Kansas City's West 11th Street Historic District

 

West 11^th Street Historic District consists of three buildings at the corner of West 11^th Street and Central Street (N W). At the time of construction, the architects collaborated in design of the three buildings to make a unique classical architectural look. The American Hereford Cattle Breeders Association, 300 West 11^th Street, is a three-story, Neo-Classical Revival Building, constructed in 1919. Today it is occupied by the Financial Holding Corporation. Ararat Shrine Temple, 222 West 11^th Street, was constructed in the Neo-Classical Revival style in 1926. There are five arched openings on the ground floor. Today it is occupied by the Kirk Family YMCA. The W.R. Pickering Lumber Company Building, 301 West 11^th Street, is a Second Renaissance Revival style building constructed in 1925. Pickering was an early 20^th century lumber company that operated sawmills in Louisiana, Texas, and California. In Louisiana, the company owned more than 70,000 acres in Vernon Parish and operated mills in Pickering, Cravens, and Barham. In Texas, the company owned 120,000 acres in Sabine, San Augustine, and Shelby Counties, and operated a mill in Haslam, near the Texas-Louisiana state line. The company operated in Louisiana and Texas until 1930 when it exhausted its timber supply. Over 73,000 acres of the Texas property was incorporated into the Sabine National Forest. In California, the company operated a mill in Standard, California, near Sonora, in Tuolumne County. The company stopped operating in California in 1931. However, in the late 1930s, the company was resurrected as Pickering Lumber Company and continued operating its California mill until 1963. The Standard mill is now owned and operated by Sierra Pacific Lumber Company. Part of the company’s landholdings was sold to the state of California in 1953 for incorporation into Calaveras Big Trees State Park. Today the building is used by Americo Financial Life and Annuity Insurance Company.   

Kansas City's Quality Hill Historic Districts

 There are two historic districts on the west side of downtown. 

Quality Hill Center Historic District (N39^o6’15” W94^o35’30”) includes 4 apartment buildings on Jefferson and Pennsylvania Avenues between 8^th and 10^th Streets, dating to 1951 (817, 905, and 929 Jefferson Street, Quality Hill Towers) and 1958 (910 Pennsylvania Avenue). The apartments are typical of Modern Movement architecture. Three parking lots are considered contributing structures. The apartments were constructed as the first urban renewal project in Kansas City, under urban renewal legislation passed by the state and local government. The district adjoins the Quality Hill Historic District to the south of 10^th Street. The Riverfront Heritage Trail passes through the historic district on 9^th Street. Adjacent to the Historic District are the separately listed Pennbrooke Apartments, 604 West 10^th Street at Pennsylvania Avenue (N39^o6’10” W94^o35’29”), which date to 1926. By the 1920s, Quality Hill was declining as people were moving out of the area downwind of the packinghouses and railroad yards. Architect Nelle Peters was commissioned to design this three-story, brown brick building for working class and middle-income dwellers as part of an attempt to revitalize the neighborhood. Ermine Case Jr. Park adjoins the historic district to the west.

Quality Hill Historic District (N39^o6’0” W94^o35’25”) includes 18 buildings dating from 1856 to 1929, bordered by Broadway, 10^th Street, 14^th Street, and Jefferson Street. The focal point is Pennsylvania Avenue. Most houses and apartments are brick with stone or terra cotta ornamentation. Quality was another name for Republican, as the district housed Union sympathizers during and after the Civil War. The corner of 12^th and Washington in the district was the original site (1860) of St. Teresa’s Academy, which is now located at 5600 Main Street.

Buildings on West 11^th Street:

Montague Hotel, 412 West 11^th Street, is a four-story, Neo-Romanesque style building, dating to 1889. It is now apartments.

Normandy Apartments, 501 West 11^th Street, date to 1928.

LaHoma Hotel, 510 West 11^th Street, dates to 1913, and is a Neo-Classic style building.

The Chimes (Quality Hill) Apartments, 511 West 11^th Street, are Spanish Colonial Revival style and date to 1927.

Double Townhouse (Endicott Flats/Girls Club Association, 612 West 11^th Street, dates to 1889 and is built in the Victorian Eclectic style.

Buildings on West 12^th Street:

Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, 416 West 12^th Street, dates to 1882. The ornate Roman Catholic Church is topped with a central spire of 23-karat gold leaf. Design is English Rocco-Romanesque. There has been a Catholic church in this vicinity since 1826. A historic marker describes Reverend Bernard Donnelly, who arrived in 1845 to serve at the church. A historic marker erected by the Choteau Society commemorates the site of St. Francis Regis church, or Choteau’s Church, which served the French community in the West Bottoms from 1799 to 1844. Adjacent to the church was a cemetery. As Kansas City grew, the cemetery was abandoned and some burials were moved to Mount St. Mary cemetery at 23^rd and Jackson Streets. In 1986, construction at 11^th and Jefferson Street uncovered 16 additional burials that were missed during the first removal.

Surrey Court Apartments, 520 West 12^th Street, dates to 1927. It is built in the early Twentieth Century Modern style.

Cordova Hotel, 523 West 12^th Street, dates to 1889.

Buildings on West 13^th Street:

Grace and Holy Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, 415 West 13^th Street, dates to 1888. It is of Norman Gothic design and is richly embellished with Tiffany windows and a Tiffany rood screen.

Buildings on Jefferson Street:

C.A. Brockett Residence and Carriage House, 1025 Jefferson Street, dates to 1874. It houses the Youth Volunteer Corps.

Duplex at 1213 Jefferson Street dates to 1901. It is considered a “builder’s vernacular” style.

Buildings on Pennsylvania Avenue:

Saxon Flats, 1005 Pennsylvania Avenue, dates to 1900. The three-story building is Georgian Revival style.

David Slater Residence and Carriage House, 1020 Pennsylvania Avenue, dates to 1887. It is a Queen Anne style house.

Major William Warner Residence, 1021 Pennsylvania Avenue (N39^o6’6” W94^o35’27”), use the rank of the Union officer who owned it as part of the name. It is separately listed on the NRHP and dates to 1880. It is considered the “Builder’s Vernacular” style. Today it is occupied by the Working Families Friend and Greater Kansas City AFL-CIO.

Girls Club Association Dormitory, 1028 Pennsylvania Avenue, dates to 1928. It is a Spanish Colonial Revival style three-story brick building embellished with floriate terra cotta panels.

Isaac F. Guiwits Residence, 1029 Pennsylvania Avenue, dates to 1889. It is considered “Builder’s Vernacular” in style.

Mrs. George N. Blossom Residence, 1032 Pennsylvania Avenue, dates to 1888. It is a Victorian Eclectic style building and considered one of the last grand residences remaining on Quality Hill.

J.G. Conkey and Caroline F. Reeder Residence, 1308 Pennsylvania Avenue, dates to 1886. The Queen Anne style house is currently used by the Kansas City Sports Commission and Foundation.

Within the historic district, The Riverfront Heritage Trail passes through the Historic District, following Pennsylvania Avenue southbound, then turning west on 14^th Street; and Washington Street northbound, turning west on 11^th Street.

Kansas City's West Bottoms Historic District

 

West Bottoms-North Historic District (N39^o6’10” W94^o36’15”) consists of 29 buildings dating to 1880. The buildings are brick, from one to seven stories. This area became a hub of activity after the completion of the Hannibal Bridge in 1869, which funneled railroad traffic to the floodplain at the junction of the Kansas and Missouri Rivers. The district reflects the growth of Kansas City as a manufacturing, warehousing, and distribution center in the late 19^th and early 20^th century. Kansas City began as a hub for wholesale and warehousing since it was an outfitter for the western trails. It continued in these roles as a railroad hub. The area was devastated by, but recovered from, disastrous floods in 1903 and 1951. Some of the companies locating the district were:

West 9^th Street buildings in the historic district:

·        -- Kemper-Paxton Mercantile Company, 1427 West 9^th Street, dating to 1901

·         --Abernathy Furniture Company, 1501-1523 West 9^th Street, 910-912 Liberty Street, and 915-925 Wyoming Street, dating to between 1880 and 1917, now the West Bottoms Flats

St. Louis Avenue buildings in the historic district:

·         --Fire Insurance Patrol No. 2, 1310 St. Louis Avenue, dating to 1890

·         --Police Station No. 2, 1312 St. Louis Avenue, dating to 1901

·         --Samuel Freeman Livery, 1316 St. Louis Avenue, dating to 1880

·         --Seavey and Florsheim, 1317 St. Louis Avenue, dating to 1902

·         --Multi-tenant building, 1321 St. Louis Avenue, dating to 1909

·         --Bliss Syrup and Preserving Company, 1329 St. Louis Avenue, dating to 1897, now Rangel Distributing

·         --Sherwin-Williams Paint Company, 1400 St. Louis Avenue, dating to 1903, now Dynatron Elevator, Inc.

·         --Swift and Company, 1401 St. Louis Avenue, dating to 1888

·         --1404 St. Louis Avenue, dating to 1967

·         --Security Building, 1405 St. Louis Avenue, dating to 1909, now occupied by Cook Brothers Insulation

·         --McManus-Heryer Brokerage, 1408 St. Louis Avenue, dating to 1922

·         --Biggs and Koch Company, 1415 St. Louis Avenue, dating to 1885, now occupied by Cook Brothers Insulation

·         --Newby Transfer and Storage, 1422 St. Louis Avenue, dating to1900

·         --Trumbull and Company, 1426 St. Louis Avenue and 925 Liberty Street, dating to 1899

·         --Ryley, Wilson and Company, a Romanesque Revival grocery warehouse, 1502 St. Louis Avenue, dating to 1887

·         --Bayles Vehicle Top and Trimming Company, 1522 St. Louis Avenue, dating to 1903, now operating as the Wood Lot

·         --Hogue Mercantile Company, 1600 St. Louis Avenue, dating to 1930

Union Avenue buildings in the historic district:

·         --J.G. Peppard Seed Company, 1400 Union Avenue, dating to 1889, now Doc’s Caboose

·         --Geiser Manufacturing, 1408 Union Avenue, dating to 1900

Wyoming Street buildings in the historic district:

·       --Imperial Casket Company, 920 Wyoming Street, dating to 1928, now TRX Great Lakes

·         --Bemis Brothers Bag Company, 921 and 937 Wyoming Street, dating from 1904 and 1920, respectively

·         --Dehoney Hay and Grain Company, 938 Wyoming Street, dating to 1913

The Riverfront Heritage Trail passes by the north side of the district on Forrester Road.

Ridenour-Baker Grocery Company, 933 Mulberry Street, bounded by Mulberry Street, St. Louis Avenue, Santa Fe Street, and Union Avenue in the West Bottoms (N39^o6’10” W94^o35’56”), is separately listed on the NRHP and is adjacent to the historic district; it dates to 1910. The building was a commercial office and warehouse property and was an early example of reinforced concrete construction. The company was a wholesale distribution business that operated in the West Bottoms beginning in 1858 and continuing until 1936. In addition to wholesaling, the company also manufactured and packaged coffee, spices and peanuts. It sold products under the label FFOG, for First Fruit of the Garden.

Just to the south on Mulberry, C.A. Murdock Manufacturing Company Building, 1225 Union Avenue at Mulberry (N39^o6’8” W94^o35’58”), dates to 1887. The building is significant for its contribution to the expansion of the railroad freighting industry in Kansas City. The Romanesque Revival building was built for a company that manufactured and distributed coffee, tea, and spices. Due to a sprinkler system, it was the only building in the vicinity to survive a devastating 1918 fire. It operates today as the Murdock Lofts. To the east of the Murdock building was the site of Union Depot. A historic marker on Union Avenue near Forrester Road describes the trail station, which opened in 1878 and connected the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroads. It was the largest building west of New York at the time it opened; it featured a clock tower 125 feet high. Over 180 trains per day arrived. It was nearly destroyed with the 1903 flood; it was replaced in 1914 with present-day Union Station on Pershing Road.

Faultless Starch Company Building, 1025 West 8^th Street between Madison and Santa Fe Streets in the West Bottoms (N39^o6’19” W94^o35’44”), dates to 1903 and is separately listed on the National Register. The company still operates at the building today. Faultless Starch Company grew to be one of the nation’s largest manufacturers of dry white starch. The company was helped in its marketing by attaching primers for learning to read to its products in Texas and by hiring Huey P. Long as a salesman in the Southeastern States. This was prior to his more famous career as governor of Louisiana.

Sewell Paint and Glass Company Building, 1009 West 8^th Street between Santa Fe Street and Madison Avenue in the West Bottoms (N39^o6’20” W94^o35’43”), dates to 1903 and is separately listed on the National Register. The 5-story brick building with Romanesque Revival features was the home of one of the major manufacturers and distributors of industrial paints, varnishes, and lacquers in the early 20^th century. Today it is the Faultless Event Space. 

Kansas City's Financial District

 

The Financial District includes includes buildings in the Commerce Trust Company Historic District and buildings along Grand and Walnut Streets. For convenience, additional National Register-listed buildings in the area of Ilus Davis Park to the east are included in the discussion.

Commerce Trust Company Historic District (N39^o6’10” W94^o34’57”) includes bank structures between 9^th, 10^th, Walnut, and Main Streets. The district is considered a unique example of a large, unified complex of connected buildings in the city’s Financial District and urban core. The District includes three contributing structures (National Bank of Commerce, Commerce Tower, Commerce Garage) and a Sunken Garden adjacent to the Commerce Tower on Main Street, which is today used as a private playground.  National Bank of Commerce (Commerce Trust Company), 922 Walnut Street (N39o6’9” W94o34’56”), dates to 1908, and is also separately listed on the NRHP. The building is an American Movement, Beaux-Arts-style building with terra cotta ornament. It is 16 stories and considered one of the best examples of early skyscraper design. Also included in the district is the Commerce Garage, a 7-story Modern Movement parking garage now occupied on the lower level by CVS Pharmacy. Commerce Trust Company merged with the National Bank of Commerce in 1921 and survived the bank runs of the Great Depression to become the greatest banking dynasty in the history of Missouri. A bronze and copper clock adorms the southeast corner of the building and was installed in 1953. Commerce Tower, 911 Main Street at 9^th Street (N39o6’11” W94o34’57”) is separately listed on the NRHP and dates to 1964. The tower is 32 stories and constructed in the Miesian style (after architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe), with a wide entrance plaza and concrete-clad appearance with glazed curtain walls. Typical of the style, the first two stories are slightly recessed at the base. It was the largest private office building in Missouri at the time of its construction. Commerce Trust Company left the building in 1985. Tenants today include luxury apartments and Park University.

National Register-listed Buildings on 7^th Street in the Financial District:

·         Kansas City Western Union Telegraph Building, 100 East 7^th Street at Walnut (N39o6’20” W94o34’53”), is on the NRHP and dates to 1920. It houses the Pawn and Pint and Homestead Café.

·         Buick Automobile Company Building, 220 Admiral Boulevard (7^th Street) at McGee Street (N39o6’20” W94o34’47”), is on the NRHP and dates to 1908. It was the first facility to be designed as an auto showroom and the first Buick dealership in Kansas City. Tudor Revival in style, it is now the Buick Lofts.

·         Kelley-Reppert Motor Company Building, 422 Admiral Boulevard between Page and Locust Streets (N39o6’20” W94o34’39”, is on the NRHP and dates to 1920. The Colonial Revival building with terracotta ornamentation was built to house a Ford auto dealership. Today it houses Savion, a renewable energy company.

National Register-Listed Buildings on 9^th Street in the Financial District:

·         Grand Avenue Temple, 205 East 9^th Street, is described under buildings on Grand Avenue

·         Pickwick Hotel, Office Building, Parking Garage, and Bus Terminal, 301 East 9^th Street, 901 McGee Street, 300 East 10^th Street, and 906 Oak Street (N39o6’11” W94o34’45”) dates to 1930. The Pickwick Hotel is a 10-floor, Art Deco facility representative of urban commercial buildings in the mid-20^th century. It was frequented by Harry Truman in the 1930s.

·         The former Kansas City Public Library, 500 East 9^th Street at Locust (N39o6’13” W94o34’37”), dates to 1895. It is now the Ozark National Life Building.  The Second Renaissance Revival-style building symbolized the growing intellectual and cultural consciousness of 19^th century Kansas City. The building housed major science and art collections, which became part of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and the Kansas City Museum. The prominent frieze at the top of the building contains the names of 19^th century authors and statesmen—Webster, Cooper, Hawthorne, Morse, Whittier, Benton, Maury, Irving, Lowell, Emerson, Holmes, Bryant, Agassiz, Longfellow, Bancroft, Motley, Prescott, Stowe, Alcott, Franklin, Hawthorne, Morse, and Whittier.

·         The Blackstone Hotel, 817 Cherry Street at 9^th Street (N39o6’14” W94o34’33”), is vacant. The Colonial Revival Building dates to 1925 and is a rare example of a second-tier urban hotel. These served salesmen and were less ornate than the grand convention center hotels in the early 20^th century. It was part of a hotel district extending along 9^th, Locust, and Oak Streets, all of which are now gone. The hotels competed with, and ultimately lost out to, tourist courts and motels in the latter part of the 20^th century.

Ilus Davis Park (N39⁰6’8” W94⁰34’40”) is 5 acres to the north of City Hall, between 9^th and 11^th Streets and Oak and Locust Streets. Trees are crabapple, red oak, and ginkgo. In the northeast corner of the park at 9^th Street and Locust Street is the Bill of Rights Statue, erected in 1991 by the Judicial Conference of the United States, Committee on the Bicentennial of the Constitution. It includes 50 pairs of hands, representing freedom in each of the 50 states and all Americans of different race, sex, and religion who created and still impact the building block of the constitution, the Bill of Rights. Between 10^th and 11^th Street facing Oak Street is the Native Sons and Daughters of Greater Kansas City monument. The five-pointed star-shaped monument contains 10 panels, representative of the 10 counties in Kansas and Missouri that make up the greater Kansas City region (Johnson, Leavenworth, Miami, and Wyandotte in Kansas; and Cass, Clay, Jackson, Lafayette, Platte, and Ray in Missouri).

·         Panel 1, Grandeur, is represented by the Country Club Plaza, dating to 1922.

·         Panel 2, Early Culture and Explorers, is represented by the Chouteau Trading Post on the north bank of the Missouri River near present-day Chouteau Parkway, Kaw Point, Fort Osage, and mountain man Jim Bridger.

·         Panel 3, Westward Expansion, is represented by the Santa Fe, Oregon, and California Trails,1833 Westport, and 1838 Town of Kansas.

·         Panel 4, Transportation, is represented by Grinter’s Kaw River Ferry and the Hannibal Railroad Bridge, the first Missouri River bridge.

·         Panel 5, Agriculture, is represented by the 1857 River Market and Longview Farm

·         Panel 6, Entrepreneurs, is represented by the Strang Line, 1906.

·         Panel 7, Arts and Education, is represented by the Jazz District.

·         Panel 8, Science and Research, is represented by area hospitals and Garmin.

·         Panel 9, Sports, is represented by the Negro National Baseball League

·         Panel 10 describes the Native Sons and Daughters of Kansas City organization.

In the southwest corner of the park is the Ilus Davis Fountain on 11^th Street. Ilus Winfield Davis (1917-1996) was mayor from 1963 to 1971 and President of the Board of Police Commissioners from 1971 to 1977.

City Employees Memorial is in the park on Locust Street between 10^th and 11^th Streets. The four columns honor public servants who have lost their lives in the line of duty.

NRHP-listed Buildings on Grand Boulevard in the Financial District:

·         U.S. Courthouse and Post Office, 811 Grand Boulevard (N39o6’14” W94o34’49”), dates to 1939. It was the site of the Swope Park Swimming Pool desegregation lawsuit in 1952, led by Thurgood Marshall. It is now the Courthouse Lofts.

·         Scarritt Building and Arcade, 818 Grand Boulevard (N39o6’13” W94o34’52”), is an early 11-story Chicago School skyscraper dating to 1906. The building implements the architectural concepts of Louis Sullivan. The entrance to the Scarritt Building is on Grand but it is connected to an arcade with an entrance on Walnut. The arcade is considered a unique example of the turn-of-the-century preoccupation with light, with two skylighted areas (light wells) in the center of the building. The main building contains an indentation designed to catch light from the south.

·         Grand Avenue Temple, 205 East 9^th Street and Grand Avenue Temple Office Building, 903 Grand Boulevard (N39o6’12” W94o34’50”), date to 1909. The temple is considered the Mother Church of Methodism in Kansas City. The Temple is a Greek Revival building with a 1912 church organ. The office building is 12 stories and Neo-Classical in style. It was thought that the office building could help pay off the debt of church construction and supply supplemental funds for the church’s work. Both are early examples of reinforced concrete construction.

·         Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City (former location), 925 Grand Boulevard (N39o6’10” W94o34’50”), dates to 1921. The 21-story classical revival building is one of 12 buildings constructed as part of the national system of Federal Reserve banks. Facing Grand Boulevard are two two-story carved stone panels with female figures representing industry and commerce. The Spirit of Industry figure holds a sheaf of wheat and a hand spinning device (distaff) to represent agriculture. The Spirit of Commerce figure wears a coat of mail to signify security and holds the torch of progress and symbol of Mercury, god of commerce. Each figure stands above an eagle holding a shield emblazoned with 10-J, symbol of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. The building is currently vacant (2021).

·         R.A. Long Building, 928 Grand Boulevard (N39o6’10” W94o34’52”), is a 14-story Italian Renaissance building which dates to 1906. It was the first skyscraper in Kansas City and was the home of Long-Bell Lumber Company, the world leader in the wholesale lumber market in the 20^th century. The company got its start selling timber to settlers on the treeless western prairies. Long represented the lumber industry at the White House conference on environmental conservation in 1980 and promoted reforestation. The company merged with International Paper Company in 1956.

·         Dierks Building, 1000 Grand Boulevard (N39^o6’7” W94^o34’52”), is a modern movement skyscraper which dates to 1909, when the first five stories were constructed as the Gates Building. Dierks Lumber and Coal purchased the building in 1927 and expanded it to 17 stories. There is art deco detailing on the upper stories. Today the building is the Grand Boulevard Lofts.

National Register-Listed Buildings on Walnut Street in the Financial District:

·         Gumbel Building, 801 Walnut Street (N39o6’15” W94o34’54”), is 6 stories and dates to 1904; it was one of the earliest tall-reinforced concrete buildings constructed in the U.S. This method used twisted iron rods to strengthen concrete.  At the corners are square piers with ornate terra cotta work, topped by Roman eagles. Ornate Italianate copper cornice tops the building, which is currently a Hampton Inn.

·         Waltower Building, 823 Walnut Street (N39o6’13’ W94o34’54”), dates to 1929 and is an early skyscraper (12 stories). It was built right before the stock market crash and could not attain full occupancy. Today it is the Waltower Loft Apartments.

·         Fidelity National Bank and Trust Company Building, 909 Walnut Street (N39o6’11” W94o34’54”), dates to 1931. The 35-story building, crowned by two towers, is the centerpiece of the Financial District. It is considered an excellent illustration of the Art Deco style of architecture and a signature work of the prominent Kansas City architects Hoit, Price, and Barnes. The building’s grandeur illustrates the bank’s importance in the nation. At the time it was built, Fidelity was the 100^th largest bank in the United States. Unfortunately, the bank could not survive the depression and failed in 1932, one year after its signature building was completed. It is now apartments and commercial office space operated by Simbol Commercial.

·        National Bank of Commerce, 922 Walnut Street (N39o6’9” W94o34’56”), is described under the Commerce Trust Company Historic District.

·         Kansas City Title and Trust Building, 927 Walnut Street (N39o6’4” W94o34’54”), dates to 1922. The seven-story building was constructed in Commercial Block style with terra cotta ornamentation to handle valuable title documents. The firm approach to title insurance focused on the security of title documents, and the building was constructed to house the documents in fire-proof space. It is now United Missouri Bank.

National Register-Listed Buildings on Oak Street in the Financial District:

·         Stine and McClure Undertaking Company Building, 924 Oak Street (N39o6’9” W94o34’44”), dates to 1912 and was constructed in the Second Egyptian Revival style. The building was designed by Kansas City architect John McKecknie, who practiced in Kansas City’s boom years of the early 1900s. He was known as an innovator in concrete construction. The Egyptian Revival Style would go on to become most popular in the 1920s and 1930s, and this building anticipated this trend. The Egyptian preoccupation with the dead made the style appropriate for a mortuary company. The building is currently the Gatsby event space.

·         Insurance Building/Consumers Cooperative Association Building, 318 East 10^th Street at Oak (N39o6’8” W94o34’43”), dates to 1920. CCA became Farmland Industries, the largest farmer-owned cooperative. The building is currently vacant.

Kansas City's Library District (West 9th Street-Baltimore Ave Historic District)

 Library District (West 9^th Street-Baltimore Avenue Historic District (N39^o6’10” W94^o35’5”) consists of more than 20 buildings, dating to 1880. These early commercial buildings were constructed at the busiest intersections in the city during the late 1800s. Buildings are on West 9^th Street, West 10^th Street, Baltimore Avenue, Main Street, and Wyandotte Street. Notable buildings are:

West 9^th Street:

·         New York Life Building, 20 West 9^th Street (N39o6’14” W94o35’3”), is a Neo-Renaissance Building dating to 1887. It is considered Kansas City’s first skyscraper and the city’s first building with elevators. It is separately listed on the NRHP. There is a bronze sculpture of an eagle over the main entrance. The eastern insurance company built the building hoping to take advantage of Kansas City emerging as the future center of commerce in the West. It is now the Catholic Center.

·         Bunker Building, 100 West 9^th Street and 820 Baltimore Avenue (N39o6’14” W94o35’3”), dates to 1880, and is separately listed on the NRHP. The building is described as Victorian Eclectic, an amalgam of Romanesque, Gothic and Neo-Classic elements. It was originally the home of the Western Newspaper Union, which later moved to 304 West 10^th Street (which is also on the NRHP). It is now Univision KC and partly vacant.

·         Wood’s Building, 101 West 9^th Street, dates to 1881. It is now the Milwaukee Deli and Banksia Australian Restaurant.

·         Lyceum Building, 102 West 9^th Street, dates to 1895.

·         Kansas City Dime Museum, 110 West 9^th Street, dates to 1885. It began as a museum of freaks and curiosities and later became Kansas City’s first art gallery, the Western Gallery of Art, a forerunner of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.

·         Old New England Life Mutual Insurance Building, 112 West 9^th Street (N39o6’14” W94o35’6”), a Renaissance Revival style building dating to 1887. It was also the earliest example of fire-proof construction in Kansas City. It is separately listed on the NRHP and is now KC Loft Central.

·         Savoy Hotel and Grill, 219 West 9^th Street at Central Avenue (N39o6’12” W94o35’11”), separately listed on the NRHP, which was constructed from 1890 to 1906. It is a member of the Historic Hotels of America and now operates as part of the 21c Museum Hotel group. Its lobby is noted for a leaded stained-glass dome 12 feet in diameter. The restaurant includes stained glass, dark oak woodwork, and historic murals by Edward Holsleg. It is the oldest restaurant in Kansas City.

West 10^th Street:

·         First National Bank, 14 West 10^th Street, now the Kansas City Public Library, was constructed in 1904. It contains Neo-Classic, Neo-Grecian, and Chicago style elements.

·         Land Bank Building, 15 West 10^th Street between Baltimore and Main (N39o6’7” W94o35’1”), is a Renaissance-style building which dates to 1923. It housed the offices of the Kansas City Joint Stock Land Bank, which gave federal loan guarantees to farmers under the Federal Farm Loan Act of 1916. It is adjacent to the historic district and is separately listed on the NRHP. It is now the Hanover Lofts.

·         New England National Bank, 21 West 10^th Street, is a 14-story building which dates to 1907. A carved stone eagle is above the arch of the main entrance.

·         Dwight Building, 107 West 10^th Street, is 10 stories and dates to 1902. It was the first steel-frame building constructed in Kansas City. It is the Hispanic Business Center and Library Lofts East

·         Burnap Stationery Company, 111 West 10^th Street, is a 6-story building dating to 1909. It was one of the largest retail office supply companies in the U.S.

·         Board of Trade Building, 127 West 10^th Street, is a 13-story building dating to 1923. It housed businesses specializing in grain, railroads, insurance, and chemicals. It is now the Board of Trade Lofts.

·         The parking garage with an entrance just north of 10^th street was the site of the Hotel Baltimore, where the Future Farmers of America was founded in 1928. The section fronting West 10^th Street contains a graphic of books.

·         Western Newspaper Union Building, 304 West 10^th Street at Central Street (N39^o6’9” W94^o35’14”) dates to 1900; it is to the west of the historic district. It was the site of the largest auxiliary newspaper company in the United States. This type of business sold pre-printed content to small-town newspapers in surrounding states. This typically focused on national news to supplement the local news content. The basement of the building housed large printing presses needed to meet demand of 200 or so small-town newspapers in Missouri, Kansas, and nearby states.

Baltimore Avenue:

·         La Rue Printing Company, 810 Baltimore, dates to 1910, and includes Chicago-influenced elements.

·         Lane Blueprint Company, 908 Baltimore, is a Neo-Classical style building dating to 1905.

·         Carbide and Carbon Building (Union Carbide Building), 912 Baltimore, is an Art Deco and Moderne Style building dating to 1930.

·         Kansas City School of Law Building, 913 Baltimore, is a Jacobethan and Chicago-Influenced building dating to 1926. The law school was attended by Harry Truman and many former mayors and justices of the state supreme court. It is currently the Kansas City Public Library annex.

·         University Club Building, 918 Baltimore, is a Neo-Classical building dating to 1922. It currently operates as the Kansas City Club.

·         Finance Building, 1009 Baltimore, includes Chicago-style influences and dates to 1908. It is used for lofts today.

Wyandotte Street:

·         Frankel, Frank, and Company Building, 811 Wyandotte Street, dates to 1899. Frankel, Frank, and Company was a millinery wholesale business. It later housed a succession of businesses, including carpet, dry goods, rubber, and drugs. The building is currently Trozollo Communications Group.

·         Baker-Vawter Building, 915 Wyandotte Street (N39^o6’12” W94^o35’7”), dates to 1920 and is separately listed on the NRHP.  The building was designed by the prominent Kansas City architectural firm of Hoit, Price, and Barnes. Baker-Vawter was a national manufacturer of accounting ledgers and inventory and filing systems. It adjoins the West 9^th Street-Baltimore Avenue Historic District.

·         Graphic Arts Building, 934 Wyandotte Street (N39^o6’9” W94^o35’9”), is separately listed on the NRHP and is to the west of the historic district. The building contains Arts and Crafts terra cotta elements. The building of the Kansas City Graphic Arts Organization began as a center for commercial printing. The building housed printing presses. Thompson Paper Company, which occupied space in the building, counted as its clients Walt Disney and Hallmark Cards. Other tenants were suppliers of paper and ink, printers, and engravers. Photographers and filmmakers also were tenants. The building dates to 1915 and is now lofts.

Main Street:

·         Executive Plaza Office Building (The Flashcube), 720 Main Street (N39^o6’17” W94^o35’1”), is separately listed on the NRHP and is adjacent to the historic district. It is considered an exceptionally significant example of Late Modern style architecture and dates to 1974. It was built as a speculative office building by the Downtown Redevelopment Corporation. It is adjacent to the Historic District. The distinctive external architectural feature is a reflective glass curtain wall. This curtain wall is considered a significant example of the feature. The reflective glass on the building gave it the nickname “the flashcube.” There is no added ornamentation on the curtain wall. A landscaped plaza on Main Street is on the roof of a storage building which is below street grade. On the north side is an elevated pedestrian walkway which is considered a contributing structure to the historic property.

·         Ten Main Center, 920 Main Street (N39o6’9” W94o35’0”), is separately listed on the NRHP and dates to 1965. Designed by Los Angeles architect Charles Luckman, the 21-story office tower and 7-story garage introduced a new style of architecture to Kansas City, that of Modern Abstract Monumental style, notable for use of pre-cast concrete panels that form a curtain wall. The building was the first urban renewal project of the Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority, a city agency set up to manage Kansas City’s federally funded urban renewal areas. The Central Business District is one of these urban renewal areas. The first tenants were Employers Reinsurance Corporation, Ash Grove Lime and Portland Cement Company, and Marshall and Brown Architects. The Sky on Main apartments are in the building. Across Main Street from the building are the Commerce Trust Company Historic District and Commerce Tower, also on the NRHP.

·         George B. Peck Dry Goods Company Building, 1044 Main Street (N39o6’4” W94o35’1”), is separately listed on the NRHP and is adjacent to the historic district; it dates to 1914. It is one of the few remaining dry goods companies that anchored the heart of the downtown retail district and operated as a department store for 70 years. Today it is BOK Financial.

Kansas City's Garment District

 

Wholesale District (Garment District) Historic District includes 61 buildings in the vicinity of Broadway Boulevard at 7^th and 8^th Streets. It was a center of manufacturing for clothing, pharmaceuticals, furniture, printing, and hats between 1874 and 1931. After World War I, Kansas City became a national textile manufacturing center. The upper floors of buildings on Broadway were used for sewing space, with the garment industry centered on 8^th and Broadway. Buildings on 7^th, 8^th, 9^th, and 10^th Streets, Bank Street, Broadway Boulevard, Central Street, and May Street are in the historic district.

Buildings that may be observed on 7^th Street include McPike Drug Company Building at 306 and 312 West 7^th Street (West, 1904; East, 1917). The Kansas City Paper House at 318 West 7th Street is now the West 7th Street Lofts. At 7th Street and May adjacent to the historic district is the Roaster’s Block barking lot, a small off-leash area.

On 8^th Street are:

·         Phoenix Hotel, 300 West 8^th Street, dating to 1888, a Neo-Romanesque building, operating as the Phoenix Restaurant

·         Exchange Hotel, 301 West 8^th Street, dating to 1889

·         Armour and Volker Building, 306 West 8^th Street, dating to 1902, a Second Renaissance Revival building now operating as the Soho Lofts

·         Lewis Printing Company, 307 West 8^th Street, dating to 1930

·         Burnham-Hanna-Munger Manufacturing Company Building, 313 West 8^th Street, dating to 1903, which is a monumental Commercial/Second Renaissance Revival style building, now Lucas Place

·         Bond Shoe Company, 312 West 8^th Street at May Street, a Second Renaissance Revival building dating to 1899

·         Noyes-Norman Shoe Company, 412 West 8^th Street at Bank Street, dating to 1907

·         Barton Brothers Shoe Company, 423 West 8^th Street, dating to 1900

·         Garment District Place (N39⁰6’17” W94⁰35’24”) is a ¾-acre park on West 8^th Street between Washington Street and Broadway, within the boundaries of the historic district. The park contains benches, picnic tables, and bicycle rental, along with a grove of honey locust trees. The Needle Sculpture in the park is in memory of the wholesale textile and garment industry that flourished in this area. Just to the south of the park at the corner of Broadway and 8^th Street is a branch of the Kansas City Museum, and across Broadway at the corner of 8^th Street is the Historic Garment District Museum.

On 9^th Street are the building at 408 West 9^th Street, an Italianate Building dating to 1889, now the Los Corrals Restaurant; and Easter Brothers Restaurant, 418 West 9^th Street, dating to 1901, now the Peanut Downtown Restaurant. At the northeast corner of Broadway at 9^th Street is the Descent of Civilization sculpture (Bison Memorial). This serves as a memorial to the great herds of plains buffalo, a reminder of what was compromised in the development of our great nation and is now lost from the landscape, according to Marc Swanson, the artist. The memorial includes a quote from William T. Hornaday, zoologist (1854-1937), “the primary cause of the buffalo’s extermination, and the one which embraced all others, was the descent of civilization, with all its elements of destructiveness, upon the whole of the country inhabited by the animal.” The Riverfront Heritage Trail passes through the district along West 9^th Street.

On 10^th Street is the Adler Building, 314 West 10^th Street, a Neo-Classic Revival building dating to 1908; and the Missouri Interstate Paper Company Building, 412 West 10^th Street, dating to 1909.

On Broadway Boulevard are:

·         Montgomery Ward Company Building, 626 Broadway, dating to 1902, now the Mid-America Regional Council offices

·         Reicher and Sons, Robinson and Sons Building, 628 Broadway, dating to 1904, now Mid-Amerida Regional Council offices

·         Maxwell-McClure Notions Company, 704 Broadway, dating to 1900

·         E.J. Roe Hat Company, 708 Broadway, dating to 1902

·         Faxon, Horton, and Gallagher Company, 712 Broadway, dating to 1903, is a Second Renaissance Revival Style building, now the Popham Law Firm

·         Harvey-Dutton Dry Goods Company, 800 Broadway, dating to 1903, now the Kansas City Museum annex.

·         Burnham-Hanna-Munger Dry Goods Building, 801 Broadway, dating to 1901, which is a monumental Commercial/Second Renaissance Revival style building, now the Historic Garment District Museum

·         Butler Brothers Company, 804 Broadway, dating to 1909, now Butler Brothers Lofts

·         Goldstandt-Powell Hat Company, 806 Broadway, dating to 1902

·         Kansas City, Fort Scott, and Gulf Railroad Building, 816 Broadway, a Victorian Eclectic Style building dating to 1889

·         Gatlin Building, 819 Broadway, a Second Renaissance Revival style building dating to 1910

·         Thayer Building, 820 Broadway, a Victorian Eclectic Style Building dating to 1883, now the Crossroads Preparatory Academy

·         Liebstradter Millinery Company Building, 905 Broadway, dates to 1902 and is now the Mulberry Lofts

·         B. Adler and Company and Kelly-Williams Company Building, 908 Broadway, dates to 1903.

·         Jay and King Hat Company Building, 909 Broadway, dates to 1904

·         Hershberger and Rosenthal Company Building, 915 Broadway, dates to 1909.

·         George P. Ide and Company, Inc., 920 Broadway, is now the Jewell Lofts, named after the builder

·         Rothenberg and Schloss Building, 930 Broadway, dates to 1912 and is now the Opera House Lofts.

·         J. Fitzpatrick Saloon Building, 931 Broadway, dates to 1911 and operates as the Majestic Restaurant.

·         Frankel, Frank & Company Building, 1000 Broadway, dates to 1905. It contains the Garment House on Broadway and the Broadway Bistro.

·         Lorraine Apartments, 1012 Broadway, is a Georgian Revival building dating to 1901 (vacant, 2021).

·         Estill Hotel, 1018 Broadway, is a Georgian Revival building dating to 1897 (vacant, 2021).

On Central Street are:

·         Commercial Building, 600 Central, dating to 1909

·         Barton Brothers Shoe Company, 609 Central, dating to 1895, Second Renaissance Revival style

·         Burnham-Munger Manufacturing Company, 612 Central, dating to 1892

·         Builders and Traders Exchange, 616 Central, dating to 1889, a rare surviving example of High Victorian Italianate architecture

On May Street is Burd and Fletcher Company, 701 May Street, dating to 1916; Lechtman Printing Company, 715 May Street, dating to 1915.

Coates House Hotel, 1005 Broadway Boulevard at 10^th Street (N39^o6’8” W94^o35’17”), dates to 1886, is separately listed on the NRHP, and is adjacent to the Wholesale District. The hotel is an example of a late 19^th century luxurious urban hotel. The original hotel on the site was built in the 1860s, on the foundation of an 1861 federal fort. The hotel was named after Kersey Coates, a Pennsylvania quaker who moved to Kansas City in 1854. The 1886 hotel was an early project of the architect Henry Van Brunt, who moved to Kansas City from Boston to open a practice. The hotel was visited by President Grover Cleveland in 1887 and Benjamin Harrison in 1890. In 1912, the first meeting of the Sertoma International (Co-Operative Club) was held. It is now the Quality Hill leasing office.