The Country Club District of Kansas City

by LaDene Morton

Overview

ONE OF THE GRAND EXPERIMENTS OF AMERICAN URBAN PLANNING lies tucked within the heart of Kansas City. J.C. Nichols prized the Country Club District as his life's work, and the scope of his vision required fifty years of careful development. Begun in 1905 and extending over a swath of six thousand acres, the project attracted national attention to a city still forging its identity. While the district is home to many of Kansas City's most exclusive residential areas and commercial properties, its boundaries remain unmarked and its story largely unknown. Follow LaDene Morton along the well-appointed boulevards of this model community's rich legacy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781626199149
Publisher:	History Press, The
Publication date:	06/01/2015
Pages:	160
Sales rank:	1,038,363
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

LaDene Morton holds a master's degree in public administration from the University of Kansas. Her writing on the history of Kansas City allows her to combine her interests in community development and her love of storytelling. Her previous titles on Kansas City include The Brookside Story: Shops of Every Necessary Character and The Waldo Story: Home of Friendly Merchants. She is a former board member of Women Writing the West and a current board member of the Writers Place in Kansas City.

Table of Contents

Preface 7

A Note on Faye Duncan Littleton 9

Introduction 11

1 Building on a Vision 15

"I am Here Now" 15

Nichols and His Company, in the Beginning 17

Origins of a Vision 21

A Plan for Permanence 26

2 The Country Club District Neighborhoods 31

1905?1918: Lessons Learned, Reputations Earned 33

1919?1929: "The Best Residential Section in America" 42

1930?1950: New Directions 52

Deed Restrictions in the Country Club District 56

Chronology of Development 63

3 The Features of Community 67

The Homes Associations of the Country Club District 69

The Country Club District Bulletin 73

The Nichols Company's "Outlying Shopping Centers" 79

Schools and Churches, the Cornerstones of Community 93

The District's Country Clubs 99

4 The Country Club District Aesthetic 107

The Neighborhood Landscape 108

District Architecture, an Eclectic Revival 113

An Outdoor Museum: Public Art in the District 119

A Lost Wilderness 127

Innovation by Design 136

Epilogue 141

Acknowledgements 149

Bibliography 151

Index 155

About the Author 160