As the beginning of the Twentieth Century dawned in the Midwest, in Kansas City, streetcar suburbs came to be.
Early in the Twentieth Century, one streetcar line ran right down Troost Avenue. In the very heart of KC.
In the early-1900’s, one could jump on that Troost Avenue streetcar. Leave the hustle bustle of Kansas City. And arrive at one of Kansas City’s new streetcar suburbs.
Those new streetcar suburbs which were then being built in Paris of the Plains were still located in Kansas City. Yet, Kansas City’s streetcar suburbs did not espouse an urban feel. Manheim Park was one of those early Kansas City streetcar suburbs.
To the north, Manheim Park is bounded by 35th Street. To the west, Manheim Park is bounded by Troost Avenue. Troost Avenue…where one could jump on that Kansas City streetcar – early in the Twentieth Century – and be dropped off in Manheim Park – one of KC’s new streetcar suburbs.
The construction of new homes in Manheim Park took hold very early on in the 1900’s. Drawing upon a general distaste for how new Kansas City homes were then being constructed along, what oftentimes were, run-of-the-mill, plain vanilla roads that ran straight – either east-west or north-south – homes which were being built, in the opinion of early Manheim Park developers, too close to one another, no less. In Manheim Park, things would be somewhat different. In Manheim Park, your drive in to one of those new Manheim Park streetcar suburb homes was going to be…a drive along a new road with a unique contour.
Crooked roads…
To build new homes on any undeveloped land you need roads. And in Manheim Park, those new roads went in. Roads which did not necessarily run east-west. Roads which did not necessarily run north-south.
Those original Manheim Park roads were crooked. Creating a staple – all its own – for Manheim Park: its crooked roads
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