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.