Learning from Washington Wheatley
African-American Heritage in Kansas City
Written by Jacob Wagner, Ph.D., and Ashley Winchell
The Washington Wheatley neighborhood in Kansas City, Missouri is located southeast of the downtown and just a few blocks from the historic 18th and Vine Jazz District. Since January 2008, the Department of Architecture, Urban Planning and Design at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) has worked with the Washington Wheatley Neighborhood Improvement Association to develop a neighborhood action plan and strategy for neighborhood revitalization. Neighborhood conservation and identification of African-American cultural heritage is a central component of the planning strategy.
The Washington Wheatley neighborhood raises important questions for historic preservation in inner city locations where there has been a loss of integrity due to the demolition of historic homes and significant population decline. At the same time, these urban neighborhoods are often the most historic locations in the city, with a wealth of heritage resources that are unrecognized by local historic surveys and invisible on the street.
Through an urban planning and design studio, our team developed a historic resources survey and strategy for heritage tourism based on the themes of African-American heritage, the civil rights movement and Kansas City jazz. As a neighborhood that once straddled Kansas City's racial boundaries during the era of segregation, streets like Montgall Avenue embody the experience of racial conflict. Local and national landmarks like the Holy Name Church at 23rd and Benton Boulevard represent the difficult history of Kansas City's struggle with desegregation and civil rights. In April 1968, after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., police violence against high school students escalated to several days of rioting in the area.
Popular perception of Kansas City's African-American history is often confined to the 18th and Vine historic district, but the people who made the district a vital hub of black commerce and culture lived in east side neighborhoods like Washington Wheatley. Prominent African-American leaders lived in the neighborhood and located the headquarters of their civic organizations within its boundaries. The first integrated hospital in Kansas City, Queen of the World, was located at the center of Washington Wheatley, and other important residents included local journalist and civil rights activist Lucille Bluford and blues guitarist Sonny Kenner.
Several neglected landmarks remain empty and could provide a catalyst for revitalization. The Nicholson Building at 18th and Prospect is particularly important in terms of labor history, music heritage and African-American social history. This two-story, brick commercial structure once housed the Heart of America Training School and the Casa Loma Ballroom, both owned and operated by local band leader and black entrepreneur Chauncey Downs.
The strategies and solutions developed by the UMKC team and the neighborhood leaders sought to retain the historic character and urban design of the neighborhood while emphasizing sustainable development. With one of the highest demolition rates in the city, the group called for a moratorium on demolition and encouraged the mothballing of more structures for future use. The team created designs for infill construction on Washington Wheatley's many vacant lots, complimenting the historic housing stock and setbacks, and developed lot size guidelines that also emphasized the original layout of the neighborhood. Historically significant structures were identified for their architectural or social history, in order to provide a better understanding of the neighborhood's heritage resources and lay the groundwork for community economic development.
Today the Washington Wheatley neighborhood is working to implement their neighborhood plan. Increased knowledge of the area's historical importance and its cultural heritage is playing an important role in changing attitudes toward the neighborhood's future and its historic built environment. While serious challenges remain, a renewed sense of purpose has developed through the neighborhood planning process. The case of Washington Wheatley and the university partnership led by UMKC demonstrates a holistic way to plan for historic preservation, urban conservation and landmark protection in a historic African-American neighborhood.
Jacob Wagner, Ph.D. is an assistant professor of urban planning and design at UMCK, where he teaches planning for historic preservation, urban planning and design studio, and other courses. He is also a board member of the Historic Kansas City Foundation and serves as the chair of its advocacy committee.
Ashley Winchell is currently completing a graduate degree in historic preservation at Tulane University in New Orleans. She currently works for the Make It Right organization in New Orleans. She is a graduate of UMKC's urban planning and design program and has worked with local planning and preservation firms in Kansas City.
