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These days all you’ll find near the intersection of Delaware Avenue and 8th Street is some green space and a few surface parking lots. But, prior to the 6th Street Trafficway (now I-70) being cut through the heart of Kansas City’s downtown, it was a bustling part of downtown’s garment district.
Published by E. W. Meredeth Advertising of Peoria, Ill., this promotional postcard shows the women’s shoe department of the G.R. Kinney Co located at 814-16-18 Delaware, Kansas City, Mo. The card shows attentive salesmen helping women select a pair of shoes.
The walls are lined with a huge variety of women’s shoes, all, according to the description on the back: “Ladies Fine Footware, $1.98 – $3.98. The Same shoes for less money.” That was George Romanta (G.R.) Kinney’s mantra for his chain of stores then headquartered in upstate New York.
This ambitious young man revolutionized footwear retailing by offering popularly-priced shoes to working Americans. His concept of excellent service to customers, a commitment to local communities, the best footwear for the price, ample opportunities and rewards for all employees, and a fierce dedication to entrepreneurship remained a steady corporate-wide goal through the years.
One-hundred four years after the opening of the first Kinney Shoe Store, the company ceased operations, closing all of its specialty footwear operations, including 467 Kinney Shoe Stores and 103 Footquarters Stores.
The “Great American Shoe Store” was no more.
Michael Bushnell
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