This building was constructed for use by the Independent Order of Odd Fellows Liberty Lodge No. 49 in 1923. It was built in the early 20th century Commercial architectural style with inspiration from the Moderne style and Art Deco. It consists of individual storefronts on the first floor which have since been altered on the inside but the basic design of the entries and the design, materials, and workmanship of the second floor retain their integrity (one of few buildings on the square to do so). The building was designed by Kansas City architect Charles A. Smith. Smith came to Kansas City as a draftsman in 1887 and became a partner with W.F. Hackney by 1892. That same year, he succeeded Hackney as the architect for the Kansas City School Board and served in this position until 1936. During this time, he designed over fifty schools. He was also a partner with Smith, Rea, and Lovitt from 1910 to 1921 and designed several other types of structures around Kansas City, including the IOOF Liberty Lodge No. 49 building.

The Independent Order of Odd Fellows was a fraternity organization that was founded in the United States in 1819, growing from an already established organization in London, England. Its founder was Thomas Wildey, who was born in London on January 15th, 1782. After being orphaned at five years old, Wildey went to live with an uncle and apprenticed to a maker of coach springs for nine years. He was initiated into the Odd Fellows in 1804 at age 21. The Odd Fellows was an international fraternity with lodges first appearing in London in 1730. In 1817, Wildey came to the U.S. and settled in Baltimore. After becoming lonely due to the ostracization of English people following the War of 1812, Wildey sought out Odd Fellows in Baltimore. By 1819, he found four more members to join his lodge (John Welch, John Duncan, John Cheatham, and Richard Rushworth). Their lodge became known as Washington Lodge No. 1 and met in the Seven Stars tavern.

A second lodge was formed in Baltimore in 1819, but they were unaware of the existence of Shakespeare Lodge No. 1 which had formed in New York City in 1818. In December of 1821, another lodge appeared in Philadelphia known as Pennsylvania Lodge No. 1. None of these orders were aware of each others existence for a period of time but they became homogeneous after receiving a charter from the Odd Fellows in England from Manchester Unity in May 1826. They would become known as the Order of Independent Odd Fellows until splitting from Manchester Unity in 1843, when they’re name changed to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF). Thomas Wildey served as Grand Sire until 1833 when he retired. On September 20th, 1851 IOOF became the first fraternity to accept women when future Vice President Shuyler Colfax advocated for the Daughters of Rebekah to be formed. Wildey passed away ten years later in 1861. By then, there were 200,000 members of IOOF.

The Civil War impacted IOOF and membership declined severely. Following the war, industrialization and socio-political issues caused people to be drawn to the fraternity and the next fifty years became known as the Golden Age of fraternalism. During this period, the Odd Fellows were larger than even the Freemasons and by 1889 there were IOOF lodges in every state. This would include Missouri, where IOOF Liberty Lodge No. 49 was formed in 1889. At this time, they were meeting at a building 20 East Franklin but felt they had outgrown this space by the early 20th century. They were able to raise money for a new building by leasing out the lower floor of their building to businesses, which was common practice for fraternal lodges. Eventually, they moved to the building at 16-18 East Franklin. The storefront of 16 East Franklin was used as a Whiteside Jewelry store from the 1920’s to 1993. The storefront on 18 East Franklin was used as a Russell Variety Store from the 1920’s - 1940’s and became a florist shop by the 1990’s. During all this time, IOOF Liberty Lodge No. 49 used the upper floors of the building to meet.

Liberty Lodge No. 49 I.O.O.F., Historical Marker Database. Accessed September 26th, 2022. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=68211.

NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES REGISTRATION FORM, MO State Parks. Accessed September 26th, 2022. https://mostateparks.com/sites/mostateparks/files/IOOF%20Liberty%20Lodge%20%2349.pdf.

Ross, Theo A.. History of American Odd Fellowship, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Accessed September 26th, 2022. https://odd-fellows.org/history/wildeys-odd-fellowship/.