City Park, Lake and Canyon

Springs from the surrounding bluffs and forest furnished the clear waters of this man-made lake when it was built in North Terrace Park (now Kessler Park) near the turn of the century. George E. Kessler, early landscape architect who is credited with planning Kansas City's famous park and boulevard system, appreciated the rugged terrain of this 1899 park acquisition. In a report to the city dated 1907 Kessler wrote: With a few exceptions this entire property should always be maintained as a rugged, picturesque place, and very little attempt on the hillsides and valleys at so-called improvements in the form of fine lawns and garden schemes. The road seen to the right on the postcard (Cliff Drive) leads to Scarritt Point at the summit of the park. In the background Heims Brewery and part of an area known as the East Bottoms are seen near the Missouri River front. Through the years the lake became silt-filled, dried up and its bottom layered with old automobile tires and other debris. Today the lake is being restored, reshaped, scraped and deepened. Spring waters are again flowing. When completed it will be known as Lake Kessler. Kansas City Times, November 20, 1987.