Remember this? Petticoat Lane

Decades prior to being officially renamed by the City Council, a two block section of 11th Street had earned the nickname, “Petticoat Lane.”

As 11th Street heads east from Grand Boulevard to Main Street, it stops at Main before it turns south and continues eastward. For Victorian ladies visiting the many new clothing stores that catered to the latest fashions at that intersection, the wind might just blow a certain way, lifting long skirts slightly upward and revealing a hint of petticoat.

One of those retailers would eventually use the nickname to his benefit. Siegmund Harzfeld (1876-1944) opened his Parisian Cloak Company at 1108-1100 Main in 1891 and continued to expand until a new building was constructed across the street in 1913.  The eleven story building at 1101 Main housed a fine collection of ladies wear, including perfumes and furs, and also carried children’s clothing.

While some of the merchants had a dislike of the Petticoat Lane label and had suggested a counter nickname of Hogan’s Alley for Officer John Hogan who patrolled the area, Petticoat Lane had already been used as a title to a poem published in 1896 by Miss Minnie McIntyre (1873-1957). Music publisher Thomas H. West also penned a song, “With Jane on Petticoat Lane” about a decade later.

Harzfeld accepted the popularity of the nickname, and used Petticoat Lane as the address for the store, even though the actual address was on Main.  By 1937, he had registered Petticoat Lane as a trademark and was offering a line of dresses, shoes, handbags and a perfume with the Petticoat Lane label.

One such special offering was a silk scarf featuring an etching of a street scene on Petticoat Lane. Measuring 32 inches square, the scene depicts the lane as it would have appeared around 1940, looking east from the intersection. With Harzfeld’s on the left and Emery, Bird, Thayer, another popular department store on the right, it captures the height of downtown Kansas City’s days as a shopping destination, with the Bryant Building at 1100 Grand shown as the tallest building on the left.

In 1952, then-City Manager L.P. Cookingham had decorative signs reading “Petticoat Lane” installed below the 11th Street signage. The name change became official in 1966.

Harzfeld’s was one of the few downtown retailers that opened additional stores in the suburban shopping areas, with locations at the Country Club Plaza (1956), Blue Ridge Mall (1958), Corinth Square (1963) and Metcalf South (1967).  All these locations also offered items with Petticoat Lane branding.

By 1981, the Harzfeld family sold their stores to the Allied Stores Corporation but consumer shopping habits had continued to change to more casual fashions. The downtown store closed after the 1983 Christmas shopping season, and the remaining stores all closed, one by one, in 1984. The Harzfeld Building is now part of the Town Center Pavillion and uses the address One Petticoat Lane.

Want Northeast News articles sent straight to your inbox each week? Subscribe below!
Enter your email address and click on the Get Instant Access button.
We respect your privacy

Comments are closed.

  • Remember This? Baseball Cards

    11 hours ago
    by

    By Dorri Partain, Contributor Whether they’re square or round, baseball cards have always been a popular business giveaway item. Featuring […]


    Paseo YMCA central to city’s African American heritage

    11 hours ago
    by

    By Michael Bushnell, Publisher This week, in tandem with our summer interns’ story on Juneteenth, we spotlight the Paseo YMCA […]


    All aboard the Cotton Blossom for a grand show!

    May 24th, 2023
    by

    Michael BushnellPublisher This week, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the opening of Worlds of Fun on May 26, 1973, […]


    Remember This?

    May 24th, 2023
    by

    Dorri PartainContributor Would you dare to ride 3,470 feet of twisted terror? When completed in 1980, Worlds of Fun’s Orient […]


    Montgomery Ward, largest building west of the Mississippi!

    May 17th, 2023
    by

    Michael BushnellPublisher Upon its completion in 1914, the Montgomery Ward Distribution Center in Historic Northeast Kansas City was billed as […]


    Remember This?

    May 17th, 2023
    by

    Dorri PartainContributor Have you ever eaten here – where everything’s so dog-gone good? Started as a summer opportunity to earn […]


    Morse/Sumner School boasts diverse history

    May 10th, 2023
    by

    Michael BushnellPublisher This week’s Historic Postcard is a Real Photo Postcard published by the North American Postcard Company of Kansas […]


    Remember This?

    May 10th, 2023
    by

    Dorri PartainContributor After years of working as a bank clerk, William S. Burroughs (1855-1898) switched vocations to concentrate on creating […]


    Punchin’ your ticket with a smile on the Swift & Far RY

    May 3rd, 2023
    by

    Michael BushnellPublisher “One smile from you in Kansas City would transfer me to heaven.” So indicates the message on the […]


  • Remember This?

    May 3rd, 2023
    by

    Dorri PartainContributor From the ancient Egyptians to the movie stars of the silver screen, eyebrows have been shaded, plucked, and […]


    Sufferin’ Blowouts!
    I should have bought Goodyears!

    April 26th, 2023
    by

    Michael BushnellPublisher This advertising postcard for the M&T Tire Company at 4629 Troost was produced in the late 1920s and […]


    Remember This?

    April 26th, 2023
    by

    Dorri PartainContributor Insert your coins and watch as a unique toy is created before your eyes! The novelty of Mold-A-Rama […]


    Cliff Drive’s legacy endures time as a world-class park

    April 19th, 2023
    by

    Michael BushnellPublisher “Cliff Drive, Kansas City, Missouri.” So reads the description on the front of this postcard published by the […]


    REMEMBER THIS?

    April 19th, 2023
    by

    Dorri PartainContributor Giddy-up! Young, aspiring buckaroos looked forward to the weekly trip to the grocery store to insert a coin […]


    As Kansas City grew, so grew the City Market

    April 12th, 2023
    by

    Michael BushnellPublisher Building the imposing new City Hall at Fifth and Main streets required the installation of roughly 60 circular […]


    Remember This?

    April 12th, 2023
    by

    Dorri PartainContributor Baby’s first shoes and first steps can be remembered and displayed using a process that will preserve them […]


    McCleary’s Parkview Clinic, good for what ails ya

    April 5th, 2023
    by

    Michael BushnellPublisher Dr. Aretas S. McCleary arrived in Kansas City in 1893 from Montgomery County, MO., to practice medicine. Specializing […]


    Remember this?

    April 5th, 2023
    by

    Dorri PartainContributor Which came first- the deviled egg or the deviled egg plate? The versatile egg has been boiled, sliced, […]


  • Northeast Newscast


  • Remember This?

    Remember This?

    March 29th, 2023
    by

  • Want articles sent directly to your inbox each week? Subscribe below!
    We respect your privacy and will not distribute your information.