The title of the old post card reads Main Street - North from Twelfth Street, Kansas City, Mo. but the title is in error. The location is Grand Avenue, north from 12th. The card was published by the Elite Post Card Co. of Kansas City and the error in the location is without explanation.At the right is the Robert Keith Furniture and Carpet Co. Beyond that, farther north, is the old Kansas City Star building at the northeast corner of 11th and Grand. This was its fifth location in Kansas City. Both buildings are gone today.Over the entrance of Robert Keith's was a large, gold-lettered sign displaying the name of the store. The store carried fine furniture as well as carpets, oriental rugs and other home furnishings. Robert Keith, the owner, had come from Leavenworth, Kan., in 1881 and established his first store in 1882 at 811-813 Main. Later the store moved to new locations, as business grew. It moved in 1901 to the six-story Keith Building, built for him by Thomas Swope. In 1926 the firm moved to a still larger building at 13th and Baltimore. From a northeast mansion on Independence Avenue Robert Keith often rode horseback to work. He was remembered in his later years for his snowy white beard. His death occurred in 1940. The Kansas City Star Company moved to its present location at 18th and Grand in 1911, after which the Browning-King Clothing Co., for men and boys, occupied the site at 11th and Grand. The post card, in color and bearing a one-cent green stamp, was addressed to R.F. Schaeffler, Hillsboro, Kas., in 1912. Kansas City Times, February 19, 1982.
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