5 minute read
KC ORIGINALS
Exploring Your Home’s History Can Be an Engaging Pastime.
If one thing has been made clear during the pandemic, it’s that many people have a new understanding of “home.” Before, we came and went. Home was where we landed after work, before dinner, a show with friends, and where we placed our heads upon our pillows. Certainly, home was respite. Suddenly, home is everything: restaurant, movie theater, gym, and park. Perhaps it would provide a happy distraction to explore more about where we live beyond its number of bedrooms and baths.
Advertisement
The Kansas City area has several resources to help you research your home and neighborhood. A good place to start is the Kansas City Public Library. The digital collection has over 11,000 images capturing the history of the city. For those in the older neighborhoods of Kansas City, Missouri, the 1940 Tax Assessment photos offer more than 40,000 images of individual homes. Part of the charm is the gentleman – often wearing a hat – who holds the card with the identifying lot number. These images are free to download and print, which may be a lovely pick-me-up for friends who are home with their four young children.
In addition, the digital collection features city directories, which were the precursor to phone books. (Phone books being the precursor to a quick internet search.) And the Sanborn Company’s Fire Insurance Maps are a colorful delight.
“Our digitized maps are very popular,” says Michael Wells, Missouri Valley Special Collections librarian. “They are used by researchers hoping to learn how an area has changed over time, by others investigating the history of specific buildings, and even by those who simply wish to reproduce them for décor.”
Wells notes that researching the history of houses and their past ownership has surged over the last decade.
“Our collection of digitized photographs serves similar purposes and
Courtesy of the Missouri State Archive, Missouri Digital Heritage collection. RESOURCES
For those entities that are open to the public, please check current restrictions. Often offices are requiring appointments to ensure social distancing. Masks may be required.
Kansas City, Missouri kclibrary.org/blog/kc-unbound/ 10-ways-research-history-yourhome
Johnson County, Kansas jcprd.com/430/Research
Wyandotte County, Kansas wycokck.org/wycomuseum/ Research.aspx
North Kansas City Historical Society facebook.com/ NorthKansasCityHistoricalSociety
The State Historical Society of Missouri https://shsmo.org/research
provides an invaluable visual record of Kansas City’s past,” he says. “Together there are over 20,000 digitized objects that can be viewed online.”
Exploring the site at home is a great place to start, but there are objects that cannot be viewed online. Those items can be accessed at the Missouri Valley Room at the Central Library in downtown Kansas City, Missouri.
“Researchers can schedule appointments to access the Missouri Valley Room for 75-minute blocks of time,” says Wells. “An appointment booking system has been set up to allow people the opportunity to select times that work with their schedules. They can typically arrange an appointment for the following day, but availability does vary.”
The library’s collections are not limited to Kansas City, Missouri.
“Topics dealing with westward expansion of the United States and the Missouri River Valley region are well represented by our local and regional history reference book collection,” says Wells. “The John Ramos Collection, another reference book collection, focuses on African American history and culture.”
The Johnson County Museum has archival documents, maps, and photographs capturing the history of Johnson County. A sample of historic properties is captured in their online gallery and reflects the growth of the country beginning with both humble and stately farmhouses and progressing to the evolution of the ranch house
THE SUV WITH THE HEART OF A JAGUAR
While it has all of the traits of an SUV, the Jaguar F-PACE was created from the DNA of a Jaguar sports car — with up to 380 horsepower and cat-like agility. There’s no mistaking the F-PACE for anything but a Jaguar. Visit Jaguar Merriam to experience to 2020 F-PACE. MSRP from $45,200†
Jaguar Merriam 9400 West 56th Street Merriam, KS 66203 913-677-3300 www.aristocratjaguar.com
Vehicle shown: 2020 Jaguar F-PACE †All prices shown are Base Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price. Excludes destination/handling, tax, title, license, retailer fees, all due at signing, and optional equipment. Retailer price, terms and vehicle availability may vary. ‡Please contact your local retailer for further details. *Class refers to luxury auto brands. For complete details regarding Jaguar offers or Jaguar EliteCare, please see your Passport to Service handbook, visit JAGUARUSA.COM, call 1.800.4.JAGUAR / 1.800.452.4827 or visit your local Jaguar Retailer. © 2020 Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC
developments that sprung up following World War II.
The Wyandotte County Museum’s Barton P. Cohen Research Library and Archive includes historic photos of Wyandotte County neighborhoods and buildings from Bonner Springs to Argentine and provides a search option for specific addresses or broader areas. Wyandotte County’s collection of Sanborn Fire Insurance maps is available here as well.
The State Historical Society of Missouri, located on the University of Missouri – Kansas City campus, has over 17,000 architectural drawings from the 1890s to the 1980s. Its holdings include the original Hare and Hare landscape architectural drawings for the Country Club district, the Jewish Community Archives, and the Native Sons and Daughters of Greater Kansas City records. The Jackson County Aerial Photograph, 1957 collection contains over 200 black-and-white photographs that have the graphic appeal of abstract art and are in the public domain, so no longer protected by copyright.
The bottom line is that being at home can be a gift. Just as with many relationships, proximity can provide the opportunity to learn more than you imagined. Another advantage? When you finally do get out, imagine how much information you’ll have to share.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Patricia O’Dell started the lifestyle blog “Mrs. Blandings” in 2007. Her curiosity led her to write about designers, artists, business owners, and industry leaders. She’s been published in Architectural Digest, Elle Decor, Chicago Tribune, Flower magazine, Kansas City Spaces, and The Kansas City Star, as well as archdigest.com and elledecor.com.
