A 24-page photographic brochure of Views of Kansas City put out by the Emery-Bird-Thayer department store in 1905 pictures Kansas City's magnificent public buildings, splendid churches, fine homes, up-to-date schools, boulevards and parks.A paragraph describing the Paseo states: The beautiful Paseo, one of the most noted sections of the Kansas City park system, is constantly thronged with visitors and has become better known than its prototype in the City of Mexico. The brochure contains a picture of the Paseo at Tenth Street, and shows this 1905 post card scene of the pergola with its vine-entwined columns. The pergola remains today, and extensive repairs recently were made on it by the park board. All of the old buildings in the entire block directly across the street to the east have been razed for urban renewal. Kansas City Times, April 17, 1971. Speaking the Public Mind - Mr. Frank Vaydik, city park director, certainly should be commended for the interest he has taken in bringing back some of the beauty of the Paseo, from Troost Lake Drive to 9th Street. He has planted flower gardens at intervals along the drive, opened a long unused and forgotten fountain at the end of the drive at 9th Street and most of all he has repaired and saved the pergola at 10th and Paseo from destruction. The picture of the pergola in The Star recently and the comment by Mrs. Sam Ray was very interesting to me, as it brought back pleasant memories of my youth in the horse and buggy days. The drive along Paseo and out to the Cliff Drive spring with the family was a Sunday outing to be remembered. My family has owned property and paid taxes in the now-blighted area of the city for more than 75 years and I am also a taxpayer who believes that statues and landmarks should be kept in repair and not removed from their original locations. This preserves the history of the park system and creates interest for the many tourists who pass through. Portia J. Powell. Kansas City, Mo. Kansas City Star, June 11, 1971.
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