Laurie Perry Cookingham was city manager of Kansas City, Missouri from 1940-1959. Because of his excellent reputation, he was hired to clean up the political patronage system that had prevailed in Kansas City under Tom Pendergast, whose rule ended with the campaign of 1940. Cookingham accepted the challenge and inherited one of the worst situations in the history of American city government. After seven years under Cookingham, Kansas City's government was rated one of the best in the nation.

During his 19-year tenure as city manager of Kansas City (the longest tenure for a city manager in any American city) Cookingham engineered many changes with maximum efficiency and minimal bureaucracy. Among his many accomplishments, he is credited with conceiving the city's metropolitan freeway system. Cookingham has often been called the "Dean of City Managers" and was highly regarded by both the citizens of the cities in which he served and by his administrative peers worldwide.

The L. Perry Cookingham Collection contains XIII series of material, both personal and professional. The 1,821 photographs (Series XI) in the collection date from the late 19th century to the early 1990's. The photographs are of a personal and professional nature and include family members as well as local, national and international celebrities and political figures. They are divided into the following sub-series: Michigan (Flint, Saginaw); Kansas City, MO; Fort Worth, TX; International Locations (Germany, Japan, Brazil); the People to People International organization; Miscellaneous Professional photos; Kansas City Parks and Recreation Dept. photos; the Saddle and Sirloin Club; Personalities and Personal photos, including photos of Homes and Travels.

The photographs are in black and white and color formats and are of various dimensions. The photograph collection also includes 563 stereoscopic slides and 24 35-mm slides which have also been scanned and included in this digital resource. The slides have been divided into the following sub-series: Kansas City Scenes; Municipal Auditorium; Roads & Bridges; Monuments; Swope Park Zoo; Professional KC; Fort Worth; International City Manager’s Association (ICMA); Saddle & Sirloin Club; Famous People; Starlight Theater; Kansas City 51 Flood; Personal; and Miscellaneous.

Acknowledgments

The University of Missouri-Kansas City University Libraries are grateful for the assistance with this web project provided by the University of Missouri-Library Systems Office, especially by Kurt Kopp, Assistant Director - Electronic Resources, Philip Redmon - Programmer Analyst and George Rickerson - UM Assistant Vice President for Library Systems and Executive Director, MOBIUS Consortium.