Hazelle's Marionettes Building

This building was constructed in 1920 and was home to Tiphereth Israel Hebrew Synagogue until 1945. The building served as a watchmaking school from 1947 to 1969 and was also home to Hazelle's Marionettes from 1958 to 1975. Hazelle Harriet Hedges, a Kansas City native, discovered her passion for puppetry after being shown a marionette by a friend. This passion turned to national acclaim as her self-made puppets were featured at numerous national conventions. Hezelle Harriet Hedges passion became her business shortly after attending the 1935 NY Toy Fair, and Hazelle's Marionettes was incorporated later that year. After working out of her parent's house and teaching at the Nelson Atkins Art Museum, she acquired studio space and was married in 1941. In 1958, Hazelle Harriet Hedges Rollins moved her company to this location. Hazelle Harriet Hedges Rollins continued to work in the community after her 1975 retirement. As of 2024, the building is vacant.

Puppetry is one of the oldest story-telling mediums. Across the globe, cultures found their way to tell tales using theatrical puppets and in the American canon, the use of marionettes dominated the early 20th century.  Hazelle's Marionettes capitalized on this trend and was headquartered in this building. Born in Kansas City in 1910, Hazelle Harriet Hedges would find a passion for the arts. Receiving her bachelor of fine arts from the University of Kansas in 1932, she would continue honing her craft at the Kansas City Art Institute after graduation. It was at this time that a childhood friend showed her a marionette he had bought during a vacation in Italy. She was enamored with the puppet and made her own from scratch to begin producing plays for birthday parties and school events. Only two years after graduating, she was teaching classes on marionette-making at the Nelson-Atkins Art Museum. 

At first, she was crafting the dolls at her family home, mostly giving the finished products to local children - with the rare sale to local businesses. But in 1935, Hazelle attended the New York Toy Fair. Her marionettes were so popular that she was flooded with dozens of orders upon return to her parent's home in Kansas City. It was clear at this point she needed an office. The first three offices of the company would be scattered around downtown Kansas City. In 1946 her company employed several dozen people and had its own office at 10th and Campbell. An urban renewal program led to the demolition of that structure, and in 1958 Hazelle, Inc. began operating out of this building at 1224 Admiral Blvd, sharing space initially with the watchmaking school.

While working out of this building, Hazelle Rollins (married in 1941 to an industrial engineer) decided to shift her company toward hand puppets. This change was inspired by a visit to a children’s hospital that made her push for a cheaper, more accessible product that could be given away and used by people of all ages without training. The decision to emphasize on serving children demonstrates one of the reasons why she was widely regarded in Kansas City, while also being a prominent figure in the local business community. She would serve on numerous commerce boards, even after her retirement in 1975. 

The building had other notable occupants, however. In 1920, the building was constructed to house the Congregation Tiphareth Israel Synagogue, one of five Orthodox Jewish congregations in Kansas City at the time. The congregation would call the location home until 1945, when the Orthodox congregations joined to form the Kehilath Israel Synagogue at 10501 Conser Ave, Overland Park, Kansas. After this, the Kansas City School of Watchmaking would take over the building in the summer of 1947. The school would experience a boom following the Second World War, as veterans picked up trades upon return home. From 1947 to 1969, the school occupied multiple floors, using sections as studios, classrooms, and laboratories. The watch building school shared the building with Hazelle Inc. after she moved her studio here following urban renewal efforts in Kansas City, which forced the demolition of her existing office.

Loughlin, Amanda. National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form - Hazelle Inc. Building, MoStateParks. November 1st, 2020. Accessed June 26th, 2024. https://mostateparks.com/sites/mostateparks/files/HazelleIncBuilding.pdf.

Hazelle Rollins - Advances in Puppetry, Lemelson - MIT. Accessed June 26th, 2024. https://lemelson.mit.edu/resources/hazelle-rollins.

Hazelle Hedges Rollins, Missouri Artists. Accessed June 26th, 2024. https://missouriartists.org/person/morem362/.

Pertain, Dorri. Remember This? Hazelle Puppets, Northeast News. December 9th, 2020. Accessed June 26th, 2024. https://northeastnews.net/pages/remember-this-hazelle-puppets/.

Ann K. Ragan. Hazelle Hedges Rollins, A Kansas City Puppet Phenomenon, Jackson County Historical Society Journal, Summer 2015. Accessed July 7th, 2024. https://puppetryartsinstitute.org/hazelle-rollins-history/.