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.