Nocturnal Wanders - West Bottoms

Visiting the past at night is always interesting. When even warehouses were treated as art. 

 

933 Mulberry Avenue

 At the corner of Mulberry and St. Louis Avenues there has been a building since 1878.   First was the Ridnour Baker & Company warehouse.  It was constructed right next to the railroad tracks to facilitate easy shipping. It was the largest wholesale grocery warehouse West of the Mississippi.    The first building was flooded in 1903 and a second constructed in 1910.  In 1914 that building burned and was replaced with the structure we see today... After Union Station moved to its present location, the West Bottoms began a slow decline.  That and other factors led to the dissolution of Ridnour Baker in 1936.         In 1978 Weld Wheels moved into the building and used it until 2003.  It has been vacant ever since.     At one time it was slated to be lofts, but the latest plan calls for its demolition.   The above image is a drawing of the building ca 1928. 

                                                          Sandborn map, 1895 - 1907. 

                                          St. Louis Avenue looking West from the building. 

Summer Night West Bottoms

Image taken from Case Park. 

Sunset and Moonrise

 Top photo taken yesterday, January 18th, of sunset from Kessler Park.  Below, taken in the 90s... from the West Bottoms of moonrise... scan from a slide.

The Bottoms Of West

 A few images from KC's iconic West Bottoms.  It's slowly being renovated one building at a time, but some of these rough edges are still capture worthy.

One-Hundred Years Young

The Twelfth Street Viaduct was completed in 1915 thus increasing ready access to the West Bottoms.

The City On A Hill

Hickory Street Crossing #2

                                                          West Bottoms, Hickory Street.

Uprights On The Dock

                            In back of an old building in the West Bottoms... waiting for re-use...

Bridges Over The River Kaw

                                    Pedestrian, auto, and rail heading to Kansas City, Kansas.

Dodge

                    West Bottoms resident.   Nikon D3, 14-24mm.  Exposure not remembered.

West Bottoms, May 12th

 Love the West Bottoms.  It's hard to spoil decay.  Many textures and surprises.  Cloudy mostly.  

 All shots taken with the Nikon D800  (which is the most amazing camera I've ever owned) with either the 24-70mm or 14-24mm lens.   Exposures mostly ISO 100.  F5.6 for the most part.