Tree-lined streets like these make Brookside one of Kansas City's most charming residential neighborhoods and a textbook example of the 1920s-era planned streetcar suburb. Developer J.C. Nichols — the same man behind Country Club Plaza — developed Brookside in the 1920s with an eye toward creating a neighborhood that felt complete: tree-lined streets, consistent architectural styles, and a small commercial district centered on what is now Brookside Boulevard that provided residents with everything they needed within walking distance. The streetcar that once connected Brookside to downtown Kansas City is long gone, but the neighborhood it created has endured remarkably intact.
The bungalows and Tudor revival homes along these streets have been lovingly maintained, and the shops and restaurants of the Brookside Market area attract residents from across the city. There is a farmers' market here on Saturdays from spring through fall. What Brookside represents, beyond its architectural pleasures, is an early attempt to design a neighborhood at a human scale — something that feels increasingly rare and valuable in an era of strip malls and cul-de-sacs.
Walk a few blocks in any direction and you will understand what Nichols was trying to create, whatever his other flaws.