Troost Rooster

Troost Avenue is a stretch of geography and history of such scope and density that Thomas Pynchon might, if he knew about it, find a good novella there between his long graphomaniacal novels. Named for Dutch doctor Benoist Troost, the road had been an American Indian hunting ground and had once contained a stretch called “Millionaire’s Row,” the city’s original elite residential district. Pynchon would be picking up the phone and calling his publisher by the time he learned that Troost became Kansas City’s racial dividing line. The Rev. David Paisius Altschul compiled 200 Years on Troost, a photo exhibit documenting the street’s history. Accompanied by written commentary, it’s on display
at the Kansas City, Missouri, Central
Library (14 West 10th Street, 816-701-3400) through October 17.— Chris Packham

Aug. 14-Oct. 17, 2010