Southmoreland

Last updated

Southmoreland
Neighborhood of Kansas City
Country United States
State Missouri
City Kansas City
Area
 • Total0.514 sq mi (1.33 km2)
Population
 (2017)
 • Total78,700
 • Density150,000/sq mi (59,000/km2)
Race/Ethnicity
 • White71.8%
 • Hispanic8.5%
 • Black7.0%
 • Asian2.6%
 • Other2.4%
Economics
 •  Median income $50,358
ZIP Codes
64110, 64111, 64112
Area code 816
Kansas City Art Institute, Warwick Boulevard, Southmoreland Kansas City Art Institute, Southmoreland.jpg
Kansas City Art Institute, Warwick Boulevard, Southmoreland
Warwick Boulevard, Southmoreland Warwick Boulevard, Southmoreland.jpg
Warwick Boulevard, Southmoreland

Southmoreland is a neighborhood of Kansas City, Missouri. It hosts the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Kansas City Art Institute. Southmoreland is located between 39th Street on the north (bordering Hanover Place and Central Hyde Park), Rockhill, and Gillham Road on the east (bordering South Hyde Park), Emanuel Cleaver II Boulevard on the south (bordering Country Club Plaza and Park Central) and Main Street on the west (bordering Plaza Westport [1] and Old Westport). [2] Since 2019, following finalized plans for a streetcar extension from Union Station to University of Missouri–Kansas City, there has been new real estate development along Main Street. [3]

Contents

History

The Southmoreland section of the Rockhill District was conceived in the late 19th century by Kansas City Star publisher and real estate developer William Rockhill Nelson and mining magnate August Meyer, as Kansas City's neighborhood of palatial mansions. [2] Nelson acquired the area and donated it to the city, first platted by W.B. Clark as South Moreland Addition. Nelson and Meyer planned an extension of City Beautiful movement with naturalistic landscaping, open parkland, native stone fencing, and curved roadways lined with elm trees. It evolved around a natural ravine, through which a small brook runs in rainy times. [4] The venerated architecture team of Frederick Law Olmsted (the "father of American Landscape Architecture") [5] and Calvert Vaux intended the landscaping of the park and adjacent areas to imitate the look and feel of their previous designs around Central Park, Riverside Park, and surrounding neighborhoods in New York City. The plan accentuated the turf, water, and rock, using gentle, sprawling lawns, winding pathways, and natural woodlands. [6]

Framed by Nelson's baronial mansion, Oak Hall, and August Meyer’s palace, Marburg on Warwick Boulevard, Southmoreland has evolved into an eclectic mix of Colonial Revival mansions, Arts & Crafts style homes, and Colonnade luxury apartment buildings, many with native limestone accents. [7] In the early 20th century, a streetcar line was built between Downtown Kansas City and the neighborhood, which began to attract working-class families, so some of the larger mansions were converted into apartments. [8] Beyond the large museums and institutions of higher education, Southmoreland has several artists’ studios, shops, and galleries. [9] In 2009, Southmoreland was voted as one of eight neighborhoods nationwide as the "Best Old House Neighborhoods: Editor's Pick" by This Old House . [10]

Since 2019, the neighborhood has attracted real estate development interest following the announced expansion of the KC Streetcar, which will extend from Union Station to the University of Missouri–Kansas City (UMKC), on the perimeter of Southmoreland. [11]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kansas City, Missouri</span> City in Missouri, United States

Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by population and area. Most of the city lies within Jackson County, with portions spilling into Clay, Platte, and Cass counties. It is the central city of the Kansas City metropolitan area, which straddles the Missouri–Kansas state line and has a population of 2,392,035. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090, making it the 37th most-populous city in the United States, as well as the sixth-most populous city in the Midwest. Kansas City was founded in the 1830s as a port on the Missouri River at its confluence with the Kansas River from the west. On June 1, 1850, the town of Kansas was incorporated; shortly after came the establishment of the Kansas Territory. Confusion between the two ensued, and the name Kansas City was assigned to distinguish them soon after.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kansas City metropolitan area</span> Metropolitan Statistical Area in the United States

The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri and Kansas. With 8,472 square miles (21,940 km2) and a population of more than 2.2 million people, it is the second-largest metropolitan area centered in Missouri and is the largest metropolitan area in Kansas, though Wichita is the largest metropolitan area centered in Kansas. Alongside Kansas City, Missouri, these are the suburbs with populations above 100,000: Overland Park, Kansas; Kansas City, Kansas; Olathe, Kansas; Independence, Missouri; and Lee's Summit, Missouri.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art</span> Art museum in Kansas City, Missouri

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is an art museum in Kansas City, Missouri, known for its encyclopedic collection of art from nearly every continent and culture, and especially for its extensive collection of Asian art.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Downtown Kansas City</span> Place in Missouri, United States

Downtown Kansas City is the central business district (CBD) of Kansas City, Missouri and the Kansas City metropolitan area which contains 3.8% of the area's employment. It is between the Missouri River in the north, to 31st Street in the south; and from the Kansas–Missouri state line eastward to Bruce R. Watkins Drive as defined by the Downtown Council of Kansas City; the 2010 Greater Downtown Area Plan formulated by the City of Kansas City defines the Greater Downtown Area to be the city limits of North Kansas City and Missouri to the north, the Kansas–Missouri state line to the west, 31st Street to the south and Woodland Avenue to the east. However, the definition used by the Downtown Council is the most commonly accepted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Kessler</span> American pioneer city planner and landscape architect

George Edward Kessler was an American pioneer city planner and landscape architect.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Kansas City metropolitan area</span>

The history of the Kansas City metropolitan area has significant records since the 19th century, when Frenchmen from St. Louis, Missouri moved up the Missouri River to trap for furs and trade with the Native Americans. This strategic point for commerce and security at the confluence of the Kansas and Missouri Rivers became the Kansas City metropolitan area, straddling the border between Missouri and Kansas. Kansas City, Missouri was founded in 1838 and surpassed the competing Westport to become the predominant city west of St. Louis. The area had a major role in the westward expansion of the United States. The Santa Fe and Oregon trails ran through the area. In 1854, when Kansas was opened to Euro-American settlement, the Missouri-Kansas border became the first battlefield in the conflict in the American Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Rockhill Nelson</span> American businessman (1841–1915)

William Rockhill Nelson was an American real estate developer and co-founder of The Kansas City Star in Kansas City, Missouri. He donated his estate for the establishment of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.

The list of neighborhoods of Kansas City, Missouri has nearly 240 neighborhoods. The list includes only Kansas City, Missouri and not the entire Kansas City metropolitan area, such as Kansas City, Kansas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ward Parkway</span> Large boulevard in Kansas City, Missouri

Ward Parkway is a boulevard in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. Ward Parkway begins at Brookside Boulevard on the eastern edge of the Country Club Plaza and travels west 2.8 miles along Brush Creek as U.S. Route 56 before turning south near Kansas-Missouri state line. It continues south for 4 miles, terminating at Wornall Road near Bannister Road. A short spur, Brush Creek Parkway, connects Ward Parkway to Shawnee Mission Parkway at State Line Road.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elmwood Cemetery (Kansas City, Missouri)</span> United States historic place

Elmwood Cemetery is a 43-acre (17 ha) historic rural cemetery, located in what became the urban area of 4900 Truman Road at the corner of Van Brunt Avenue in Kansas City, Missouri. With an estimated 35,000—38,000 plots, the cemetery is owned, operated, and maintained by the non-profit organization Elmwood Cemetery Society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Paseo (Kansas City, Missouri)</span> Major roadway in Kansas City, Missouri

The Paseo is a major north–south parkway in Kansas City, Missouri. As the city's first major boulevard, it runs approximately 10 miles (16 km) through the center of the city: from Cliff Drive and Lexington Avenue on the bluffs above the Missouri River in the Pendleton Heights historic neighborhood, to 85th Street and Woodland Avenue. The parkway holds 223 acres (0.90 km2) of boulevard parkland dotted with several Beaux-Arts-style decorative structures and architectural details maintained by the city's Parks and Recreation department.

Main Street or Main is one of the major streets in Kansas City, Missouri and the Kansas City metropolitan area. Main Street serves as the main administrative dividing line for house numbering and east–west streets in Kansas City; for example, it separates East 59th Street from West 59th Street. Address numbers on east–west streets increase in both directions as one moves away from Main Street. This should not be confused with the Kansas City "East Side" and "West Side," a cultural distinction which has arisen from a history of racist segregation in the city, separated by Troost Avenue approximately 1 mile east of Main Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hyde Park, Kansas City</span> Neighborhood of Hyde Park in Kansas City

Hyde Park is a historic residential neighborhood and city park in Kansas City, Missouri.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">39th Street (Kansas City)</span> Major street in Kansas City, Missouri, United States

39th Street is a major east–west street in Kansas City, Missouri, running almost 5 miles from State Line Road at the Kansas-Missouri border to Topping Avenue in Kansas City's East Side. It was originally named Rosedale Avenue as it led to the town of Rosedale. It continues west into Kansas as 39th Avenue through The University of Kansas Hospital's Kansas City, Kansas, campus.

Gillham Road is a major north/south main street that runs in Kansas City, Missouri from the intersection of 22nd Street at Oak Street to Harrison Road between 45th and 46th Streets. Gillham Road becomes Gillham Plaza from 31st Street to 34th Street. This causes Gillham Road to go over one block east into a residential neighborhood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Troost Avenue</span> Major street in Kansas City, Missouri, United States

Troost Avenue is one of the major streets in Kansas City, Missouri and the Kansas City metropolitan area. Its northern terminus is at 4th Street and its southern terminus Bannister Road, totaling 10.7 miles (17.2 km). It is named after Kansas City's first resident physician, Benoist Troost.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Streetcars in Kansas City</span> Transportation infrastructure

Streetcars in Kansas City were the primary public transit mode during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, like most North American cities. Kansas City, Missouri once had one of the most extensive streetcar systems in North America, but the last of its 25 streetcar routes was shut down in 1957. Kansas City joined all but five North American metropolises – Toronto, Boston, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and New Orleans – in replacing all their streetcar networks with buses. Three other cities, Newark, Pittsburgh, and Cleveland, operated rail lines more akin to modern light rail that remain operating.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harris-Kearney House</span>

The 1855 Harris-Kearney House is an historical site located in Kansas City, Missouri, in the Westport neighborhood. Originally, the house was located at the intersection of modern-day Westport Road and Main Street The home is the oldest brick residence in the city.

References

  1. ↑ "Working families and freed slaves built historic Plaza Westport neighborhood". Midtown KC Post. July 28, 2014.
  2. 1 2 "Museum and Neighborhoods Reach Agreement on Master Plan". Nelson Atkins. May 3, 2017. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
  3. ↑ Friestad, Thomas (December 3, 2020). "Track to the future". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  4. ↑ Russell Owen, Lance (2016). Beautiful and Damned: Geographies of Interwar Kansas City. California: University of California, Berkeley. pp. 107–108.
  5. ↑ "Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site—Massachusetts Conservation: A Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary". Archived from the original on May 2, 2015.
  6. ↑ Wilson (April 9, 1922). ""New Sophian Apartment"". Kansas City Star. p. 512.
  7. ↑
  8. ↑ "Southmoreland Neighborhood Association". www.southmoreland.org. Archived from the original on December 16, 2010.
  9. ↑ Studio, K. C. (August 30, 2019). "Fall Season Lookahead: Visual Arts". KC STUDIO. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
  10. ↑ House, This Old (June 3, 2009). "Best Old House Neighborhoods 2009: The Midwest". This Old House. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
  11. ↑ "Economic Development | KC Streetcar Fuels Growth in Kansas City" . Retrieved December 24, 2020.

39°02′57″N94°34′59″W / 39.04923°N 94.58300°W / 39.04923; -94.58300

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.