16-619: Ward Parkway is a boulevard in Kansas City, Missouri , United States. Ward Parkway begins at Brookside Boulevard on the eastern edge of the Country Club Plaza and travels west 2.8 miles along Brush Creek as U.S. Route 56 before turning south near Kansas - Missouri state line. It continues south for 4 miles, terminating at Wornall Road near Bannister Road . A short spur, Brush Creek Parkway, connects Ward Parkway to Shawnee Mission Parkway at State Line Road . The street
32-439: Is a type of broad avenue planted with rows of trees, or in parts of North America , any urban highway or wide road in a commercial district. Boulevards were originally circumferential roads following the line of former city walls . In North American usage, boulevards may be wide, multi-lane thoroughfares divided with only a central median. The word boulevard is borrowed from French . In France, it originally meant
48-526: Is named after the family of local businessman and real estate tycoon Seth E. Ward (1820-1903), who owned property on both sides of the parkway. His family's mansion is located at 1032 West 55th Street along Ward Parkway and remains on the National Register of Historic Places . Ward Parkway has a wide, landscaped median , which is decorated with fountains and statuary . Many of Kansas City's finest large houses are along Ward Parkway as part of
64-552: The Kansas City Star . Nichols even moved into a house on this new development. Shortly following establishment of the U.S. Highway System , U.S. Route 50 was drawn concurrent to the section of Ward Parkway between Southwest Trafficway and State Line Road. Following many years of discussion, U.S. Route 56 additionally serviced this section of Ward Parkway beginning in 1957, with U.S. Route 50 being moved concurrent with Interstate 435 and Interstate 470 following
80-666: The American Institute of Planners and the American Society of Planning Officials, were merged into a single organization. The American Institute of Certified Planners is now the organization's professional branch. Like many professional organizations, the American Planning Association's main function is to serve as a forum for the exchange of ideas between people who work in the field of urban planning . The organization keeps track of
96-847: The National Register of Historic Places. These include the Park Manor Historic District at 910-920 Ward Parkway; the Serena Apartment Hotel, a nine-story Italian Renaissance Revival Villa, and the Alexander Majors Antebellum house at West 83rd. In 1996, design guidelines for building along the parkway were adopted, and new construction on the parkway requires a certificate from the Historic Preservation Committee. Boulevard A boulevard
112-480: The boulevard. The Kansas City Parks Department added Ward Parkway into its formal boulevard system. Nichols traveled to Italy and England to buy statues and monuments to place in the boulevard's wide median. He also placed ponds and decorative urns throughout the parkway's length. To promote his development, Nichols periodically placed photographs of the large houses being built along Ward Parkway in Sunday editions of
128-638: The flat surface of a rampart , and later a promenade taking the place of a demolished fortification. It is a borrowing from the Dutch word bolwerk ' bulwark '. Boulevards in Copenhagen : American Planning Association The American Planning Association ( APA ) is a professional organization representing the field of urban planning in the United States . APA was formed in 1978, when two separate professional planning organizations,
144-448: The latter's completion in 1979. This half-mile section of Ward Parkway is maintained as U.S. Route 56 to the present day. Some of the most prominent Kansas City families chose to build their homes on Ward Parkway (notable examples include Tom Pendergast House , Bernard Corrigan House , and Mack B. Nelson House ). By the time Evan S. Connell wrote Mrs. Bridge in 1959, the proximity of a prominent Kansas Citian's house to Ward Parkway
160-400: The passion “by both citizens and city government to maintain the parkway has allowed it to remain one of the area's most coveted addresses with historic homes, neighborhood parks, picturesque fountains, ornamental monuments, and rolling landscapes.” The Ward Parkway Center Community Improvement District , the area contained by W 85th Terrace, Ward Parkway, W 89th Street, and State Line Road,
176-595: The planned Country Club District . Download coordinates as: Ward Parkway was created as part of developer J.C. Nichols 's overall plans for the Country Club District . Desiring a boulevard that would exceed the aesthetic value of all other streets in Kansas City, Nichols hired landscape architect George Kessler , who had designed several other boulevards, parks, and neighborhoods throughout Kansas City, Missouri , including Hyde Park . The street
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#1732773198546192-489: The various improvement efforts underway around the country, which may include the improvement or construction of new parks , highways and roads, or residential developments . The organization is also a starting point for people looking for employment. The association also publishes the Journal of the American Planning Association ( JAPA , ISSN 0194-4363 ). JAPA was founded in 1935 as Planners' Journal , and
208-677: Was created in 2011 to allow the city to levy a one percent sales tax to help fund parkway projects and redevelop the area. One project that benefited from the District is the Ward Parkway Center, a large indoor shopping center near the southern end of the parkway. In addition, the city allocated more than $ 9 million for the maintenance and improvements of park grounds, fountains and monuments, and recreational facilities along parkways. Several sites and buildings along Ward Parkway are designated as National Historic Sites and are listed on
224-543: Was from 1943 known as Journal of the American Institute of Planners ( ISSN 0002-8991 ). The American Planning Association holds an annual national conference that attracts planners, local government officials, planning commissioners, advocates and planning students from across the United States, Canada and the world. Each conference hosts several hundred individual sessions with thousands of attendees. The association has 47 state/regional chapters, such as
240-418: Was named after prominent Kansas City attorney Hugh Campbell Ward (1864-1909), a business partner of J.C. Nichols who donated his family property to the city. Though he died before the papers were signed, his wife, Vassie James Ward, followed his will. As Nichols platted the district, beginning in 1906, he reserved space for Ward Parkway. The largest lots in the district were reserved for houses to be built along
256-570: Was seen as an indication of that person's place in Kansas City society. Continuing to today, the perceived social capital associated with living in proximity to Ward Parkway has made it home to a disproportionate number of Kansas City's wealthiest, most educated, and healthiest residents. In 2012, Ward Parkway was named a Great Street in the American Planning Association 's annual list of Great Places in America, citing that
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