NARRATOR:
“In the twentieth century, Kansas City produced two uniquely American geniuses who would both forever alter the physical and cultural landscape of the country. One of these men built a m...

Turn right onto 75th Street, and get into the left lane. You’ll turn left onto Mission Road.

Take a left to go north on Mission road..

We’ll stay on this until we turn right on 71st street. You’re driving through the city of Prairie Village. The entire city was developed in the late 1940s by J.C. Nichols. He was a prolific real es...

You’re coming up on 71st. Get into the far-right lane and take a right to go east on 71st street.

NARRATOR:
Great. Now turn left at this next street, which is actually 71st Street again. (pause) We’ll stay on this all the way to Belinder, where we’ll turn left.

Until then, take a look at t...

Here’s our next turn. Take a left at the stop sign to go north on Belinder.

You’ll stay on this all the way to 63rd, where you’ll turn right. You’ll come to a roundabout along the way. Just continue north on Belinder. Drive slow. We’re now in a different city; Mission Hill...

You’re coming up on a small, beautiful roundabout. You’ll continue straight on Belinder, which will be the roundabout’s 3rd exit. . Belinder wil be a divided boulevard at that point.

(pause)

...

Take a right to go east on 63rd.

NARRATOR:
You’ll stay on 63rd until you get to Ward Parkway. I wanna introduce you to someone I really admire. Sid Willens. Sidney is a retired attorney and public figure in Kansas City. He’s gonn...

After this stoplight, there’s a fork in the road. Keep right to stay on 63rd all the way to Ward Parkway. We’ll hear more from Sid later.

You just crossed into Missouri.

Before we go too far, let me recap Sid’s story. Sid had put up $10,000 to flip this property, with his trusted friend Harold Clopper managing the funds and devel...

Here’s Ward Parkway. It’s a divided boulevard so go straight through the first traffic light. At the second, turn left to go north on Ward Parkway.

Beautiful, isn’t it? Ward Parkway. This six and a-half mile boulevard is accented by fountains, ponds, and statuary. Showing off this ritzy boulevard is a mainstay for KC residents when they have v...

In a moment, you’ll merge with two more lanes on your left. You’ll need to stay in the two right-most lanes. You’ll stay on this side of Brush Creek - don’t cross it. You’re gonna take a look at th...

NARRATOR:
You’ll stay on Ward Parkway for a few minutes, then turn right on Brookside Blvd, just after the Kansas City Public library’s Plaza Branch. The Country Club Plaza was the first shopping ...

Use the right-most lane to take a right at the next traffic light. You’ll go south on Brookside Boulevard.

You’re driving through another part of the city that was developed and then sold by J.C. Nichols. Just take a look at the houses for a bit. Look at the style. The shape. The size.

(pause)

Of ...

Merge into the left lane. Then, take a left at this next traffic light to go east on 55th Street.

NARRATOR:
Here’s Sid again, the guy who lent his friend Harold $10k to flip a house and made quick profit. Well, Harold called him again...

SID:
And so, I said, "Harold, you know I trust you ...

Go straight through this next light. This is Troost Avenue. The place that, historically, everyone tries to get away from.

The “Troost Divide.” What many people, officials, organizations, and institutions consider the quote bad part of town.

This area was built and developed at the same time as Brookside. But thes...

At this next light, take a right to go south on The Paseo.

Your next turn will be a left at 63rd street.

The Paseo. Ten miles long, from 1st to 85th. For six of those miles, it’s a divided boulevard accented with fountains, ponds, and statuary. Toward...

Get into the left lane and turn left onto 63rd Street. Don’t cross it, just turn left. Watch for all the traffic lights. Then, turn left again, back onto the Paseo. We want you driving back up the ...

Turn left back onto the Paseo.

NARRATOR:
You’ll follow the Paseo for a while now. The next turn won’t be until Emanuel Cleaver 2 Boulevard, just after Brush Creek.

So. What changed?

Black folks were given the recourse. An...

You’re coming up on Emanuel Cleaver 2 Boulevard. Go through the light at Volker Boulevard and get into the right lane as you cross Brush Creek. Then, take a right to go east on Emanuel Cleaver 2 Bo...

Over the next minute, make our way into the left lane.
You’re coming up on a very physical dividing line. You’ll be passing under Bruce R. Watkins Drive, also called 71 Highway. It runs from Dow...

Take a left to get on the 71 north ramp after you pass under the roadway.

Get in the right lane, but don’t take this first exit.

Nice work. Now stay in the right lane so that you end up on Euclid Avenue, not Highway 71. In a moment, the road will fork and you’ll angle toward 43rd Street.

You’ll follow Euclid through some stop signs and traffic lights for a while. You won’t turn until 31st Street. If you ended up on the actual freeway, no worries, just take the next exit at 39th,...

Take a right to go east on 31st Street

As White families fled to the suburbs, more Black families moved in and soon the neighborhood’s rating would drop again. This time to red. The homes, again, instantly losing value in the eyes of ...

Use the left lane to turn left at the next light, going north on Benton Blvd.

Then you’re gonna take a right at the next intersection, going east on 30th. But I’m just taking you around a few one-way streets. Turn right on 30th.

Now, you’re gonna turn right again at the second street. That will be Bellefontaine Avenue.

Turn Right.

Drive really slow here. Look for 3028. It’ll be on your right near the end of the block. A brown-fronted house with a fountain in a fenced-in yard. This is where the one and only Walt Disney lived ...

Get into the right lane. At the next traffic light, you’ll turn right to go south on Indiana Avenue.

Your next turn will a left on 33rd. We’re gonna navigate into the parking lot of Central Academy of Excellence and pause there for a moment.

Turn left onto 33rd Street.

You’ll take your next left, into the school’s parking lot.

Turn left into the parking lot and find a place to park.

We started Dividing Lines at Shawnee Mission East high school - the crown jewel of Prairie Village - a school many consider worth relocating for. Before 1955, this school we’re at now would have ...

Turn right onto Indian Avenue.

Great. Now, turn right at this next intersection.

Your next turn will be a left onto Jackson Avenue.

At this next traffic light, use the left turn lane to turn left, going north on Jackson Avenue.

The multi-million dollar desegregation case - Missouri v. Jenkins - did not succeed in luring middle class white students back into the hallways of KCMO schools. It did succeed at updating faciliti...

At the stop sign, turn left to go west on 27th Street.

This is 27th Street. You’ll stay on this for a while, all the way to Main Street, where you’ll turn right.

Before there was Troost dividing white from black, rich from poor, there was the 27th...

Turn right to go north on Main Street.

You’ll stay on Main Street all the way to 15th - or Truman Road, where you'll turn right.

We’re going to the part of the city that isn’t neglected. A part of the city that didn’t get the short...

At this next light, take a right to go east on Truman Road.

Stay in the two right lanes, otherwise you’ll get funneled onto the freeway. Your next turn won’t be until a right on the Paseo.
Just to your left you’re seeing the result of some of the city’s ...

You’re coming up on your next turn. Take a right at the next light to go south on the Paseo.

Merge over to the left-most lane. Your next turn will be a left on 18th Street. It’s the next traffic light.

Turn left onto 18th Street.

Drive slow here. 18th & Vine developed as a black settlement area in the 1880s and 1890s. By 1907, white real estate brokers would basically only sell or rent to blacks in the immediate area, but n...

Take a right to go south on Brooklyn Ave. Waving at my personal favorite KC bbq joint at your 10 o’clock - Arthur Bryant’s - as you do.

We’ll pull to the side of street just after 21st.

Here’s Mamie Hughes reflecting on 18th and Vine at its zenith.

[Mamie pt 4] Sometimes Uncle George would take us in his car, and we would sim...

Pull to the side of the street and park for a minute. If you already hit the stop sign at 22nd, you’ve gone a bit too far. Just circle the block, and find a spot to park back here on Brooklyn.

...

Up to your right is Lincoln Preparatory Academy, the crown jewel of Kansas City Public Schools. We’ll talk about it, but you won’t stop. Instead, use the left lane to turn left onto Woodland Avenue...

Turn left onto Woodland.

Lincoln Prep is one of the best ranked schools in Missouri. At one time, black schools were bastions of excellence. Margaret May, longtime Kansas Citian explains.
[i16_2017-11-01_Margaret-May_...

Take a right to go west on 27th street. Then get in the left lane quickly. You’ll be turning left onto Paseo.

Take a left to go south on the Paseo.

Your next turn will be a left onto 35th street.

Earlier, we left Sid when he began his crusade to fight white flight. He tried to keep his white neighbors from falling prey to the machinations ...

Take a left to go east on 35th Street.

You’ll only go four blocks, then you’ll turn right to go south on Woodland.

Take a right to go south on Woodland.

Go straight for two more blocks. We’re headed to the Ivanhoe Neighborhood Center, just after 37th Street.

Cross 37th and turn right into the Nutter Ivanhoe Neighborhood Center. Or just find a place to park along the street. We’re about to finish the tour.

In 2000 the neighborhood worked on a strategic plan and over six month time period they came up with a plan that included more than a hundred items that covered beautification, crime and safety, ...