© 2024 Kansas City Public Radio
NPR in Kansas City
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

PHOTOS: What Kansas Looked Like Then And What It Looks Like Now

If you happen to stand in one spot in a Kansas town or city, did you ever wonder what things looked like 100+ years ago?  If so, “then and now” books are just the ticket. They are part of a genre that uses photos to contrast the past with the present in cities and states around the country. 

Kansas City historian Monroe Dodd’s “Kansas Then and Now” is fourth in a series of books about the region; the other three were about Kansas City.    Featuring historical scenes from Kansas plains and prairie, the photos take you back to when Kansas was a territory and to the late 20th century.

Follow along with the slideshow as KCUR's Susan B. Wilson talks to Monroe Dodd about their favorite photographs exploring Kansas' past and present.

This story was produced for KC Currents, which airs Sundays at 5pm with a repeat Mondays at 8pm. To listen on your own schedule, subscribe to the KCCurrents podcast.

A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Susan admits that her “first love” was radio, being an avid listener since childhood. However, she spent much of her career in mental health, healthcare administration, and sports psychology (Susan holds a PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania and an MBA from the Bloch School of Business at UMKC.) In the meantime, Wilson satisfied her journalistic cravings by doing public speaking, providing “expert” interviews for local television, and being a guest commentator/contributor to KPRS’s morning drive time show and the teen talk show “Generation Rap.”
Every part of the present has been shaped by actions that took place in the past, but too often that context is left out. As a podcast producer for KCUR Studios and host of the podcast A People’s History of Kansas City, I aim to provide context, clarity, empathy and deeper, nuanced perspectives on how the events and people in the past have shaped our community today.

In that role, and as an occasional announcer and reporter, I want to entertain, inform, make you think, expose something new and cultivate a deeper shared human connection about how the passage of time affects us all. Reach me at hogansm@kcur.org.
KCUR serves the Kansas City region with breaking news and award-winning podcasts.
Your donation helps keep nonprofit journalism free and available for everyone.