Goulding's Last Chance Salloon

Goulding’s Last Chance Saloon operated at 3205 Southwest Blvd. from 1898 to 1951. The Kansas/Missouri state line bisected the building in such a way that patrons would enter the building in Kansas but could walk across the interior into Missouri, where the Gouldings operated a retail liquor store and saloon. During the Pendergast era, the Last Chance operated as an illegal gambling den. Its unique location caused legal quandaries for police, who would arrive to arrest someone, only to find that the person had walked to the other side of the state line and technically out of their jurisdiction. When state authorities raided to bust up the gambling den, they would often find that all of the gambling tables were sitting on the other side of the state line. Today, the Quicktrip at 31^st and Southwest Blvd. sits at this location. 

Patrick and Sarah Goulding immigrated to the United States in 1885. They settled in Rosedale, Ks., today a neighborhood of Kansas City, Ks. They were part of Rosedale’s Irish American Community centered around the Our Lady of Unity Catholic Church on Southwest Blvd. Patrick passed away in 1888, leaving Sarah to raise their seven children.

In 1898, Sarah and her son Patrick jr. started Goulding’s, a retail liquor store and tavern at 3205 Southwest Blvd. The family would run the business for the next 5 decades. They also owned the Last Chance Cafe, which was located next door on the Kansas side at 3 Southwest Blvd. Since the building sat right on the Missouri site of the state line with Kansas, a dry state, it came to be known as Goulding’s Last Chance Saloon. “Last Chance” bars and liquor stores have always been common on the borders of dry counties and states and Kansas City’s border with the state of Kansas was no exception. The portion of Kansas City’s West Bottoms that borders Kansas had dozens of bars and liquor stores and was nicknamed “the Wettest Block on Earth.” This section of Southwest Blvd had five saloons at the turn of the 20^th century. However, what separated Goulding’s was the fact that the state line ran through the building itself. Patrons entered in Kansas and as they walked across the interior into the bar and liquor store, they entered Missouri.

This unique position created many legal issues. When authorities from Kansas would show up to enforce liquor restrictions, the owners would simply move the liquor over to the Missouri side before letting them in. Newspapers of the day complained about the men from Kansas, who would get drunk in the saloon in Missouri, but exit into Kansas to fight. When police would attempt to arrest someone at the saloon or the cafe, the culprit would simply walk across the state line to a different jurisdiction.

During the Pendergast era, the Last Chance Saloon became legendary as one of the city’s many gambling houses. When Kansas or Missouri authorities raided, everyone simply crossed over the state line. Sometimes the saloon would get a warning and move the gambling tables and equipment over to Missouri or Kansas, depending on which state was going to raid. Sometimes, Kansas and Missouri authorities would raid the establishment together to alleviate the boundary issue. Missouri repeatedly attempted to revoke the saloon’s liquor license over the years but the Last Chance always found a way to prevail, perhaps through its connections to Kansas City’s organized crime families.

In 1950, however, the Last Chance Saloon would finally run out of luck. When the U.S. Senate Special Committee to Investigate Organized Crime in Interstate Commerce, the so-called Kefauver Committee, looked into Kansas City’s organized crime activity, the Last Chance Saloon and its unique location was brought to a national spotlight. When mob bosses Charles Binaggio and Charles Gogotta were murdered shortly after they left the Last Chance, Missouri authorities had had enough. The state revoked the owners' liquor license and ordered them to quit business. The Gouldings appealed the ruling but finally decided to sell their stock of alcohol and the Last Chance closed in the spring of 1951. Eventually 31^st street was extended to Southwest Blvd at this location and the building was torn down. Today the Quicktrip at 31^st and Southwest Blvd. occupies the location of the Last Chance. 

"Action on Last Chance." Kansas City Star (Kansas City, Mo.) April 4th, 1951. .3.

"P.J. Gaeleling." Kansas City Journal (Kansas City, Mo.) January 21st, 1910. .9.

"To Probe the Death of J.B. Murphy." Kansas City Post (Kansas City, Mo.) January 2nd, 1911. .5.

Kefauver Committee, The Pendergast Years. Accessed December 10th, 2024. https://pendergastkc.org/local-subjects/kefauver-committee.

Edelman, Paul. Learn How Organized Crime Thrived in Postwar Kansas City, Martin City Telegraph. January 15th, 2018. Accessed December 10th, 2024. https://martincitytelegraph.com/2018/01/15/learn-how-the-local-mob-thrived-postwar-in-kansas-city/.

Hill, Kate. KCQ: Last Chance and State Line, Kchistory.org. August 26th, 2021. Accessed December 10th, 2024. https://kchistory.org/blog/kcq-last-chance-and-state-line.

"Public Member Trees," database, Ancestry.com Goulding Family Tree, Ancestry.com. Accessed December 10th, 2024. https://wwww.ancestry.com/profile/0345ff2e-0006-0000-0000-000000000000?compareToTestId=6A2097C4-7D4F-4B3A-8174-4501F8D3980C.