By Michael Bushnell
Northeast News
September 30, 2015

The three-acre lake shown on the front of this black and white postcard was once part of an area of ramshackle shanties called Vinegar Hill and bordered OK Creek, which flowed in a shallow gulch that is now covered entirely by Union Station.

Land acquisition for the new park began in 1900 and culminated in 1926, when the entire 176-acre tract had been secured. The park was a pet project of George Kessler, a landscape architect hired by the city’s Parks Board to develop the city’s fledgling Parks and Boulevards system. Kessler, however, encountered vigorous opposition to his plan for the ugly gulch that was considered a slum at the time.

However, Kessler had the backing of August R. Meyer — then president of the park board — and William Rockhill Nelson, owner of The Kansas City Star. The Board of Park Commissioners reported in 1907, “The ground work of a very beautiful park has been largely done, most of the roadways have been built and are now serving a dual use for vehicles as well as pedestrians and there should be at once a complete path system, at least on that portion of the property where the ground surface has been put in final condition.”

In 1906, a committee made up of former Santa Fe Trail Wagon-masters and freighters were appointed to document the route of the old trail through the burgeoning city. They rode around town with surveyors and marked appropriate spots where historic markers could be later placed. Carved out of Rose Granite and designed by architect John Van Brunt, 18 markers were placed along the old Santa Fe Trail route in Kansas City, including one near 30th and Broadway in Penn Valley Park.

The postcard was mailed to Mrs. Louisa Louck of 3519 Hall St., Dallas, on Sept. 7, 1922. The message on the back reads, “Dear Sir, Arrived here 2 hours late. Had my lunch fast. Leave here 2:30. Is as warm here as in Dallas. With love, Josie.”