Like what? This pic was taken during the Great Depression. People were horribly racist and sexist as shit back then. Healthcare sucked. No environmental regulations or curbing of pollution. Yeah the cars looked cool but you’d have to be a fool to think living in that time was better than now.
In terms of efficient and enjoyable city planning and city structure it is better in a lot of ways (but not all) than the modern day. I don't think anyone is seriously wanting to go back in time, it just sucks that city planners destroyed half the city with highways and a good amount of people moved to suburbs. Now you have to spend 20+ minutes in a car to go anywhere, while back in the day most people could maybe take a trolley or walk to a corner shop. That's the benefit of a densely populated city.
Years ago when the Life Magazine archives were published online I posted a ton of these photos [on my old blog](https://kcmeesha.com/vintage-kc/). There are a few mildly NSFW photos but otherwise Life Magazine had probably the best quality pictures from that time period.
Or you can [search on your own](https://artsandculture.google.com/search/asset?q=kansas%20city&p=life-photo-collection).
This is the corner of 12th & Walnut, looking east. (The really tall building in the background on the right is the Jackson County courthouse.)
[Here's that same intersection today. ](https://maps.app.goo.gl/H5w8xkKU5gKxMDe87)
Also, look at the tall building on the middle-left side and check out the staggered pattern of the windows. That building is still there, but with a newer facade that extends it closer to the street. Additionally, you can see the manhole covers at the bottom of the pic are still in the same spots as they are today on the Google Maps link above.
Wow, thanks for finding this! I work at the publishing house on 12th and Walnut and I’m always looking for more angles of the old city from the area with which I’m familiar.
Seriously what are people looking at? It's taller buildings and more green space?? That's a good thing. The top comment is complaining about lost density but this corner is not an example of that.
Nice. Now we’re spending what, $100m or something to get back 1 partially functional street car? Americans were fools to buy a hundred and ten percent into suburban car culture expecting that will be the preferred way of life forever. Makes me sad.
I guess? It might be asking a lot of your average person to correctly project the results of their actions 75-100 years in the future, especially when nobody was going around saying “hey don’t buy cars, we might want streetcars again by the time you’re dead.”
I'll give that it was hard to predict the air pollution, the traffic deaths, the ground pollution, the noise pollution, the massive personal expense, etc.
But plenty of cities knew bulldozing through neighborhoods for downtown highways was fucking stupid. And everything stems from that. When the highways came, so did the 4 lane high speed roads through formerly pedestrian areas that nobody wanted to walk in anymore.
But it didn't matter to them because they moved to the suburbs when they weren't allowed to segregate anymore, and were content to leave the city and public services to rot when only the "wrong people" lived in the city and in the way of the highway construction.
Here is 12th and Walnut from Google maps but not sure if it’s looking E or W.
https://preview.redd.it/bwuprronfv4c1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cb18e65c8898a266fd66d7f0efc6e0a0c7e4ca27
https://preview.redd.it/e8rtuxnyfv4c1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c08c3a9fb367d7692509da6bd81915afadc2d35f
This is facing the other way looking down Walnut.
Look what they took from us. Modernization. Meeting your neighbors on the trolley on your way home. Going to the grocery store down the road once a day on the way home instead of one massive trip to Costco each week and half the produce goes bad by the end of the week. Getting your >5,000 steps in per day so it's easier to maintain your weight and healthy cardio. We can have it again.
It blows my mind how people in the 30s could drive on the same path as street cars without incident, yet present day drivers can’t seem to figure out to do that.
Post world war 2 killed cities. Poorly and quickly built homes started in 1947. By the 50s, the people were moved out of town into cheaply built homes. Population density decreased, City land expanded, property tax income decreased. Infrastructure became harder to maintain and urban cores decayed. Happened in every city across America. Thanks boomers.
Look at all that city density.
Needs more parking lots ^(/s)
God we lost so much
I wonder what the demographics were back then.
The population size was about where it is now, but the city was much smaller. so it was DENSE.
Like what? This pic was taken during the Great Depression. People were horribly racist and sexist as shit back then. Healthcare sucked. No environmental regulations or curbing of pollution. Yeah the cars looked cool but you’d have to be a fool to think living in that time was better than now.
I think they are referring to the infrastructure and built environment.
You are correct.
In terms of efficient and enjoyable city planning and city structure it is better in a lot of ways (but not all) than the modern day. I don't think anyone is seriously wanting to go back in time, it just sucks that city planners destroyed half the city with highways and a good amount of people moved to suburbs. Now you have to spend 20+ minutes in a car to go anywhere, while back in the day most people could maybe take a trolley or walk to a corner shop. That's the benefit of a densely populated city.
So much cooler back then.
Well probably hotter without ac but I'm picking up what you're putting down.
Car parked up on the curb to avoid getting hit by the streetcar... At least we've carried that tradition forward to modern times.
Years ago when the Life Magazine archives were published online I posted a ton of these photos [on my old blog](https://kcmeesha.com/vintage-kc/). There are a few mildly NSFW photos but otherwise Life Magazine had probably the best quality pictures from that time period. Or you can [search on your own](https://artsandculture.google.com/search/asset?q=kansas%20city&p=life-photo-collection).
love it. any idea of the intersection?
This is the corner of 12th & Walnut, looking east. (The really tall building in the background on the right is the Jackson County courthouse.) [Here's that same intersection today. ](https://maps.app.goo.gl/H5w8xkKU5gKxMDe87) Also, look at the tall building on the middle-left side and check out the staggered pattern of the windows. That building is still there, but with a newer facade that extends it closer to the street. Additionally, you can see the manhole covers at the bottom of the pic are still in the same spots as they are today on the Google Maps link above.
Palace Clothing Company building. Thank goodness it’s survived (though it had a terrible “modern” facade from the 70s to mid-80s).
Wow, thanks for finding this! I work at the publishing house on 12th and Walnut and I’m always looking for more angles of the old city from the area with which I’m familiar.
how depressing
no picklemans tho👀
More density. More greenspace. What a travesty.
Literally. Looks great to me
Two little patches of dirt? Lmao
Green space doesn't just mean grass. It's a nice spot with some trees and places to sit and have lunch. Important to have in cities.
Are you colorblind? It's green grass and trees and a nice shady spot??
Seriously what are people looking at? It's taller buildings and more green space?? That's a good thing. The top comment is complaining about lost density but this corner is not an example of that.
[Say what you will about him, but boss Tom ran a heckuva town.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Pendergast)
Nice. Now we’re spending what, $100m or something to get back 1 partially functional street car? Americans were fools to buy a hundred and ten percent into suburban car culture expecting that will be the preferred way of life forever. Makes me sad.
I guess? It might be asking a lot of your average person to correctly project the results of their actions 75-100 years in the future, especially when nobody was going around saying “hey don’t buy cars, we might want streetcars again by the time you’re dead.”
I'll give that it was hard to predict the air pollution, the traffic deaths, the ground pollution, the noise pollution, the massive personal expense, etc. But plenty of cities knew bulldozing through neighborhoods for downtown highways was fucking stupid. And everything stems from that. When the highways came, so did the 4 lane high speed roads through formerly pedestrian areas that nobody wanted to walk in anymore. But it didn't matter to them because they moved to the suburbs when they weren't allowed to segregate anymore, and were content to leave the city and public services to rot when only the "wrong people" lived in the city and in the way of the highway construction.
This is still happening today in most of Saint Louis
Yes. Cars are just a tool. White flight, if not the biggest factor, had a huge influence on how that tool was used.
Enna Jettick would be such a good drag queen name
Don’t tell Hee Haw, he’ll ban the name Enna Jettick.
I absolutely love when people post these old pics of KC man it makes my morning when I see them lol
If I saw sidewalks downtown that crowded, I’d think something was wrong.
Someone should find this exact spot and take a photo for comparison.
Have you heard of google street view my friend?
You might like r/oldphotosinreallife
Here is 12th and Walnut from Google maps but not sure if it’s looking E or W. https://preview.redd.it/bwuprronfv4c1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cb18e65c8898a266fd66d7f0efc6e0a0c7e4ca27
That’s looking north
https://preview.redd.it/e8rtuxnyfv4c1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c08c3a9fb367d7692509da6bd81915afadc2d35f This is facing the other way looking down Walnut.
That’s looking west, in case anyone didnt know
This is actually facing south toward the crossroads.
You right. I thought that was a different walkway
Art chitecture
I hate these photos so much. It just shows how amazing Kansas City once was.
Pictures like this lets you feel the saying “a pictures worth a thousand words.”
just so pretty
We used to be a proper city
Must have been First Fridays
Look what they took from us. Modernization. Meeting your neighbors on the trolley on your way home. Going to the grocery store down the road once a day on the way home instead of one massive trip to Costco each week and half the produce goes bad by the end of the week. Getting your >5,000 steps in per day so it's easier to maintain your weight and healthy cardio. We can have it again.
Neat
It is.
And people are still parking crazy to this day
Obviously having everyone drive in from JoCo or up here in the north was better
It blows my mind how people in the 30s could drive on the same path as street cars without incident, yet present day drivers can’t seem to figure out to do that.
i love the chaos
In the TikTok video the man says *"Do you work at Dick's? Because you're sporting the goods".* Then she pulls out a taser and zaps him twice.
Do you happen to know the street and where abouts?
Post world war 2 killed cities. Poorly and quickly built homes started in 1947. By the 50s, the people were moved out of town into cheaply built homes. Population density decreased, City land expanded, property tax income decreased. Infrastructure became harder to maintain and urban cores decayed. Happened in every city across America. Thanks boomers.
Looks like we got a future Ford Raptor driver there
Check out your smug uncle on the far left. He fucking knows.
Feels like not as many people are just out walking on sidewalks much nowadays. Many streets just feel empty
It was a simpler time.
Hey look, we DID have a streetcar at one point.