There’s nothing like a downtown Christmas

Michael Bushnell
Publisher


This promotional postcard was published by Kansas City-based postcard publisher James Tetirick, located at 619 W. 33rd. The Royal Family of Downtown Merchants commissioned the picture postcard that showcases “Christmas in Downtown Kansas City, Mo., King of Shopping Centers,” according to the printed legend on the back of the card.


The view is looking west on Petticoat Lane at Walnut in 1962, when downtown shopping was at its zenith, especially during the Christmas season, when merchant’s display windows were all outfitted with a different holiday theme. Merchants along Petticoat Lane dedicated their sidewalk facing display windows to intricately constructed dioramas showing Santa and his elves, reindeer, snowy country scenes and everything in between. Most of the displays were animatronic or had model trains running through them, loaded with brightly wrapped presents and decorations.


To the right in the photo Emery-Bird-Thayer can be seen with its classical arches fronting 11th Street. Across the street, the illuminated sign for Zales Jewelers can be seen just to the right of the famous corner clock. Farther down the block is Harzfeld’s Department Store. At the west end of Petticoat Lane on Main Street, the modern Macy’s illuminated tree can be seen, and next to that to the left, the sign for Peck’s Dry Goods.


The huge crown in the center of the postcard was one of nine such crowns that were custom made for downtown intersections by the Merchants Association of Greater Kansas City. Measuring roughly 13 feet in diameter and seven feet tall, each crown had 621 colored lights, plus the wrapped cables supporting the crowns had 250 colored lights each. The crowns weighed so much that it was necessary to have the support of a building at each of the four corners of an intersection. Frank Mann of The Mannequin Company designed and oversaw the installation of the crowns. Each crown had over 100 60-watt bulbs and required its own electrical transformer.


Kansas City’s crowns were copies of those used by the merchants on Regency Street in London. Each crown cost $28,000 to make and a little over $11,000 to install, bringing the total for each to just under $40,000 each. They were hung downtown between 1962 and 1969, but due to their heavy weight and several of the buildings that once supported the crowns being torn down, they were relegated to storage after the 1969 shopping season.


The crowns remained in storage until 1984 when they were sold to the city of Kansas City, Kan., for display. In the early 1990’s, they were sold to the city of Holton, Kan., and repurposed into playground equipment.


In 2004, the Zona Rosa shopping district at I-29 and Barry Road revived the traditions of the crowns and contracted the original company to design new crowns that now hang over key intersections in Zona Rosa.

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?

    September 27th, 2023
    by

    Dorri Partain Contributor Putt putt to the Pizza Hut so the kids can take home this bag puppet featuring Pizza Hut […]


    Nelly Don: The Musical debuts for local viewing

    September 27th, 2023
    by

    Dorri Partain Contributor A new, locally filmed production, “Nelly Don: The Musical” recounts the life of Nell Donnelly Reed, who found […]


    Saint Mary’s Hospital – Over a century of service

    September 27th, 2023
    by

    Michael Bushnell Publisher “Dear Cousin, I like the chickens fine. We got two eggs today. They are all counted here. Jennie, […]


    KC Together: New Media for Our City, Our Stories

    September 27th, 2023
    by

    SPONSORED CONTENT Kansas City Museum is working with Artist/Filmmaker Randy Bacon and his movement platform 8 Billion Ones to create KC Together, a new series […]


    Remember This

    September 20th, 2023
    by

    Dorri Partain Contributor Saving a summer’s bountiful garden harvest for later in the year was essential for homemakers decades ago, and […]


    The world’s most beautiful farm

    September 20th, 2023
    by

    Michael Bushnell  Publisher Shortly after lumber baron Robert A. Long completed his palatial Gladstone Boulevard mansion in 1910, he began […]


    Remember this?

    September 13th, 2023
    by

    Dorri Partain Contributor What do you want to be when you grow up? For young travelers flying the friendly skies, […]


    YMCA served Downtown through its heyday

    September 13th, 2023
    by

    Michael BushnellPublisher While the Charles E. Whitaker Federal Courthouse might be an iconic addition to Kansas City’s skyline, the now […]


    Remember this

    September 6th, 2023
    by

    Dorri Partain Contributor Colorful and practical, bandanas can be used as a fashion accessory or simply to wipe one’s hands […]


  • Shipyards in the Midwest? One of the biggest was at the confluence of the Missouri and Kaw rivers

    September 6th, 2023
    by

    Michael Bushnell Publisher This Linen-era, Art Tone, “Glo-Var” finished postcard was published exclusively by the Beals Postcard Company of Des […]


    Remember this… 

    August 30th, 2023
    by

    Dorri PartainContributor America’s favorite collie was created for a short story written by a British author. Eric Knight (1897-1943) used […]


    An oasis during the dog days of summer

    August 30th, 2023
    by

    Michael Bushnell Publisher With the dog days of summer wrapping up, it seems fitting to showcase something cool and historic […]


    Remember This…

    August 23rd, 2023
    by

    Dorri PartainContributor Rock and Roll music’s “British Invasion” started off in a big way when The Beatles arrived in America […]


    Diamond Transfer Company At Your Service

    August 23rd, 2023
    by

    Michael BushnellPublisher This real photo postcard was published by the North American Postcard Company of Kansas City, Mo. The view […]


    Remember This?

    August 16th, 2023
    by

    Dorri PartainContributor Now I know my ABC’s, won’t you spell along with me? Whether used at school or at home, […]


    A century later, postcard view largely the same

    August 16th, 2023
    by

    Michael BushnellPublisher The intersection of Thompson Avenue and Gladstone Boulevard looks only a little different in 2023 than it did […]


    Remember This?

    August 9th, 2023
    by

    Dorri PartainContributor Can you fit all your school supplies inside a cigar box? Elementary school students in the 1960’s often […]


    Bales Baptist Church, Men’s Bible Class

    August 9th, 2023
    by

    Michael BushnellPublisher In 1886 Thomas Stafford and Charles Murray, students at William Jewell College in Liberty, Mo., along with some […]


  • Northeast Newscast


  • Remember This?

    Remember This?

    August 2nd, 2023
    by

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