City View at St. Margaret's Almost Ready to Open

One of the very first posts I ever made to this blog came in May 2012 when I wrote a short story about the pending renovation of the long abandoned St. Margaret's hospital at 759 Vermont Avenue into a beautiful loft / apartment building (see previous post).

That renovation is nearly completed, and on Thursday, December 19, I was blessed to be able to attend the ribbon-cutting for the new City View at St. Margaret's.

Coincidentally, one of the postcards that I recently scanned for my "then and now" series was of old St. Margaret's Hospital. The postcard shows what the hospital looked like many decades ago. Some of the structures visible in the postcard (like the tower with the flag on it) were demolished over time leaving the building in the configuration that I have always remembered. Click on any picture to see a larger version.

Here are a couple of photos that I took back in May 2012. The building was in horrible shape and I believe it could have easily qualified as the worst eyesore in Kansas City, Kansas.

Here are a couple of photos that I took as I arrived for the ribbon cutting Thursday. Wow! My photos don't do justice to how much the building and grounds have been transformed.

The renovation was completed by Foutch Brothers, LLC. They specialize in renovating and repurposing historic structures like St. Margaret's. Managing director Steve Foutch has been the driving force behind this renovation and other similar projects in Kansas City, Kansas including the renovation of the old Horace Mann School at 824 State Avenue.

The company completed the physical renovation of St. Margaret's in just about 12 months, but Steve said that he has been working on aspects of the project for almost 5 years.

The company's mission statement is:
"Respecting the past as we build for the future."

City View at St. Margaret’s is a $16.2 million project. It features 111 energy-efficient, loft-style apartments for seniors ages 55 and over. There will be a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom units in the building with contemporary interiors, two rooftop decks, a community lounge, on-site dining and laundry facilities, paid utilities and Google Fiber.

Because the project was partially financed by Low Income Housing Tax Credits, about half of the apartments will have rents that are adjusted for seniors who have lower incomes. Rents will range from $400-$600 for tax credit units and $750-$1200 for market rate units.

Foutch Brothers expects to have units available to the public by January 1, 2014. See their website for contact information.

I can't tell you how thankful and appreciative I am to have a company like Foutch Brothers working with us to steadily improve historic Kansas City, Kansas. Here are a few more photos of the ribbon-cutting event.

The ribbon cutting took place in the former hospital chapel.
The stained glass windows survived years of neglect.
(Photo courtesy of Bill Hurrelbrink)

Steve Foutch joined Kansas Governor Brownback (center),
other dignitaries and some neighborhood residents to cut the ribbon.
(Photo courtesy of Bill Hurrelbrink)

Here's a look at one of the finished units. Wow!
(Photo courtesy of Bill Hurrelbrink)

Steve Foutch (left) spent a few minutes telling Governor Brownback
about the project and sharing how his company used state-of-the-art
construction techniques and mechanical systems in the building.

It was a privilege to be a part of this group.
From left - Steve Foutch, Governor Sam Brownback,
Mayor Mark Holland, myself, Commissioner Jim Walters.
(Photo courtesy of Bill Hurrelbrink)

Three views from one of the rooftop decks.
You should definitely click on this photo to see
a larger version and fully appreciate the view.
(Photo courtesy of Bill Hurrelbrink)

Until next time, have a great weekend!

~ Brian

bmckiernan@wycokck.org

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Then and Now in Postcards (Part 2)

I'm still working on my "infrastructure" blog, so here's another batch of postcards from "old" KCK in the meantime. I hope you enjoy them.

If you haven't already seen my other picture posts, you might be interested in:

• Central Avenue Then and Now (in Pictures)
• Minnesota Avenue Then and Now (in Pictures)
• Then and Now in Postcards (Part 1)

We're going to jump around a little in time today, with a couple of fairly recent postcards to go along with the ones that are much older.

As always, you can click on any picture to get a much larger view if you want to see more details.

Although it's much newer than the rest, I thought you might
like to see this aerial view of Minnesota Avenue looking west.
There's no date on the postcard, but it has to be before 1969
as the Grund Hotel is still visible at the corner of 6th and Ann.
State Avenue is visible at the right side of the photo.
Minnesota Avenue is the most visible east-west street.
That's 5th Street running left-to-right in the foreground.
Those of you who know the area will definitely want to click on the
picture to enlarge it for a better look. There have been a TON
of changes in these past 40 years.

I couldn't get an airplane to take a "now" photo, but
just for the heck of it, I took the same photo as above and
labeled some of the biggest and most visible changes.

This is probably taken from the same airplane as above,
but with the camera turned toward Fairfax Airport.
Many of you might not know that there was a downtown airport
on the Kansas side of the river (that's the Missouri River
coming in from the top right and the Kansas River coming
from the bottom left - Kaw Point is located where the come together).

Many of the structures shown in the aerial shot above
are still in place today. However, this photo from
Google Maps shows how the current GM Fairfax Assembly Plant
is located on the same land that used to have airport runways.

Someday I should devote a "then and now" blog to all of the churches
(of every denomination) that seemed to occupy every other street corner
on the eastern end of town in "old" Kansas City, Kansas.
This is St. Anthony Church on a postcard dated 1912.
The church is still located south of City Hall
and across the street from Memorial Hall.

Here's St. Anthony Church as it stands today.
Notice that the two towers in front have been added on to.

What a cool playground!
This is Splitlog Park located between Splitlog and Ohio Avenues
just west of 7th Street. This view is from the northwest corner
of the park looking toward the southeast.

Oops! Where did all the park equipment go?
Sorry for the shadows. Took this late in the afternoon.
You can still see remnants of the old stone steps
at the right of the picture and at the far end of the park by Ohio Street.

This postcard and the one below are from 1909.
We were proud enough of some of our residential streets
to put them on postcards!
This is 9th Street looking south from Minnesota Avenue.

The sun was in just the wrong place when I took this "now" picture.
The lay of the land and the location of streets and alleys is the same,
but the view is dramatically different today.

This postcard is also from 1909.
I "think" this is looking east on Barnett
from the corner of 9th and Barnett.

Until next time, have a great week!

~ Brian

bmckiernan@wycokck.org
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Then and Now in Postcards (Part 1)

Hello again. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday!

The pictures of old Kansas City, Kansas are definitely popular. After I published my first two "then and now" blogs, a gentleman emailed and said that he has collected about 50 postcards of old Kansas City, Kansas. He agreed to share them, so I scanned them and will share them with you over the next few weeks.

The postcards range from about 1906 to 1971. Some are actual photographs and some look like watercolor paintings (probably painted from an actual photo).

I tried to go out and get as many "now" pictures as possible, but some of the perspectives were impossible to duplicate.

I'm certainly learning a lot about the history of Kansas City, Kansas. I hope that all of you continue to find these enjoyable. Feel free to click my email or Suggestion Box links at the bottom of the page if you'd like to share thoughts or additional photos.

Today's post cards will all be on the far east side of Kansas City, Kansas (in and around the Strawberry Hill and downtown areas). You can click on any picture to get a larger and better view.

The Lewis and Clark viaduct was a very popular postcard subject (it was referred to as both the interstate viaduct and the intercity viaduct on different postcards).

Here are a few postcards that show the viaduct and the areas around its west end. Some had postmarks on them, so I know the date they were mailed. Others didn't have postmarks and I don't really have a good idea about what year the postcard was published.

Looking west toward KCK from the Missouri end of the bridge.
Notice the lack of "skyline" on the Kansas side.

Another perspective from Missouri looking west.
The postmark on this card was 1909.
What strikes me is how far south the river water extends

The postmark on this card was also 1909.
It looks to me like a somewhat stylized watercolor
of the actual photo above.

The postmark on this card was 1915.
In some ways, it looks like it could just be
an updated version of the 1909 photo.

Can you see the viaduct through the trees?
I couldn't get anywhere close to the original perspective.
Look how much "river" we have reclaimed along the south bank.

A view of the viaduct looking east toward Kansas City, Missouri.
I'm not 100% sure, but I wonder if that's Armstrong Avenue
coming in from the right and running down to the toll house.
I'm guessing that this road is similar to the current eastbound lanes.

Again, I couldn't get the old perspective
(although I think I'm pretty close).
I put a red line on the right where Armstrong Avenue sits now.
Assuming that it's in roughly the same location as always,
then all of the bridge lanes are higher than they used to be.

I'm told that the viaduct was a toll bridge in the early 1900's.
The house next to the roadway on the right is the toll house
for people passing from Kansas to Missouri.

Much more modern looking in this 1948 postcard.

This perspective is looking southwest from the intercity viaduct.
Almost every structure along the river in this picture
was demolished for construction of  I-70.

Those of you who know Strawberry Hill well can tell me what you think,
but this 1907 postcard appears to give a view looking northwest
from what would have been Sandusky down by the river
(i.e., 3rd or 2nd Street long before the interstate was built).
The two dark brown buildings at the horizon look to me like
St. John's church (left) and the Scroggs mansion (left of center)
before the orphanage was built (now part of the Strawberry Hill Museum).

The Grund Hotel on the northwest corner of 6th Street and Ann Avenue.

I think the lot has been vacant since the hotel was torn down.

The caption says, "Presbyterian and South M.E. Churches."
Located on the northeast corner of 7th Street and State Avenue.

Only one of the original churches remains (minus the spire).

Here's the old courthouse on the northwest corner
of 7th Street and State Avenue.

Your can see the steeple of the remaining church (without spire)
under the two stoplights.
Police Headquarters sits where the Courthouse used to be.

That's all for today.

We'll talk infrastructure (streets, curbs, sidewalks and alleys) in my next blog.

Until then, have a great week!
~ Brian


bmckiernan@wycokck.org
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