L. B. Price Mercantile Company Building (1904-1999); Pesmen-Rubin Commercial Art Studio

Built in 1904 for the L. B. Mercantile Company, this three-story brick commercial building was razed in 1999 for a downtown development project and is now occupied by a surface parking lot. The Pesmen-Rubin Commercial Art Studio was located inside the L.B. Price Mercantile Company Building, operated out of Gray Advertising Company, one of the many growing advertising agencies in Kansas City at the time. This small studio within the advertising company was operated by local artists Louis Pesmen and Bill Rubin, and they hired a young Walt Disney in October 1919. The occasion marked Disney's first job as an illustrator, producing artwork for some of Gray's clients, including local theaters and farm supply companies. A temporary job by design, it had a lasting impact on the world of animation as it was here that Walt Disney met Ubbe Iwwerks, a lifelong collaborator who helped bring Mickey Mouse and many other Disney characters to life.

Louis Pesmen was an artist like his father. He parted from Bill Rubin and Gray Advertising in 1920. Later, he partnered with another studio called Pesmen & Haner and eventually owned his own studio, The Pesmen Studio. He relocated to Chicago with his family and operated the Louis A. Pesmen Advertising Agency until his retirement in 1957. Later, he moved to California, where he passed in 1987 at age 94. 

Bill Rubin was a self-employed commercial artist who had his own studio in the Gray Building before partnering with Pesmen. After splitting from Pesmen, Rubin worked out of an eighth-floor office in the Graphic Arts Building and continued his career in advertising for other agencies throughout the years. 

Walt Disney, Art Apprentice

Walt Disney lived in Kansas City from 1911 to 1917, a formative period where he attended the Benton School. After a nine-month tour in France as an ambulance driver for the Red Cross and a short stay with his family who had moved back to their hometown of Chicago, Walt Disney returned to Kansas City in October 1919. He hoped to be a cartoonist and applied to the Kansas City Star but was turned down. With the suggestion from his brother Roy, Walt got an interview with Pesmen-Rubin Commercial Art Studio. Though he failed to bring a portfolio of work, Lou and Bill liked Walt's character. At their request, Walt returned later with some samples of cartoons he had created while in France, but because Disney did not yet have the experience needed for the job, he was brought in on a one-week trial basis.

After the trial period, Pesmen and Rubin agreed that Walt produced good work and he was hired as an art apprentice. With a wage set at $50 a month, Walt drew commercial advertising illustrations, mainly for farm equipment. He also produced letterheads, drew images for catalogs, and designed stencils for airbrush work. He was later assigned to work on the Newman Theatre account, designing covers for their weekly magazine. 

The opportunity with Pesmen-Rubin was short-lived. Pesmen and Rubin told young Disney that his position was temporary, and by early December, Walt's services were no longer needed due to an anticipated decline in work following the completion of holiday catalogs and the loss of a large account with a tractor company. The short time here proved pivotal for several reasons. Not only did Walt find work as an illustrator, but it was here that he met Ubbe Iwwerks. The two maintained a lifelong friendship and working relationship.

When Ubbe was also laid off weeks later, in January 1920, Walt approached Ubbe about starting their own business. They decided that together, they possessed enough skill and learned some “tricks of the trade” from Pesmen-Rubin, so they started Iwwerks-Disney Studio that same month. However, without an office or steady income, they quickly sought positions at Kansas City Slide Company through a classified ad in the Kansas City Star.

The brick commercial building once located here, at 14th and Oak Street, was designed by Shepard and Farrar and built for the L. B. Price Mercantile Company in 1904. The main entrance was recessed and located central to the building on Oak Street. The facade was divided into 5 bays by brick piers. Large plate glass windows were found at street level, while the second and third stories contained triple windows in the central bays and paired windows in the outer. 

The building was known by many names over the years, with each title based on its major tenant. Originally known as the L. B. Price Mercantile Company Building for its owner, it was later known as the Gray Building for the F. A. Gray Advertising Company and the Liberty Building for the Liberty Starch Company. In 1980, it was the Phil Jacobs Building for the Phil Jacobs Sportswear and Dress Shop.

L. B. Price Mercantile Company

Successful businessman L. B. Price was born in Altoona, Pennsylvania, in 1856. At age two, he moved with his father to Iowa, where they would run a farm until he reached age 26. L. B. was also a school teacher in the winter season. He connected with W. A. Edwards, a mercantile owner out of Des Moines, and spent 10 years working for him, eventually securing an executive position. In 1889, Price moved to Topeka, Kansas, where he established his own mercantile business. He moved to Kansas City, Missouri in 1893. 

L. B. Price Mercantile Company was incorporated in 1898 with 25 employees. They bought factory goods in bulk and sold directly to the consumer, including lace curtains, rugs, silverware, and bedding. In 1904, Price erected the office building at 14th and Oak Street. The company grew rapidly, employing over 600 individuals in 11 states throughout the Midwest by 1908. L. B. Price quickly became one of the million dollar merchants of Kansas City, but remained generous to his employees.

Susanin, Timothy S. (2011). Walt Before Mickey: Disney's Early Years, 1919-1928. Univ. Press of Mississippi.

Butler, R. W., Viets, D., Burnes, B. (2002). Walt Disney's Missouri: The Roots of a Creative Genius. Kansas City, Missouri: Kansas City Star Books.

News - Louis A. Pesmen, Chicago Tribune. February 25th 1987. Accessed March 15th 2022. https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1987-02-25-8701150907-story.html.

Office of Historic Preservation. Historic Inventory Form Phil Jacobs Building, Missouri State Parks. Accessed March 15th 2022. https://mostateparks.com/sites/mostateparks/files/KC%20CBD%201980%20S3.pdf.

Westlake Whitney, Carrie. Kansas City, Missouri: Its History and Its People 1800-1908. Volume 3. Kansas City, MO. S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1908.