There are two historic districts on the west side of downtown.
Quality Hill Center Historic District (N39o6’15”
W94o35’30”) includes 4 apartment buildings on Jefferson and
Pennsylvania Avenues between 8th and 10th 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 10th
Street. The Riverfront Heritage Trail passes through the historic district on 9th
Street. Adjacent to the Historic District are the separately listed Pennbrooke
Apartments, 604 West 10th Street at Pennsylvania Avenue (N39o6’10”
W94o35’29”), 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 (N39o6’0”
W94o35’25”) includes 18 buildings dating from 1856 to 1929, bordered
by Broadway, 10th Street, 14th 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 12th 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 11th Street:
Montague Hotel, 412 West 11th Street, is a
four-story, Neo-Romanesque style building, dating to 1889. It is now apartments.
Normandy Apartments, 501 West 11th Street, date
to 1928.
LaHoma Hotel, 510 West 11th Street, dates to 1913,
and is a Neo-Classic style building.
The Chimes (Quality Hill) Apartments, 511 West 11th
Street, are Spanish Colonial Revival style and date to 1927.
Double Townhouse (Endicott Flats/Girls Club Association, 612
West 11th Street, dates to 1889 and is built in the Victorian
Eclectic style.
Buildings on West 12th Street:
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, 416 West 12th
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 23rd and Jackson Streets. In 1986,
construction at 11th and Jefferson Street uncovered 16 additional
burials that were missed during the first removal.
Surrey Court Apartments, 520 West 12th Street,
dates to 1927. It is built in the early Twentieth Century Modern style.
Cordova Hotel, 523 West 12th Street, dates to 1889.
Buildings on West 13th
Street:
Grace and Holy Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, 415 West 13th
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 (N39o6’6” W94o35’27”), 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 14th Street; and Washington Street
northbound, turning west on 11th Street.
