Historic Nutterville

In midtown Kansas City, you may have noticed a group of brightly colored residential buildings on Archibald, Central and Baltimore Street near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Drive.

These homes date back to the Civil War, and were platted in 1900. They represent the neighborhood’s  revitalization when the houses were rehabilitated and changed to commercial use. 

Commonly known as “Nutterville”, they began with the local lending firm James B. Nutter Associates, which purchased these properties in the 1980s and 1990s, converting them to provide office space for small businesses. Historic siding, porches, and some historic windows were retained in these renovation projects. The Nutter company landscapes the properties and today, they are home to small creative businesses and known for their distinctive palette. He got the idea to paint them the bright colors often used in Colorado mountain towns.

The Nutter company landscapes the properties and today, they are home to small creative businesses and called “Nutterville” for their distinctive palette.

The area owes its name to James B. Nutter.

Nutter is credited for refusing to adhere to the discriminatory lending practices of the day and the company was one of the first to make home loans in black neighborhoods and to single women on a large scale. Nutter's support for racial equality is well known. For example, in 1964 Nutter canvassed his own neighborhood to help pass a city ordinance that made it illegal for shops, hotels and restaurants to refuse service to black patrons. His was one of only two predominantly white wards to vote in favor of the ordinance

Nutter and his wife Annabel had two children. Nutter Sr. died on July 7, 2017, in Kansas City.