas City train station would be near Kansas City’s central business district. Not in a floodplain. Built up on the hill.
Kansas City’s Union Station opened to the public in 1914 – a 850,000 square feet major railway hub. Union Station prospered. Rail, at that time, was an integral part of Kansas City’s position as an American Crossroads. Yet, as Union Station – and as rail – cemented Kansas City’s Crossroads status, macro circumstances in the United States changed. Macro circumstances changed the future of Kansas City’s Union Station. Macro circumstances changed the utilization of Kansas City’s Union Station. Macro circumstances changed the fate of Kansas City’s Union Station.
As the 20th Century progressed, the preferred method of transportation in the United States changed. For civilian passengers. For industry.
An emerging airline industry – coupled to travelers’ newfound preference for convenient flights, rather than long train rides – changed how Kansas City functioned as a rail-centric Crossroads. And trucks. Highways.
As flights replaced rail for passengers, trucks and highways replaced rail as the preferred method of transportation for freight. As such, the “DNA” for Crossroads changed.
By the 1970’s, rail traffic through Kansas City’s Union Station dropped. Significantly. From what had been a near-700,000 train passengers walking through Kansas City’s Union Station each year…that number precipitously dropped. Year by year. To, in the early part of the 1970’s, just about 30,000 yearly passengers.
At one time, close to 200 trains pulled into Kansas City’s Union Station everyday. Today? A total of 4 Amtrak trains pull into Union Station, daily.
Through it all, the origin for Kansas City’s status as a Crossroads? I would say, that was never Union Station. It was not the nearly-200 trains which pulled into Kansas City each day. It was not the American GI’s who arrived in Kansas City during the War. The origin for Kansas City’s status as Crossroads? That would be one United States President. The origin for Kansas City’s status as Crossroads would be, in my humble opinion, Thomas Jefferson.
In 1803, the size of the United States doubled. The doubling in size of the United States in 1803 was the result of one $15,000,000 real estate deal. That real estate deal being the Louisiana Purchase.
The Louisiana Purchase added 828,000 square miles to the footprint of the United States. And, once the Louisiana Purchase was enacted, Kansas City’s location went from perfect, to PERFECT.
One year after the Louisiana Purchase, President Thomas Jefferson tapped an old wartime buddy of his. That buddy? Meriweather Lewis. Jefferson’s idea? For Meriweather Lewis to lead an expedition west. For Lewis to explore this vast new territory acquired by the United States through the Louisiana Purchase.
Meriweather Lewis added William Clark to this planned expedition. Six weeks after the Jefferson-directed expedition began, Lewis and Clark arrived at a confluence of two important rivers. The Missouri River. The Kansas River.
Or, as we now know this area to be, six weeks after Lewis and Clark ventured out with 3 boats – and a team of 50 – Lewis and Clark arrived at Crossroads. Lewis and Clark arrived in, what would go on to become…Kansas City.
Kansas City was (and is) truly an American Crossroads.
In a fast-industrializing early-20th Century United States, Kansas City – I.e.: Crossroads – connected an industrial Northeast to agricultural centers in the American west. And in the American southwest.
The Santa Fe Trail. Kansas City’s unique location at the confluence of two major rivers – the Kansas River and the Missouri River. And later, as a major railroad hub. A railroad hub which, during its heyday, was second only to Chicago’s railyards in terms of rail traffic, and rail capacity. Each converged in Kansas City. Kansas City became a Crossroads. Due to its geographical location. Due to America’s expansion west. Due to rail. Due to trade patterns. Crossroads…
Lewis and Clark arrived in Crossroads at the onset of the 19th Century. Lewis and Clark arrived in Crossroads at a time when the United States government was keen on opening up the west to American interests. The most effective pathway west at that time? That would have been the Missouri River. Kansas City was built alongside “Big Muddy.” Built alongside the Missouri River.
Switching eras. Fast forwarding in time. Switching methods of transportation. Yet staying on the subject of Crossroads..
In order to facilitate Kansas City’s unique position as an American Crossroads, nearly 100 years after Lewis and Clark arrived with their team of 50 – and 3 boats – by the late-19th Century, the first train depot opened in Kansas City. The year was 1878. And that Crossroads train depot would have been Kansas City’s Union Depot.
Kansas City’s Union Depot became the second union depot which opened in the United States. Indianapolis’s union depot was the first.
By 1945, nearly 700,000 rail passengers stepped foot in Kansas City’s train station. At its height, close to 200 trains pulled into Kansas City every single day. Crossroads.
A Crossroads. A gateway. To an exciting new 19th Century American frontier. A Crossroads for 20th Century American train travelers. A Crossroads for American soldiers during wartime. A Crossroads for American industry. A Crossroads for freight trains. Crossroads.
In the mid-20th Century, rail was the preeminent method of transportation for freight. In the mid-20th Century, rail was the preferred method of transportation for civilian passengers. As an American Crossroads, Kansas City quickly outgrew its original Union Depot.
Desiring – and requiring – additional capacity for their freight trains, the railroads which were collectively utilizing Kansas City’s Union Depot in KC’s industrial West Bottoms made a decision. Their decision? They were going to replace the outdated, ill-sized Union Depot with a new, larger more accommodative train station. Built in a new location. Union Depot was out. A depot in the West Bottoms – as the West Bottoms was prone to floods – was out. The new Kansas City train station would be near Kansas City’s central business district. Not in a floodplain. Built up on the hill.
Kansas City’s Union Station opened to the public in 1914 – a 850,000 square feet major railway hub. Union Station prospered. Rail, at that time, was an integral part of Kansas City’s position as an American Crossroads. Yet, as Union Station – and as rail – cemented Kansas City’s Crossroads status, macro circumstances in the United States changed. Macro circumstances changed the future of Kansas City’s Union Station. Macro circumstances changed the utilization of Kansas City’s Union Station. Macro circumstances changed the fate of Kansas City’s Union Station.
As the 20th Century progressed, the preferred method of transportation in the United States changed. For civilian passengers. For industry.
An emerging airline industry – coupled to travelers’ newfound preference for convenient flights, rather than long train rides – changed how Kansas City functioned as a rail-centric Crossroads. And trucks. Highways.
As flights replaced rail for passengers, trucks and highways replaced rail as the preferred method of transportation for freight. As such, the “DNA” for Crossroads changed.
By the 1970’s, rail traffic through Kansas City’s Union Station dropped. Significantly. From what had been a near-700,000 train passengers walking through Kansas City’s Union Station each year…that number precipitously dropped. Year by year. To, in the early part of the 1970’s, just about 30,000 yearly passengers.
At one time, close to 200 trains pulled into Kansas City’s Union Station everyday. Today? A total of 4 Amtrak trains pull into Union Station, daily.
Through it all, the origin for Kansas City’s status as a Crossroads? I would say, that was never Union Station. It was not the nearly-200 trains which pulled into Kansas City each day. It was not the American GI’s who arrived in Kansas City during the War. The origin for Kansas City’s status as Crossroads? That would be one United States President. The origin for Kansas City’s status as Crossroads would be, in my humble opinion, Thomas Jefferson.
In 1803, the size of the United States doubled. The doubling in size of the United States in 1803 was the result of one $15,000,000 real estate deal. That real estate deal being the Louisiana Purchase.
The Louisiana Purchase added 828,000 square miles to the footprint of the United States. And, once the Louisiana Purchase was enacted, Kansas City’s location went from perfect, to PERFECT.
One year after the Louisiana Purchase, President Thomas Jefferson tapped an old wartime buddy of his. That buddy? Meriweather Lewis. Jefferson’s idea? For Meriweather Lewis to lead an expedition west. For Lewis to explore this vast new territory acquired by the United States through the Louisiana Purchase.
Meriweather Lewis added William Clark to this planned expedition. Six weeks after the Jefferson-directed expedition began, Lewis and Clark arrived at a confluence of two important rivers. The Missouri River. The Kansas River.
Or, as we now know this area to be, six weeks after Lewis and Clark ventured out with 3 boats – and a team of 50 – Lewis and Clark arrived at Crossroads. Lewis and Clark arrived in, what would go on to become…Kansas City.
July 16, 2024
Rock Chalk, what is a JAYHAWK? Duke fans might not know. But a history major might.
Prior to the outbreak of the Civil War, an abolitionist movement in the new territory of Kansas was led by “jayhawkers.”
Jayhawkers were settlers who moved west…into this new territory of Kansas. Jayhawkers possessed an ideology which was predicated upon the admission of the new territory of Kansas into the union as a free state. The acknowledged territorial capital of this new Kansas territory – at that time – was Lecompton. Yet jayhawkers – i.e.: abolitionists – established their own unofficial territory capital – and their own unofficial legislature – in Topeka.
Two capitals, two legislatures, in two different cities.
Jayhawkers were settlers who moved west…into this new territory of Kansas. Jayhawkers possessed an ideology which was predicated upon the admission of the new territory of Kansas into the union as a free state. The acknowledged territorial capital of this new Kansas territory – at that time – was Lecompton. Yet jayhawkers – i.e.: abolitionists – established their own unofficial territory capital – and their own unofficial legislature – in Topeka.
Two capitals, two legislatures, in two different cities.
June 30, 2024
KC during Prohibition
The National Prohibition Act - known as the Volstead Act, or the Valentine Act - was passed to execute the 18th Amendment: prohibition of the manufacture of, the transportation of and the sale of alcohol.
The outlawing of intoxicating beverages. While the Act did indeed outlaw alcohol (for awhile) the Act simultaneously facilitated a birth in subcultures. Nightlife in Kansas City during the Prohibition era served as one such example.
During the nation's Prohibition era, Kansas City became a wide-open town - “Paris of the Plains.” A launching pad for bootleg booze, speakeasies, loose morals and gambling.
This early-20th Century KC subculture - fueled by illegal alcohol - was perfectly coupled to an already-thriving Kansas City jazz scene. Converging to push the “nightlife needle” in KC up…just as prohibition, on paper at least, was supposed to push that alcohol-enhanced “nightlife needle” down.
Kansas City during the Prohibition era. An example for what often does occur when there is a convergence of ideals taken from perspectives which are, to put it mildly, not aligned at all.
One ideal? That of a Puritanical influence. Coming out of Washington D.C.
The other ideal? Domestic to Kansas City. A “match” which had been lit by all-night jazz sessions, speakeasies and…outlawed liquor.
Restrictive legislation. Legislative intent. And a consequence of inverse effect.
The outlawing of intoxicating beverages. While the Act did indeed outlaw alcohol (for awhile) the Act simultaneously facilitated a birth in subcultures. Nightlife in Kansas City during the Prohibition era served as one such example.
During the nation's Prohibition era, Kansas City became a wide-open town - “Paris of the Plains.” A launching pad for bootleg booze, speakeasies, loose morals and gambling.
This early-20th Century KC subculture - fueled by illegal alcohol - was perfectly coupled to an already-thriving Kansas City jazz scene. Converging to push the “nightlife needle” in KC up…just as prohibition, on paper at least, was supposed to push that alcohol-enhanced “nightlife needle” down.
Kansas City during the Prohibition era. An example for what often does occur when there is a convergence of ideals taken from perspectives which are, to put it mildly, not aligned at all.
One ideal? That of a Puritanical influence. Coming out of Washington D.C.
The other ideal? Domestic to Kansas City. A “match” which had been lit by all-night jazz sessions, speakeasies and…outlawed liquor.
Restrictive legislation. Legislative intent. And a consequence of inverse effect.
April 22, 2024
2-1 Interest Rate Buydown
The 2-1 buydown is a real estate financing technique…an attractive home loan provision whereby funds are set aside in an escrow account at the closing, for the benefit of the buyer. These escrowed funds permit the home buyer to “buy down” the interest rate on their home loan…as the buyer's interest rate is “bought down” for the two-year period.
Producer Price Index
The Producer Price Index measures the average change over time in the prices domestic producers receive for their output. Whereas “retail” constitutes prices reflected through the sale of goods and services to the public for their own consumption - not for resale - the Producer Price Index measures the cost of goods and services at the wholesale level. Each month, the Producer Price Index is published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Typically, the Producer Price Index is released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics the second full week of each month.
Ted Ihde author of “Thinking About Becoming A Real Estate Developer?”
Today, a real estate developer and a licensed real estate broker, Ted graduated Summa Cum Laude from Bloomfield College.
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