The Paseo (Kansas City, Missouri)

A beaux-arts pergola with Doric columns from 1899 designed by architect John Van Brunt, covered with wisteria vines in the parkway.
Bas-relief sculpture of August Meyer by Daniel Chester French, American sculptor.

The Paseo (also known as Paseo Boulevard, or Paseo) is a major north–south parkway in Kansas City, Missouri. As the city's first major boulevard, it runs approximately 10 miles (16 km) (85 blocks) through the center of the city: from Cliff Drive and Lexington Avenue on the bluffs above the Missouri River in the Pendleton Heights historic neighborhood, to 85th Street and Woodland Avenue. The parkway holds 223 acres (0.90 km2) of boulevard parkland dotted with several Beaux-Arts-style decorative structures and architectural details maintained by the city's Parks and Recreation department.[1]

The name was suggested by the first president of the Parks Board, August R. Meyer (1851–1905), based on the Paseo de la Reforma in Mexico City.[2] In 2019, the city council renamed the street to Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd[3] and was immediately petitioned to subject the change to a citywide vote, in a strong controversy.[4] A vote to rename the boulevard back to The Paseo passed on November 5, 2019.[5]

  1. ^ Kansas City, Missouri Parks & Recreation, 2008 Reference Book, "Parkways," p. 24. Archived 2009-03-25 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "Inventory – Nomination form: 1016 The Paseo" (PDF). National Register of Historic Places. U.S. National Park Service. March 10, 1978. p. 7. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 January 2019. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  3. ^ After months of delay, Kansas City Council renames The Paseo for Martin Luther King, The Kansas City Star, January 24, 2019.
  4. ^ Save the Paseo Petition Officially Filed Archived 2019-05-01 at the Wayback Machine The Northeast News, April 26th, 2019.
  5. ^ Kansas City votes to change Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard back to The Paseo Archived 2019-11-06 at the Wayback Machine Fox 4 KC November 5th, 2019.