United States Courthouse and Post Office (now Courthouse Apartments)

Situated in the heart of downtown, the United States Courthouse and Post Office is a storied Kansas City building that relatively few people know about. Designed by Wight & Wight and constructed as part of the New Deal in the late 1930s, the building served as the courthouse of the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri from its opening in 1939 until 1998. During this time, the courthouse served as the venue for a number of important events and decisions, including the desegregation of Swope Park Pool in the early 1950s. Additionally, Harry Truman maintained offices in the building after his term as President. In 1998, the court moved to the newly-constructed Charles E. Whittaker Courthouse, leaving the old building empty. In 2007, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places, and arrangements were made for non-government occupants to make use of the building. Today, the majority of the building has been converted into apartments, though AT&T also maintains offices in the building.

Built as part of President Roosevelt's New Deal programs in the 1930s, the U.S Federal Courthouse and Post Office replace a previous building on the site that served the same purpose. The building was designed by Wight & Wight, the firm responsible for buildings such as City Hall and the Municipal Courts Building. According to registration documents from the National Register of Historic Places, the building is designed in "Art Moderne style with Neo-Classical Revival and Art Deco reference." The documents describe similar furnishings on the interior, with marble wall paneling, terrazzo floors, and faux columns befitting a courthouse or similar government building. The building contained four courtrooms, divided between the fourth and sixth floors. When the building was constructed, the lighting and ventilation systems in the courtrooms were considered to be state-of-the-art.

The most significant element of the building's history took place in the early 1950s. On June 20, 1951, six African-American Kansas Citians were forbidden from purchasing admission to Swope Park Pool. On August 2nd, the Kansas City branch of the NAACP filed a lawsuit on behalf of Esther Williams, Lena Rivers, and Joseph Moore, stating that the discrepancy between the Swope Park and Parade Park facilities violated the 14th Amendment, as well as making the point that the tax dollars of Black citizens had been hypocritically spent on a pool that those citizens could not use. The NAACP's lawyers, including future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, received a favorable ruling from District Court Judge Albert A. Ridge, who determined that the inequality of the two pool facilities meant that the city would have to either construct an equivalent pool for Black patrons in Swope Park or desegregate the existing one. However, an extended appeals process kept the case tied up until 1953, when the United States Supreme Court refused to hear the case, forcing the Parks Board to open the newly-integrated facility the next year. Much of the legal action surrounding this case took place in the Courthouse.

Over time, however, the needs of the government outgrew the facility, prompting the construction of the nearby Charles Evans Whittaker Courthouse in the late 1990s. In 2007, the old Courthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places, and arrangements were made for the building to begin housing non-government enterprises. In 2011, the majority of the space was rebuilt into loft apartments, which are now managed by Courthouse Lofts. The company prides themselves on maintaining many original elements of the décor, thus preserving an important historic landmark while breathing new life into the building and the surrounding area.

National Register of Historic Places, Missouri SP U.S. Courthouse and Post Office, Kansas City, Jackson County, MO, National Register Reference No. #07001231

Unknown. “History.” Courthouse Lofts. Accessed January 12, 2023. https://courthouse-lofts.com/history/. 

Unknown. “U.S. Federal Courthouse.” African American Heritage Trail of Kansas City. Accessed January 12, 2023. https://aahtkc.org/usfederalcourthouse.