The Kansas City Public Library, beginning in 1873 as the Public School Library of Kansas City, maintains the core values of literacy, lifelong learning, imagination, intellectual freedom, and service excellence. In recent years public programming has become a major effort along with establishing a wide-spread community of readers. In 2008 the library received the Gold Medal of the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences.
The Missouri Valley Special Collections department was created in 1960 and soon became a center of Kansas City history, plus regional resources on Western exploration, the fur trade, overland trails, and African American history. Through our large book collection and archives, MVSC staff preserves and presents the collections for the public in various ways, including web pages, exhibits, lectures, and classes.
A leader in digitization, the Kansas City Public Library was one of the first public libraries to digitize a major portion of its photograph collection for access online. That goal continues as we select and make available collections as part of the MVSC Digital Gallery.
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Looking north along Main Street from 12th Street. On the right is the southwest corner of the Jones Store building. Harzfeld's Department Store is visible one ... (read more)
Kansas City Public Library
City Bank, southeast corner of 18th and Grand, with automobiles. (read more)
Kansas City Public Library
The Beals Building on the northwest corner of 9th and Wyandotte has the Bolen Coal Company and D. Ellison and Son Real Estate as tenants. (read more)
Kansas City Public Library
First Church of Christ Scientist building was built in 1898 at a cost of $67,000. Read more about the church here http://www.kchistory.org/u?/Mrs,1153. (read more)
Kansas City Public Library
The Central High School on the southeast corner of 11th and Locust opened in 1884. In 1915 the school building changed to the Junior College which ... (read more)
Kansas City Public Library
"President Theodore Roosevelt waves to the crowd from his horse-drawn carriage.The Grand Opera House entrance is in view. Roosevelt visited Kansas City several times over the ... (read more)
Kansas City Public Library
Members of an unidentified African American marching band in uniform march south along Grand towards 13th Street in an unidentified parade. The Missouri Department Stores furniture ... (read more)
Kansas City Public Library
Max Eichenberg Tailor and Cleaner occupies the corner building at 5th and Grand in this view looking southwest. Electric streetcar lines run above the brick streets. (read more)
Kansas City Public Library
This very early photograph of the northeast corner of 7th & Grand looks east on 7th and shows the many bluffs that made up the early ... (read more)
Kansas City Public Library
During the 1930s, the South Central Business Association held some of their luncheon meetings at the LaSalle Hotel. The view is looking east on Linwood. (read more)
Kansas City Public Library
Kansas City Club is on the west corner of Baltimore Avenue. Immediately across from the Club is the President Hotel. View is looking north with the ... (read more)
Kansas City Public Library
Fire Department Headquarters and Station at 8th and Walnut next to the Walnut Street Methodist Episcopal Church. George C. Hale was fire chief. (read more)
Kansas City Public Library
Looking northeast toward a building that appears empty in 1930. It later was home to Zeldin Drugs. The building was torn down in 1960 and replaced ... (read more)
Kansas City Public Library
Looking east along 12th from Wyandotte. On the south is the First Baptist Church. In the foreground on the north is the old Kansas City Club ... (read more)
Kansas City Public Library
Leone Cleaners and Tailor occupies the corner section of the Centropolis Hotel, whose entrance is just to the west of Leone's. Electric streetcar lines run above ... (read more)
Kansas City Public Library
This view looks south along Grand Avenue from 7th Street. In the foreground on the east is a hamburger joint selling burgers for 5 cents. A ... (read more)
Kansas City Public Library
Petticoat Lane, two blocks of 11th Street between Grand and Main, is decorated in honor of the Republican National Convention, June 13, 1928. The Emery, Bird, ... (read more)
Kansas City Public Library
Looking east towards Main from just west of Wyandotte. The Buena Vista Hotel is in the left foreground, advertising rooms for 75 cents to $2. Across ... (read more)
Kansas City Public Library
The building in the foreground was to have been the home for the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA). The cornerstone was laid by President Grover Cleveland ... (read more)
Kansas City Public Library
Looking southeast along the west side of Central between 13th and 14th in a residential section with the Hotel Del-Ray Apartments on the left of the ... (read more)
Kansas City Public Library
Thick limestone bluffs created obstacles for early settlers to Kansas City, but also provided important building materials like cut stone, aggregate, and cement. (read more)
Kansas City Public Library
George De Jarnett was the proprietor of a cigar store and lived in this house with his wife Maude. According to the 1930 census the Oscar ... (read more)
Kansas City Public Library
The sign in front of the building on the north side of 9th Streets reads Office Outfitters. A small portion of the New England Building shows ... (read more)
Kansas City Public Library
Full frontal and side view of the Goodrich Building; located at 2233 Grand. (read more)
Kansas City Public Library
Grand Central Station was built at a cost of $60,000 in 1890 by the Kansas City, Pittsburg and Gulf Railway, later known as Kansas City Southern. ... (read more)
Kansas City Public Library
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