city street from 1940

The 1940 Kansas City Project

By 1940, Kansas City authorities had finally deposed “Boss Tom” Pendergast. In the spring of that year, teams of laborers from the Works Progress Administration began a months-long effort to produce Jackson County’s first systematic property tax assessment.

Part of their job was to photograph every taxable structure in the county. Many of those photos survive in the Missouri Valley Special Collections.

Local historian John Simonson traces the project and presents fascinating examples from this remarkable photographic record from 1940.

Upcoming in this series:
Watch or Listen to Past Events in this Series:
Sunday, February 26, 2023 2:00pm
Lawrence, Kansas, photographer Ann Dean discusses the impact and inspiration found in three seminal books – The Learning Tree, A Choice of Weapons, and Half Past Aut...
26
Jan
The Overland Trails and the Founding of Independen...
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2:00pm
18
Aug
Rediscovering Kansas City's Pioneer Mothers
Central Library |
2:00pm
23
Apr
Kansas City Beer: A History of Brewing in the Hear...
Central Library |
2:00pm
4
Mar
Freedom, Inc. and Black Political Empowerment
Central Library |
2:00pm
city street from 1940

The 1940 Kansas City Project

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