12th St. and Paseo

This postcard shows one of many decorative touches that adorned the Paseo in the early 1900s, when the luscious boulevard was born out of the City Beautiful Movement. In the late 19th century, the City Beautiful Movement aimed to beautify North American cities by developing architecture that promoted unity, dignity, and harmony within its urban communities. Early urban planners sought to bring the restorative powers of nature into the cities. Kansas City pioneered this movement with its plan for intertwining its parks and boulevards systems. By the early 20th century, picturesque parks harmoniously linked with systems of parkways and boulevards, made Kansas City the prototype of the City Beautiful Movement. . This cannon still stands at the 12th Street intersection, though the structure in the background is now the William T. Fitzsimons Memorial Fountain. It was erected in 1922 as a memorial to the first American officer to die in the First World War.