KCRag Forum

staubio wrote: I wanted to make sure I had a good repository for this kind of information and I want to keep doing regular posts, so I thought I'd start blogging about it. Check out the first attempt on the KC-Clay County-St Jo Interurban Railroad:

http://staubio.blogspot.com/2010/05/mod ... -clay.html

My next one will likely outline the impressive old staircases up the bluff in Argentine in KCK. Does anyone know anything more about the history of those?

Love the blog. Keep it up.

The staircases were often built to allow people to go from their homes to streets where public transit was available - streetcars, etc.  Shortcuts I guess.  You should look at old transportation maps to see if that is true for the Argentine.

There's a sidewalk and stairs over off of Cesar Chavez Boulevard on the West side, I think it is Holly Street, where there were houses along the staircase, but no street ran there.

FangKC wrote: There's a sidewalk and stairs over off of Cesar Chavez Boulevard on the West side, I think it is Holly Street, where there were houses along the staircase, but no street ran there.

Correctamundu, Fang, it is Holly.  It's a housing and access layout that I have only seen in mountain/mining towns like Jerome, Az and Telluride, Co.

In related news, recently a westside old-timer told me that Jarboe, one block east of Holly used to run from 21st street straight down to SW Blvd.  A ridiculously steep grade.  In the late teens a milk  wagon broke loose on the hill, killing two milkmen and a horse.  After this the properties on the north side of Cesar Chavez, from Holly to Belleview, were purchased and cleared and Jarboe Street was filled in and the site leveled to make the existing park.

The cities only involvement was to facilitate the legalities and accept the park as a donation from the neighborhood.

Great story.  True..........?

There are some houses constructed along sidewalk/stairs in San Francisco, and that don't front a street.

Macondray Lane is one of them, and was immortalized in Armistead Maupin's "Tales of the City" series.

Stairs to Macondray Lane.

http://www.accesscom.com/~tferrari/all% ... _Lane.html

Remember the steps from the movie "The Exorcist"?

Think I am remembering the right movie.

The city of Berkeley CA was built with lots of paths.  There is even a group of people who maintain them and lead tours.  Here are some pictures. The cities of Oakland and San Francisco have many too.  These are all cities with hills and most paths were built as shortcuts to streetcar lines.

http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Rose_Walk.html

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=htt ... s%3Disch:1

Cincinnati has some great ones too. Turn a corner and you are in an alley, then around some trees to some stairs, then a little tunnel, then back to stairs, etc. Hilly cities are the most interesting.

PumpkinStalker wrote: The very faint remnants of Webb Castle are off Truman Road right across from Washington Cemetery.  Some stone pillars, a small retaining wall, broken cement slab or two are all that remain.  I've read that all rooms were round when this place was built.

Here is a postcard of it from my collection

Eureka. I have found a photo of the Webb Castle.

http://kchistory.org/cdm4/item_viewer.p ... OX=1&REC=7

Finding that is GOLD Fang. I've never seen a real photo, just my postcards. Even though I spent an hour looking around the site, I want to go back and check out the remnants of the rock walls. The rubble is still mostly there.

I hadn't seen a real photo either. I knew you'd like it Pumpkin. You should go get a print made from the library.

I was looking around the library history site and noticed they had several new photos I had never seen before.  I think they must be slowly adding new photos to the archive.

Like this one:

http://forum.kcrag.com/http://www.kcrag ... 00#p437600

I am still after the elusive photo of outside facade of Annie Chambers' bordello at 3rd and Wyandotte. I guess I'll eventually have to go down to the City's Landmark Commission's property photo archive and look. Chambers lived until 1935. It appears her building survived until the 1939 property photographs were taken.  The Star reported in 1942 plans to demolish the building, so I think the tax photos exist. Other reports have the building being demolished in 1950.  I wish someone would have had the foresight to have saved that building for posterity, since it was the City's most famous brothel.

I would also love to see the exterior of Cora Totty's bordello at 200 W. 4th Street, the Lone Cottonwood bordello operated by "Mother Smith," and those of Eva Prince, and Madame Lovejoy.

PumpkinStalker wrote: Finding that is GOLD Fang. I've never seen a real photo, just my postcards. Even though I spent an hour looking around the site, I want to go back and check out the remnants of the rock walls. The rubble is still mostly there.

What happened to the castle to turn it to rubble?  Was it simply abondoned at some point?  Seems a shame, beautiful from the photo and postcard.

Yeah my understanding is that it was used as a haunted house for a little while before falling into disrepair and demolished.  My dad remembers it as a teenager during it's brief stint as a haunted house.  There's hardly anything there, just remnants of stone walls.  Sad, I guess all the rooms were round and was a pretty awesome place.

The photo of the old Webb Castle reminds me of Tovrea Castle in Phoenix.

aknowledgeableperson wrote: Remember the steps from the movie "The Exorcist"?

Think I am remembering the right movie.

I happened upon those stairs one night looking to relieve myself while in DC.

I found some images of Madame Lovejoy and Annie Chambers' bordellos, and have posted them in this thread.

http://forum.kcrag.com/http://www.kcrag ... 67#p438067

FangKC wrote: I found some images of Madame Lovejoy and Annie Chambers' bordellos, and have posted them in this thread.

http://forum.kcrag.com/http://www.kcrag ... 67#p438067

Great find, Fang.  I've never seen either of these images.  I had read about Ms. Chambers pagoda styled porch.  It's not what I anticipated.

Cora Totty's........................?

 

I'm working on it Loftguy. 

Does anyone have old photographs of the Drive In theater on 40 Highway near I 70 and Van Brunt? I heard there was also a Bowling Alley there too? I remember when I was younger seeing the Drive In Theater screens. Just curious to see how it looked back then.

hmmm. Are you taking about the Heart?

Photos of the Heart Drive-In are here. Be sure to scroll to the bottom to see options.

http://www.cinematour.com/tour/us/7533.html