meet our neighbors
Samari
Samari Matthews is a full time student at MCC Penn Valley and also works part time at the Ward Parkway Mall. She is the fourth of seven siblings that her “Granny” has raised in Santa Fe Place and she’s a competitive swimmer! (Granny herself sports some impressive aqua credentials.) In Somari’s own words, “I strive to make change in my community and create legacy for my future. Right now, I’m enrolled in my high school credit classes and also some college courses working towards my diploma and Associates Degree. When I get to University, I plan to major in Political Science and Business Management".” Way to go Samari! We’ll be watching for that splash you are planning to make in the world.
Zach
Santa Fe’s original splash artist, Zachary Hinton, made his first celebrity appearance on the cover of “Santa Fe Place: Moving to the Top of the Hill”. He is currently pursuing a career in broadcasting in Atlanta. A 2015 graduate of UMKC, his ever boiling optimistic personality (you can dive into it here) lets you in on why we continue to claim Zach as one of our neighborhood’s splashiest success stories ever.
Miss Lowe
The indefatigable Rosemary Lowe continues to grace our Santa Fe Place neighborhood with her determination to make the world a better place for everyone. She began her community service alongside KC civil rights leader Leon Jordan and is pictured here receiving yet another accolade at the 2019 KC Martin Luther King Celebration. She continues to serve the greater KC community and Jackson County here and, well sometimes it seems, everywhere.
That’s Walter on the far right with some of his Santa Fe Place friends.
Walt and a Mouse
In 1910 the Walter Elias Disney family moved from Chicago to a bungalow in Santa Fe Place located at 3028 Bellefontaine Avenue. Walt was 9 years of age. Legend tells us that the first Mickey drawings sprang into life inside the studio garage which still stands on the property. So, the mice in our Santa Fe Gardens are almost certainly the genetic heirs of that orignal mouse which inspired the creation of Mickey. Walt also worked as a paper boy in the Santa Fe neighborhood and attended school a few blocks away at the D.A. Holmes (known then as Benton Elementary). A few years later he launched his professional career creating Laugh-O-Gram Film Studios at 31st and Troost Avenue just 20 blocks west across mid-town.
Find Out Who’s NextDoor
Currently, 271 Santa Fe residents are participants on the community website NextDoor. If you already live in Santa Fe Place, we encourage you to join the conversation today!