Looking Down Mass
Postcards taken through the decades help to commemorate how Massachusetts Street has changed over time. From dirt roads to cement streets, the view may be different but the appeal is the same.
Lawrence National Bank can be seen on the right side of this postcard. Postmarked 1905.
Taken around 1909, Merchants Bank is featured on the left side.
A view of Mass Street looking north in 1910.
A more colorful version of Mass Street, this 1911 depiction shows off the many forms of transit used around that time.
Postmarked 1912, this postcard shows a streetcar traveling down Mass.
Another scene of Mass, taken around 1915, shows a less crowded street.
Created several decades after the previous postcards, this postcard offers a more modern view of Mass Street.
Military men march down the street.
A long standing tradition in Lawrence, the Christmas parade attracts many citizens of Lawrence downtown.
The Round Corner Drug Store is the main feature of this postcard manufactured around 1970.
Lawrence began using a form of a street railway system in 1871. In the beginning, the streetcars were powered by horse or mule teams. In 1909 the first electric streetcar was installed in Lawrence. The main focus of the routes were around the University of Kansas and taking residents to and from Massachusetts Street. The streetcars added a certain convenience, mostly during inclement weather, but for the most part they were extremely loud and sometimes dangerous during the winter. In 1933 the streetcar came to an end in Lawrence when it was decided that buses would be more useful.
Even though a previous streetcar system had been in place, Lawrence needed to install new lines to accomodate for the electric line.
Construction was completed in time for the first electric streetcar to begin its route on September 19, 1909.
Car No. 109 waits to be used for the first time.
The first route taken by Car No. 109 started at the Santa Fe Depot and drew a large crowd of spectators.
In April of 1911, Lawrence was struck by a tornado. The devistation was massive and many homes and businesses were severely damaged. Mass Street's damage was well documented and several images were turned into postcards.
