The Paseo (Kansas City, Missouri)


The Paseo is a major north–south parkway in Kansas City, Missouri. It runs approximately in the center of the city: from Cliff Drive and Lexington Avenue on the bluffs above the Missouri River in the Pendleton Heights historic neighborhood, to 85th Street and Woodland Avenue. The parkway holds of boulevard parkland dotted with several Beaux-Arts-style decorative structures and architectural details maintained by the city's Parks and Recreation department.
The name for Kansas City's first major boulevard was suggested by the first president of the Parks Board, August R. Meyer, based on the Paseo de la Reforma in Mexico City. In 2019 the Paseo was renamed to Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd by the city council after which petitions to subject the change to a citywide vote were submitted. A vote to rename the boulevard back to The Paseo passed on November 5, 2019.

Background

Kansas City's extensive parkway and boulevard system is part of the City Beautiful Movement. The Paseo parkway is modeled on the Paseo de la Reforma in Mexico City; from which it takes its name. From its start at Cliff Drive, the original alignment changed to install the on-ramp to Interstate 35, it curves slightly southwest before heading almost due south for most of its length. A few city parks are located adjacent to The Paseo, such as Parade Park and Troost Park.
The parkway was laid out in the early 1900s by George Kessler under the direction of August Robert Meyer, first president of the Commission of Parks. The Paseo, conceived as a series of small parks, extended through a former slum area and contained intersections that featured a formal sunken garden, a pergola, and large fountains reminiscent of those at Versailles. Its construction was preceded by the eviction of African-American families that had to move to other overcrowded slums. Its northern end acquired an unsavory reputation during the early 1920s owing to the spread of prostitution, gambling and narcotics in the area. In the 1920s, with the re-emergence of the African-American population in the surrounding areas, the Paseo stood out as "ribbon of white in an otherwise black village", with more than half the white population living in the area having a Paseo address.
The Paseo intersects with US 71, US 40, I-70, US 24, and US 56. The Christopher S. Bond Bridge features direct north–south access onto the road via exit-entrance ramps. Trucks are prohibited from using the Paseo.

Points of interest along The Paseo