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red and pink stamped city scene

From Wettest Block to Wickedest City

Presented By
John Simonson

It was inevitable that the bawdy, alcohol-infused culture of 19th-century Kansas City would draw the ire of social reformers and prohibitionists. The West Bottoms and its cluster of saloons near the state line figured prominently in the controversy, with the 1700 block of West Ninth Street drawing particular notoriety for its rows of drinking establishments and illicit activity. 

By the early 1900s, dry advocates had declared that “wettest block” a menace and set their sights on shutting it down. 

Local historian John Simonson, the author of Prohibition in Kansas City, Missouri and Paris of the Plains, examines the West Bottoms’ boozy rise, decline during Prohibition, and reboot in Boss Tom Pendergast’s wide-open town of the 1930s. The program is co-presented by the Historic West Bottoms in conjunction with its Heritage Days celebration. 

Watch
Upcoming in this series:
4
May
Built on Bread and Beef: The West Bottoms and Kans...
Central Library |
2:00pm
Watch or Listen to Past Events in this Series:
6
Apr
American Carnage: Wounded Knee, 1890
Central Library |
2:00pm
11
Nov
Kansas City and How It Grew: 1822-2011
Central Library |
2:00pm
6
May
Prohibition in Kansas City
Central Library |
2:00pm
16
Sep
If It Looks Like a Man: Gender Identity, Female So...
Central Library |
2:00pm
red and pink stamped city scene

From Wettest Block to Wickedest City

Date & Location
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