Riverside City History
Gas and Burgers

One of Riverside's most unique periods might be termed its "American Graffiti" era, named after the movie depicting the "automobile culture" of the 1950s. One North Kansas City resident recalled growing up in this era. "We'd always go to Riverside, especially on Saturday nights," he said. "There were so many hamburger stands. It was just a lot of fun and everybody was there." Names like Dog-N-Suds, Griffs or Dairy Queen made the area popular with all ages.

About this same time, the Riverside Race Track was in operation for automotive races. Later, the Riverside Drive-In was popular. Especially on Friday and Saturday nights, Riverside was "the" place to be.

A related factor had an unusual impact. In the 1950s, Missouri allowed cities to levy a tax on gasoline and some cities had a fairly steep tax— up to seven or eight cents a gallon. Considering that gasoline might be as little as 17 cents a gallon, it was obvious that motorists would notice a tax that might be 30-50 percent of their cost. But Riverside had no such tax. As a result, people would drive from throughout the Kansas City area to "fill 'er up." Many made this a Sunday outing, taking the family for a drive to Riverside where they bought gasoline (hopefully for most of the week). Some of these motorists, traveling from as far as south Kansas City, liked the area so much that they eventually moved to Riverside.

NEXT»