Several Missouri steamboats and in the background the newly finished Armour-Swift-Burlington Bridge are pictured on a 1912 post card. According to the legend on the reverse side, the card was “published expressly for S.H. Knox & Co.” (a five-and 10-cent store). Construction of the bridge, which had been started by W.E. Winner in 1890, was delayed for years for lack of funds. It was a momentous day for Clay and Platte countians when the two-deck structure, one for railroads and one for the Interurban Electric lines and vehicle traffic, was finally opened to the public in December 1911. The days of the ferry boat from Kansas City to Clay County were over. North Kansas City boomed. Nearby the blue grass pasture land north of the river became suburban homesites, and hard-surfaced roads replaced the old dirt roads. Many of the old Kansas City post cards of the day feature views of the new mile-long bridge. The large crowd pictured at the boat landing at the foot of Main Street indicates the popularity of the excursion steamboat. Ladies carry raised umbrellas to shield them from the sun. River breezes were welcome, in a day of no air conditioning. A Kansas City Star tory of June 11, 1916, told of one of the popular excursion boats, the “Chester:” “The Chester is now declared to be the finest, safest and best arranged excursion boat on the Western rivers. It is nearly a block link, is laid on a broad secure steel hull, is certified by the government to carry a thousand passengers. “The three decks have been rebuilt with elaborate care to attract a high-class patronage. The dance floor is unexcelled in Kansas City, the refreshment deck and Japanese service and the observation deck attract those who do not care to dance. “The boat is chartered for practically every night this season, except Saturdays, Sundays and holidays which are always open to the general public. The matinee excursions are open every afternoon except Monday.” Kansas City Times, June 6, 1980.
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