Linwood Boulevard (Kansas City, Missouri) Explained

Namesake:Linden trees
Length Mi:3.8
East:Van Brunt Boulevard
West:Broadway Boulevard
Known For:City Beautiful movement
Embedded:
Embed:yes
Mapframe-Custom:
Zoom:11
Coord:39.0677°N -94.5437°W
Linwood Boulevard
Type:Boulevard
Location:Kansas City, Missouri, United States
Coordinates:39.0677°N -94.5437°W
Area:51.19acres[1]
Designer:George Kessler
Owner:City of Kansas City, Missouri
Embedded:
Embed:yes
Nrhp Type:cp
Partof:Kansas City Parks and Boulevard System
Partof Refnum:14000931
Coordinates:39.0678°N -94.5494°W
Built:1899
Architect:George Kessler
Architecture:City Beautiful
Landscape architecture
Beaux-Arts
Added:June 17, 2016
Area:694.2acres
Nocat:yes

Linwood Boulevard is a boulevard and major east–west street in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. Linwood begins at Broadway Boulevard in the Valentine and Old Hyde Park neighborhoods and travels 3.8 miles east through Midtown to Van Brunt Boulevard near Interstate 70 in the Kansas City East Side. For much of its length, it creates a high-density corridor with 31st Street, another major street running parallel one block north. It continues west of Broadway Boulevard as 33rd Street past Metropolitan Community College-Penn Valley. Linwood Boulevard is one of the few named east–west streets in the Kansas City grid south of the Missouri River.[2]

History

The portion of Linwood Boulevard between The Paseo and Benton Boulevard was originally designated in George Kessler's 1893 City Beautiful proposal for the Kansas City Parks and Boulevard System, serving as part of the route from Penn Valley Park to The Grove.[3] [4] It is named after a stand of linden trees which stood near a school house at Woodland Avenue in the late 19th century.[5] Designed to closely follow the southern boundary of the City of Kansas City, Missouri, Linwood Boulevard was then rapidly annexed into the growing city. In 1897, the portion from State Line Road to Indiana Avenue was annexed with much of modern-day Midtown followed by the remainder of the East Side in 1909.[6]

In keeping with its importance to and intentional plans from the city, Linwood Boulevard became a balanced center of commerce, worship, and residence for Midtown. Many prominent social societies also chose to build their meeting places on the boulevard for the sites of their headquarters, leading to a dense patchwork of history including two districts and 13 properties on the National Register of Historic Places.[7]

The Old Hyde Park West Historic District predates the establishment of Linwood Boulevard as a part of the Parks and Boulevard System. It has been a residential area since 1887, and most buildings date to World War I and the Interwar period.[8] The Santa Fe Place Historic District, built on a portion of the Santa Fe Trail, was established in 1902 as the first local attempt at an architecturally controlled residential neighborhood. Most homes were built prior to 1925.[9]

The Kansas City Athenaeum was built as a meeting hall for the women's social club of the same name in 1915. At the time, it was the fifth-largest women's club in the United States. It is now used primarily as an event space.[10] The Ivanhoe Masonic Temple, dedicated in 1922 and demolished in 1999, served as the primary meeting hall for and monument to the local Masonic order, Ivanhoe Masonic Lodge No. 446. When construction completed, the seven-story structure befit the largest order of Freemasons west of the Mississippi River.[11] [12] [13] The Kansas City Scottish Rite Temple was built in 1930 by another local Masonic order, the Scottish Rite. After the Great Depression, the order merged with the larger Ivanhoe Masonic Lodge and sold the building. It is now an event space.[14]

A traffic signal marks at the intersection of Linwood Boulevard and The Paseo was designed by Edward Buehler Delk and installed in 1931. It was the first controlled intersection in Kansas City, marking the coming reliance on the automobile and has become a local icon due to its unique structure and placement.[4]

Walt Bodine (1940 2012), a fixture of talk radio on Kansas City's NPR member station KCUR, grew up at the corner of Linwood Boulevard and Troost Avenue.[15] He often referenced memories of his boyhood home on his radio program.

In 1955, Ray Lamar opened a donut shop in a converted gas station on Linwood Boulevard. The LaMar's Donuts store remained a simple, low-tech landmark on the boulevard even as branches expanded through the Midwest and it drew national attention from Jay Leno and Calvin Trillin.[16] [17]

Linwood Boulevard west of Gillham Road first appears on maps published by the Missouri State Highway Commission in 1926.[18] From 1934 to 1966, U.S. Route 40 and several of its special routes ran concurrent to the 31st Street / Linwood Boulevard corridor. Through 1963, Linwood Boulevard was bannered as U.S. Route 40 from Van Brunt Boulevard west to The Paseo and as U.S. Route 40 Optional ("OPT 40" on maps and road signs) between The Paseo and Main Street.[19] [20] 31st Street was bannered as U.S. Route 40 City between Troost Avenue and The Paseo in 1936 and 1937, and as U.S. Route 40 Alternate ("ALT 40") between McGee Street and Van Brunt Boulevard from 1938 to 1965.[21] [22] [23] [24] U.S. 40 was transitioned away from Linwood Boulevard in 1964 and from 31st Street in 1966 in favor of the newly completed I-70.[25] [26] As a result, the boulevard lost much of its greenspace "in keeping with the stewardship of the boulevards and to meet contemporary needs," reflecting the transition from carriages to automobiles foreseen by George Kessler. However, many original trees and plantings remain.

In 1974, Linwood Boulevard was included in the American Society of Civil Engineers' selection of the Kansas City Park and Boulevard System as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.[27] It was also honored in part when the entire system was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.[28] [29]

Points of interest

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Linwood Boulevard. Kansas City Parks and Recreation . KC Parks and Rec. The City of Kansas City, Missouri. August 19, 2023.
  2. City of Kansas City, Missouri. Parcel Viewer. 2023-08-16. GIS. August 16, 2023.
  3. News: Walls. Deme. 2017-01-06. VIDEO: The history behind Linwood Boulevard. KSHB41 Kansas City. Kansas City, MO. August 16, 2023.
  4. News: Hogan. Suzanne. 2017-05-23. The History Behind The Paseo, One Of Kansas City's First Boulevards. KCUR 89.3FM. Kansas City, MO. August 17, 2023.
  5. Web site: Linwood Boulevard. The Kansas City Public Library. Kansas City Public Library . KC History. August 16, 2023.
  6. City Planning & Development Department, Kansas City, Missouri . Kansas City, Missouri Annexation History 1853 - 2013 . 2013-01-31 . Kansas City, MO . City of Kansas City, MO . PDF . August 11, 2023.
  7. Web site: National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. National Park Service. National Register Information System. August 17, 2023.
  8. Gardner. Tony. 2004-04-09. Old Hyde Park West Historic District. National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form. Jefferson City, MO. Missouri Department of Natural Resources. Archive (May 29, 2010)
  9. Jackson-Evans. Priscilla. 1986-04-07. The Santa Fe Place Historic District/Santa Fe Place/Lockridge "Home Farm". National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places InventoryNomination Form. Jefferson City, MO. Missouri Department of Natural Resources. Archive (May 29, 2010)
  10. Piland. Sherry. 1979-04-02. Kansas City Athenaeum / Athenaeum Club, Jackson County, Missouri. National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Inventory--Nomination Form. Jefferson City, MO. Missouri Department of Natural Resources. Archive (March 6, 2021)
  11. Uguccioni. Ellen J.. 1985-03-21. Ivanhoe Masonic Temple, Jackson County, Missouri. National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places InventoryNomination Form. Jefferson City, MO. Missouri Department of Natural Resources. Archive (September 20, 2018)
  12. Web site: About Us. . Ivanhoe Masonic Lodge No. 446 AF&AM. August 17, 2023.
  13. Web site: Linwood BoulevardPark Ave to Wabash Ave. University of Missouri-Kansas City. August 17, 2023. 2015-09-26. Martin. Anne.
  14. Web site: Our History in Kansas City . Kansas City Scottish Rite Temple.
  15. Web site: Early Years Linwood and Troost. . KCUR 89.3FM . August 16, 2023. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140714131918/http://www.kcurmultimedia.org/WaltBodine/earlyyears3.asp. 2014-07-14.
  16. Web site: Founder Ray Lamar Passes Away - LaMar's Donuts . 2009-01-14 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080908081942/http://www.lamars.com/news/11_11_05_RLamars.html . 2008-09-08 .
  17. Web site: In the news at LaMar's Donuts . 2009-01-14 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20081219223348/http://www.lamars.com/news/news.html . 2008-12-19 .
  18. Missouri State Highway Commission . Official Road Map of Missouri . 1926 . Missouri Highway Map . Kansas City . Jefferson City, MO . PDF . August 19, 2023 .
  19. Missouri State Highway Commission . Map of Missouri showing State Road System . 1934 . Missouri Highway Map . Kansas City and Vicinity. Jefferson City, MO . PDF . August 19, 2023 .
  20. Missouri State Highway Commission . State Highway Map . 1963 . Missouri Highway Map . Kansas City Area. Jefferson City, MO . PDF . August 19, 2023 .
  21. Missouri State Highway Commission . Map of Missouri showing State Road System . 1936 . Missouri Highway Map . Kansas City and Vicinity. Jefferson City, MO . PDF . August 19, 2023 .
  22. Missouri State Highway Commission . 1937 Missouri Road Map . 1937 . Missouri Highway Map . Kansas City and Vicinity. Jefferson City, MO . PDF . August 19, 2023 .
  23. Missouri State Highway Commission . Missouri Official Highway Map 1938 . 1938 . Missouri Highway Map . Kansas City and Vicinity. Jefferson City, MO . PDF . August 19, 2023 .
  24. Missouri State Highway Commission . Missouri 1965 Official Mighway Map . 1965 . Missouri Highway Map . Kansas City Area. Jefferson City, MO . PDF . August 19, 2023 .
  25. Missouri State Highway Commission. Missouri Highway Map 1964. 1964 . Missouri Highway Map. Kansas City Area . Jefferson City, MO. PDF. August 11, 2023 .
  26. Missouri State Highway Commission. 1966 Official Highway Map 1964. 1966 . Missouri Highway Map. Kansas City Area . Jefferson City, MO. PDF. August 11, 2023 .
  27. Web site: Kansas City Park and Boulevard System. . ASCE. The American Society of Civil Engineers. August 16, 2023.
  28. Prawl. Toni M.. 2016-06-17. The Kansas City Parks and Boulevards Historic District, Jackson County, Missouri. National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form. Jefferson City, MO. Missouri Department of Natural Resources. PDF
  29. News: Spencer. Laura. 2016-08-17. Kansas City's Parks and Boulevard System gets National Recognition. KCUR 89.3FM. Kansas City, MO. August 16, 2023.
  30. Web site: LaMar's Donuts. The Kansas City Public Library. Kansas City Public Library . KC History. August 19, 2023.
  31. Web site: Kansas City VA Medical Center VA Kansas City Health Care. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs . United States Department of Veterans Affairs. VA Kansas City Health Care. August 19, 2023.

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