The History of Kansas City, Missouri's Parks & Boulevard System, Including Roanoke Park

The Historic
Parks & Boulevard System

of
Kansas City, Missouri
Dona R. Boley
May 1, 2010
HISTORIC BOULEVARD
Historic Parks & Boulevard System of KCMO
George Ehrich,
former Professor of Art History at
the University of Missouri-Kansas
City, wrote in
Kansas City, Missouri an
Architectural History
1826-1976

“In many ways the most notable
design achievement of the 1890s
was the park and boulevard system
which had been designed by
George E. Kessler and constructed
under his supervision. . .

“His plan for the city was a bold
and effective demonstration
of the concept of the
“City Beautiful.”

“The conversion of blighted bluffs
and ravines into parks, which were
linked by a boulevard system of
considerable extent, presented a
model to be emulated by others.

“The plan was intended to affect
the placement and design of
buildings, and it indeed
worked that way.”

To fully appreciate the significance of the parks and boulevard
system, one really needs to understand a little history of the city
prior to the system.
In spring of 1834 John Calvin McCoy found a flat stone

outcropping at the base of the future Grand avenue and widened the
horse path through the forest to West Port. The four-mile ride from
the landing to West Port took about two hours.
Major John Campbell platted West Port in 1835.
Town of Kansas formed in 1838. In 1850 the settlement was

recognized as a town and in 1853 it received its formal charter and
its new name, City of Kansas. The name Kansas City would not
become official until 1880.

Kansas City Census
% change
1860 4,400
1870 32,300 634%
1880 55,800 73%
1890 133,000 138%
1900 164,000 23%
1910 248,000 51%

1920 324,000 31%
2007 est 459,000 41%

City Limits
Missouri River on the north
Stateline on the west
South & East

Boundaries (approx)
1859 20th & Troost
1885 31st & Cleveland
1897 49th & Eastern
1909 77th & Eastern

Early Events
• 1872 offer of 40 acres for park turned down

• Newspaper agitation urged buying of
parkland
• 1880 William Rockwell Nelson arrives
• 1881 George E. Kessler hired to design
excursion park in Merriam, KS
• 1882 August R. Meyer arrives

August R. Meyer
Millionaire industrialist
Educated in Europe
Avid outdoorsman & nature
enthusiast
Became a social & civic
leader
To him city beautification

was imperative:
“A community must attract with more than just tax

concessions and columns of figures.”
Parks Board
• 1889 charter sets up board of park
commissioners
• 1892 amendment defines board financial
power
• 1892 first park board appointed
• Meyer becomes first president
• Kessler hired as secretary at $200 per month
& as Engineer to the Board without pay
George E. Kessler
Educated in Europe
Received private instruction in forestry,
botany, and landscape design
Worked at major German plant nursery
Studied technical engineering
Studied at premier horticultural library

in Germany
Completed civil engineering course

“Of all of it,” he later
said, “the travel was of Toured Europe & England for one year
most value.” study of civic design in major cities

Park Board Challenges
• Only appropriated $5,000

• Several residential areas already
deteriorating—need to improve eyesores
• Need number of small parks to benefit the
most
• Economy still recovering from real estate
collapse & unemployment is high

Park Board Challenges
• Southern city limits getting close to Westport &

the new president lives in Westport & not
Kansas City
• Big Blue Valley is becoming industrialized
• Current residential development is spotty &
haphazard
• City’s bonding capacity is tapped out

Mayor W. S. Cowherd charged the
Board of Parks & Boulevard
Commissioners with investigating
and researching pleasure-grounds
and boulevards for the city.
Result was 1893 Report of the

Board of Parks & Boulevard
Commissioners.
Prepared by George E. Kessler,

Kansas City Park Board Secretary,
and August R. Meyer, President,
Kansas City Park Board
Commissioners.

1893 Report
Detailed and comprehensive look at Kansas
City’s topography and traffic patterns, population
density and growth, its industrial and residential
sections, and its prospects for future development.
It was, in a word, planning.
It contained three primary sections: a letter of

transmittal to the mayor; a detailed report from the
board, and a technical report [engineer’s report].

Report of the Commissioners
• Growth of the Sentiment in Favor of Parks in
Kansas City
• Aim & Justification of Park Improvement
• Preliminary Work of the Park Commission
• The Value of Beauty
• The City's Duty
• Effect of Parkways or Boulevards Upon Real Estate
Values
• Experience of Other Cities

Bold Plan Went
Outside the City
Limits
Included:
Boulevards & Parkways
The Parade (for large

demonstrations & public
gatherings)
Local parks
Pleasure-grounds (Penn
Valley Park, West Terrace &
North Terrace)

North Terrace Before

North Terrace During

Cliff Drive (North Terrace) After

West Terrace Before

West Terrace After

Map of Parks &
Boulevard System
Shows system prior to
the 1909 extension of
the city limits
System greatly expanded
Parks connected by
Boulevards & Parkways
Swope Park donation

outside the city limits

Penn Valley Park

Hyde Park

Armour Boulevard

Harrison Parkway

1920 System
• 1,992.25 acres of parks
• 676 acres of parkways
• 89.40 miles of improved boulevards

& park drives

1920 Planned
• 37.20 mile of boulevards & park
drives
• 24.40 miles of roadways in parkways
• 762.34 acres in parkways
• 40.72 acres in parks

1920 Total System
• 151.00 miles of boulevard & park

drives improved and planned
• 3,471.31 acres of parks & parkways

acquired and planned

Total Cost as of April 19, 1920
Acquisition of Lands $ 8,333,968.19
Construction 5,365,244.20
Maintenance 3,220,660.64
Total $16,919,873.03

Map Showing
Park System & Extensions
to 1915
Proposed Blue Valley Parkway

was never implemented. A
moveable dam would have
created a 140 acre lake and filled
the Blue River from 10 to 20 feet
through Swope Park, making a
boating course 15 miles in
length. This naturally pretty
stream would have become “one
of the most useful and beautiful
waterways in the country.”

Designed
Historic Landscapes
Designed historic landscapes are one type of

landscape within the broader category of
historic landscapes.

Ladies-on-Karnes-Roanoke
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Roanoke Park Bluffs
The main part of Roanoke Park is in a natural valley, surrounded by outcroppings on

three sides. Other 'extensions' of the park contain huge trees growing along steep hills.
The Colman Highlands Neighborhood is to the North, Volker is to the West and Roanoke
and Valentine are to the east of the park.
National Historic Register
Significance Criteria
• Design or work of art

• Work by a master using a recognized style or
tradition
• Has historical association with person, trend,
event, etc. in landscape architecture
• Relationship to the theory or practice of
landscape architecture

Many historic landscape are eligible for the
National Register primarily on the merits of
their historic landscape design, a substantial
number also possess significance in other areas.
New York’s Central Park, for example, has

significance in social history and transportation,
although its primary significance is landscape
architecture.

1893 Parks & Boulevard System
Historic Resources Survey
• 1988
• Prepared by Deon K. Wolfenbarger
• Prairie Gateway Chapter, American Society of
Landscape Architects
• Missouri Department of Natural Resources with
funds from Department of Interior, National Park
Service

1893 Parks & Boulevard System
Historic Resources Survey
• Benton & Independence Boulevards
• Budd Park
• North Terrace Park (Kessler Park)
• Penn Valley Park
• The Grove
• The Parade
• The Paseo (partial)
• West Terrace Park

1988 Historic Resources Survey
• Document research
• Field survey with documentation in detail to
permit evaluation & registration in the National
Register of Historic Places
• American Society of Landscape Architect’s
National Survey Form
• Evaluation of integrity & significance with
National Register Bulletins 16 & 18

1893 Parks & Boulevards Significance
• For the role they played in the legal establishment

of the entire parks system.
• As the first efforts of community planning in

Kansas City.
• As representative of George E. Kessler’s work.

The system was the result of a detailed and
comprehensive look at Kansas City’s topography,
traffic patterns, population and growth, commercial,
industrial, and residential sections.
The plan included redevelopment of three blighted

areas in Kansas City—the west bluffs, the Penn
Street ravine, and the narrow block which was to
become The Paseo.

As significant as these early parks and boulevards are, it is
important to note that they never existed together as a system
except in the 1893 report. By the time the legal battles were
completed for some of the parks, new parks had been added to
the system, and the boulevards extended.
The final evaluation of the 1893 parks and boulevards could

not be made until they were placed in the proper context. For
their relation to the design of the entire park system as it exits
today.

Landscape Architectural/Historic Survey
of Parks & Boulevards, 1893-1940
• 1990
• Board of Parks & Recreation Commissioners, KCMO
• Missouri Department of Natural Resources with

funds from Department of Interior, National Park
Service
• Tourbier & Walmsle, Inc., Architectural & Art

Historical Research & Theis Doolittle Associates

Landscape Architectural/Historic Survey
of Parks & Boulevards, 1893-1940
• Surveyed 29 Parks & 31 Boulevards
• 1940 System covered sixty square miles
• System, except for central business district, was

evenly distributed over the developed city
• Included 72 features such as bridges, buildings,

fountains, etc.

George E. Kessler & The
1893-1940 Parks & Boulevard System
• Kessler’s relationship with KCMO Parks & Boulevard

Board lasted from 1893 to 1923, his death.
• All but 4 parks & boulevards in the survey were designed
between 1893-1922, within Kessler’s lifetime.
• The Kansas City, MO, parks & boulevard system is the
most complete fulfillment of Kessler’s ideas for a citywide
network of connected parks.
• No other city has such a complete system of parks &
boulevards.

Historic Significance
System is remarkable for both its

comprehensiveness & degree to which it was
completed, in accordance with Kessler’s
overall design during his lifetime. And
continued by others who had worked with
him and understood his intentions.

Survey Results
The system itself warrants special recognition and

is eligible for the
National Register of Historic Places as a
Designed Historic Landscape
significance for its landscape architecture and as
the work of a master.

Individual Park & Boulevard
Evaluations
**** Exceptional significance
*** High or major significance
** Some significance
* Minor significance
o No significance

Survey Star Rating Results
**** 6 parks, 9 boulevards & 1 part of a
boulevard
*** 5 parks, 10 boulevards & 4 parts of
boulevards
** 7 parks, 4 boulevards
* 5 parks, 1 boulevard & 1 part of a
boulevard
o 6 parks, 2 boulevards & 4 parts of
boulevards

Survey Star Rating Results
Landscapes in the top two categories should be

treated with the greatest priority, and may even be
so designated for extra special attention.
Opportunities through planning and management

should emphasize preservation and restoration.
Necessary changes and additions should be most

sympathetically considered.

Purpose of the System
• Increase property values by giving permanent

residence character to sections of the city
• Support healthful minds and bodies with rural

surroundings & beautiful natural scenery
• Draw businesses & population by providing

beautiful city

Purpose of the System
• Hold unbroken highlands for residential and the

principal valley lands for transportation &
industrial uses
• Provide pleasure drives for light driving

Epilogue- Roanoke Park
Assessment in 1990
•The 1990 Landscape Architectural/Historic Survey of the parks and
boulevard system determined that Roanoke Park, Karnes Boulevard,
and Valentine Boulevard are 4 stars, the highest rating. They are
exceptionally significant.
•Landscapes in this category should be treated with the greatest

priority, and may even be so designated for extra special attention.
Opportunities through planning and management should emphasize
preservation and restoration. Necessary changes and additions should
be most sympathetically considered.
KCMO Parks & Boulevard History
The Historic
Parks & Boulevard
System of
Kansas City,
Missouri
Dona R. Boley
May 1, 2010

Karnes nearby 36th
April 2010
Karnes by Belleview
April 2010

The History of Kansas City, Missouri's Parks & Boulevard System, Including Roanoke Park

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The History of Kansas City, Missouri's Parks & Boulevard System, Including Roanoke Park

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The Historic

Parks & Boulevard System

Historic Parks & Boulevard System of KCMO

Historic Parks & Boulevard System of KCMO

and effective demonstration

of the concept of the

Historic Parks & Boulevard System of KCMO

Historic Parks & Boulevard System of KCMO

worked that way.”

Historic Parks & Boulevard System of KCMO

In spring of 1834 John Calvin McCoy found a flat stone

Major John Campbell platted West Port in 1835.

Town of Kansas formed in 1838. In 1850 the settlement was

Historic Parks & Boulevard System of KCMO

1910 248,000 51%

Historic Parks & Boulevard System of KCMO

South & East

1859 20th & Troost

1885 31st & Cleveland

1897 49th & Eastern

1909 77th & Eastern

Historic Parks & Boulevard System of KCMO

• 1872 offer of 40 acres for park turned down

Historic Parks & Boulevard System of KCMO

To him city beautification

“A community must attract with more than just tax

Worked at major German plant nursery

Studied technical engineering

Studied at premier horticultural library

Completed civil engineering course

Historic Parks & Boulevard System of KCMO

• Only appropriated $5,000

Historic Parks & Boulevard System of KCMO

• Southern city limits getting close to Westport &

Historic Parks & Boulevard System of KCMO

Result was 1893 Report of the

Prepared by George E. Kessler,

Historic Parks & Boulevard System of KCMO

It was, in a word, planning.

It contained three primary sections: a letter of

Historic Parks & Boulevard System of KCMO

Historic Parks & Boulevard System of KCMO

The Parade (for large

Historic Parks & Boulevard System of KCMO

Historic Parks & Boulevard System of KCMO

Historic Parks & Boulevard System of KCMO

Historic Parks & Boulevard System of KCMO

Historic Parks & Boulevard System of KCMO

Historic Parks & Boulevard System of KCMO

System greatly expanded

Swope Park donation

Historic Parks & Boulevard System of KCMO

Historic Parks & Boulevard System of KCMO

Historic Parks & Boulevard System of KCMO

Historic Parks & Boulevard System of KCMO

Historic Parks & Boulevard System of KCMO

• 1,992.25 acres of parks

• 676 acres of parkways

• 89.40 miles of improved boulevards

Historic Parks & Boulevard System of KCMO

• 24.40 miles of roadways in parkways

• 762.34 acres in parkways

• 40.72 acres in parks