Kansas City Art Institute, Southmoreland

Southmoreland is a neighborhood located in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the List of United States cities by populat ...

. Home to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art,

Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art opened in 1994 in Kansas City, Missouri. With a $5 million annual budget and approximately 75,000 visitors each year, it is Missouri's first and largest contemporary museum. Founders The core of the museum's perm ...

and the Kansas City Art Institute, it is noteworthy for its reputation as home to Kansas City’s artistic and intellectual elite. Southmoreland neighborhood is located between 39th Street on the north (bordering Hanover Place an
Central Hyde Park
, Rockhill and

Gillham Road Gillham Road is a major north/south main street that runs in Kansas City, Missouri from the intersection of 22nd Street at Oak Street to Harrison Road between 45th and 46th Streets. Gillham Road becomes Gillham Plaza from 31st Street to 34th Street. ...

on the east (bordering South Hyde Park), Emanuel Cleaver II Boulevard on the south (bordering Country Club Plaza and Park Central) and Main Street on the west (borderin
Plaza Westport
and Old Westport). Since 2019, following finalized plans for a Streetcar extension from Union Station to UMKC, the neighborhood has experienced a massive wave of new real estate development along Main Street.

History

Established in the late 19th century as

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more th ...

's neighborhood of palatial mansions, the Southmoreland section of the Rockhill District was conceived by William Rockhill Nelson, the

Kansas City Star ''The Kansas City Star'' is a newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri. Published since 1880, the paper is the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Star'' is most notable for its influence on the career of President Harry S. Truman and ...

publisher and a developer, and August Meyer, a mining magnate. Nelson and Meyer's vision for the neighborhood was an extension of City Beautiful Movement — featuring naturalistic landscaping, open parkland, native stone fencing, and curved roadways lined with elm trees. Acquired by Nelson, and given to the City, the neighborhood evolved around a natural ravine, through which a small brook runs in the rainy times, first platted by W.B. Clark as South Moreland Addition. The landscaping of the park and adjacent areas intended to imitate the look and feel of neighborhoods around

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...

and Riverside Parks in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

— by venerated architecture team of

Frederick Law Olmsted Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the USA. Olmsted was famous for co- ...

and Calvert Vaux. It heightened the enjoyment of the turf, water and rock, using gentle, sprawling lawns, winding pathways and natural woodlands. Framed by Nelson’s baronial manse, ''Oak Hall'', and August Meyer’s palace, ''Marburg'' on Warwick Boulevard, Southmoreland has evolved into an eclectic mix of Colonial Revival mansions, Arts & Crafts style homes, and Colonnade luxury apartment buildings, many with native limestone accents. In early 20th century, a streetcar line was built between downtown Kansas City and the neighborhood began to attract working-class families with some of the larger mansions converted into apartments. Today, beyond the large museums and institutions of higher learning, Southmoreland has a number of artists’ studios, shops and galleries. In 2009, Southmoreland was voted as one amongst eight neighborhoods nationwide as the "Best Old House Neighborhoods: Editor's Pick" by

This Old House ''This Old House'' is an American home improvement media brand with television shows, a magazine, and a websiteThisOldHouse.com. The brand is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. The television series airs on the American television netwo ...

. More recently, the neighborhood has attracted real estate development interest following the announced expansion of the Kansas City Streetcar, that will extend from Union Station to the University of Missouri — Kansas City (UMKC), on the perimeter of Southmoreland.

References

{{Coord, 39.04923, -94.58300, format=dms, display=title, type:city_region:US-MO Neighborhoods in Kansas City, Missouri