Saint Luke’s Health System, which is celebrating the 125th anniversary of Saint Luke’s Hospital in 2007, is proud to be a part of this commemoration of one of Kansas City’s most important neighborhoods. Encompassing the area near 43rd Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, this African American community, has a rich history and included the St. Luke African Methodist Episcopal Church and St. James Baptist Church, where services are still held today.

The neighborhood also included Penn School, founded in 1868. Located just north of the present site of Saint Luke’s Hospital, the school was the first of its kind west of the Mississippi. It closed in 1955. The photo to the left, circa 1896, is courtesy William Shelby of the William J. Shelby Collection.