See how this downtown Kansas City corner has changed in the last 100 years
Editor’s Note: Past|Present is a new video series from The Star that travels through time to show how scenes Kansas City depicted in vintage postcards look today. Have a postcard you’d like to share with our team? Tell us about it here.
How much has Kansas City changed over the last century? The series Past|Present finds vintage postcards featuring notable buildings and locations, then reveals how the exact same scene looks today.
A postcard view of 12th & Main looking north in 1911 shows busy downtown streets and legendary stores like Kline’s. where Joan Crawford worked as a teenager. More than a hundred years later, cameras show that the buildings have gotten significantly taller, but the sidewalks are far less crowded.
Looking for more Kansas City history?
- What’s the history of Kansas City’s Downtown Loop? This KCQ is ready to make the rounds
- How did this year’s Chiefs Super Bowl victory parade measure up to the celebrations in 2020? Take a look at photos comparing the two events.
- Do you remember what KCI’s triple terminals looked like when they first opened? The continuous curved interiors from 1972 are quite different than what travelers see at Kansas City’s new terminal building.
Historical photos give us a look back at the town of De Soto, Kansas, which is bracing for change as it welcomes Panasonic’s $4 billion battery plant.
Many assume Lee’s Summit was named for Confederate General Robert E. Lee, but the truth may surprise you.
This story was originally published June 8, 2023 at 5:00 AM.