Dr. William Worley, one of the leading narrators of this walking tour, offers a quick introduction to the history of this area from McClure Flats which was home to a variety of immigrants from Central Europe prior to the creation of Union Station

Introduction to the early history of the Crossroads and its connection to Union Station

If one stands at the castle-like former beer depot looking north, they will see a large parking lot where McClure Flats was located. After plans to build Union Station were completed, this area saw some of the tenements replaced by warehouses and other buildings for businesses connected to the railroad, a situation not completely unlike the changes that occurred in recent decades. While this building and many others in the area sat empty in the 1970s and 1980s, reinvestment and redevelopment has led many young professionals and businesses to see the area as a desirable location.The historic building was threatened with demolition as part of plans to repurpose the Firestone Building next door. The structure was preserved and is now home to McKay and Byerley Law Offices and has received an award for historic preservation from the Historic Kansas City Foundation. Lemp Brewery was established in St. Louis in 1840 and was the 8th largest brewery in the United States when this depot was constructed. The company was later acquired by Falstaff.

Constructed in 1895, this brick structure with its castle-like façade was home to what was known as a "beer depot" at the turn-of-the-century. The building was owned by the Lemp Brewery Complex in St. Louis and sold beer that had been stored in temperture controlled caves in St. Louis and then transported here by rail. This was one of around sixty beer depots operated by Lemp, who used this building as a stable with wagons and horses that carried beer from rail cars and distributed it throughout the city. The depot also sold beer directly to local residents, usually by the bucketful. At this time, it was common to send children on that errand, so it was common to see small children carefully returning home with a full pail that would supply the family's needs a day or two in an era before refrigeration. The building was located next to McClure Flats, a small complex of mostly windowless tenements that was home to many new arrivals in the city from the 1880s to just after the completion of Union Station in 1914.

Lemp Brewery Depot (1895) and McClure Flats 

This short walk through the heart of Kansas City's Crossroads District was designed to offer an introduction to both the neighborhood and the larger history of Kansas City. Starting at one of the early 20th century warehouses that now house an art gallery, the tour moves north to include several historic buildings related to Tom Pendergast and the Jazz Age, as well as one of his powerful predecessors who built a streetcar empire. The tour then explores the history of Nelly Don, the most powerful businesswoman in the garment industry before moving on to Kansas City's Automobile Row and several other historic buildings before returning to the starting point with stops at structures that are now home to art galleries. 

Demonstrating the rise of what was then known as Midtown, the tour then stops at the City Bank Building and the headquarters of the Kansas City Star before winding its way to a former candy factory. After a pause to enjoy a libation at Toms' Town Distillery, the tour continues with a former school that is now home to the Kansas City Symphony. The next stop is a series of representative buildings within the four-block area known as Film Row. Thanks to preservationists, many of the buildings where leading Hollywood Studios maintained offices have been repurposed. After visiting Film Row and the place where Walt Disney once worked, the tour turns south to return near the starting place with stops along the way at the iconic TWA Building, the Columbia Building, and Safeway Stores Office. Be sure to explore individual entries within Clio to discover landmarks and histories within the Crossroads District that were not included on this short tour.

<h3>Harvey S. Firestone</h3>Harvey S. Firestone was born on December 20, 1868 in Columbus, Ohio. As a young man he attended the Spencerian Business College in Cleveland and then got a job as a bookkeeper at a coal company in Columbus. By 1890 he was working as a salesman at the Columbus Buggy Company and became the first to attach pneumatic (air-filled) rubber tires to wheels. The company went bankrupt in 1895 but his career would soon take off. Convinced that rubber tires would make rides more comfortable, in 1896 he bought a factory in Chicago and established the Firestone-Victor Rubber Company, which he soon renamed the Firestone Rubber Tire Company. Starting with just one worker, the company grew quickly. Firestone patented his pneumatic tire as well. In 1899, he sold the company and moved to Akron, Ohio and founded the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company. It was very successful and four years later, Firestone started making tires for automobiles. In 1905, Henry Ford, who founded the Ford Motor Company, placed his first of many orders with Firestone. Five years later, the company was manufacturing over a million tires. Firestone served as president until 1932 but became chairman of the board of directors. He died in 1938.<h3>Firestone Building</h3>Firestone saw tremendous opportunity in Kansas City as it had established itself as an important railroad and transportation hub and boasted a thriving farming industry. He was aware that motor vehicles were increasingly being used on farms, which made Kansas City an ideal location to build the Firestone Building. To promote rubber tires to farmers, he launched the "Put the Farm on Rubber" campaign, which was very successful. Another campaign was the "Ship by Truck" movement, which promoted the use of trucks to transport food and other goods. These campaigns coincided with the "Good Roads" movement, which encouraged the construction of durable roads across the country. The company occupied the building until at least 1986 when the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The building was home to a furniture store from 1997 to 2003. It is currently owned by Adbiana Properties.

By the 1910s, the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company had dozens of regional offices in cities around the country and abroad. This building, the Firestone Building, was erected in 1915 and was the company's largest investment ($300,000). The company's founder, Harvey S. Firestone (1868-1938), chose Kansas City for such an investment because of its thriving farming industry, which was seeing a rise in the use of motor vehicles. The building itself is also significant for its design and construction. It was built with reinforced concrete, which was a relatively new construction method at the time, and features terra cotta piers and Gothic-inspired motifs. Its conservative design gives a contemporary appearance. It is now a loft residence and also houses various businesses, including an event venue. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. The building was later acquired by Abdiana Properties which added their sign at the top of the structure in place of the original Firestone sign.

Firestone Building (Abdiana Building)

Before the 2020 Grand was built in 1922, a Blacksmith's shop and a business called the People's Ice, Storage &amp; Fuel Company, Plant No. 2 were located on the property. Local developer Irwin R. Kirkwood obtained a building permit to construct the 2020 Grand and hired local architect Samuel E. Edwards to design it for manufacturing or wholesale companies that needed access to railroads. The first tenants included confectionary wholesalers, a fire extinguisher manufacturer, a cigar company, and a billiard table manufacturer. Over the years, a variety of other businesses occupied the building including laboratories and manufacturers of x-ray machines and prosthetic limbs. Kirkwood passed away in 1927 but the family continued to own the building until 1970. A prosthetic company bought it and sold it to a costume company in 1998. It is unclear when the hotel opened.

The 2020 Grand Building was erected in 1922 and represents the commercial development in the Crossroads District that occurred after Union Station was built in 1914. It is a typical "two-part" commercial building featuring retail spaces on the first floor and office spaces on the second and third floors. The rear of the building features a sheltered loading dock that was once next to train tracks. As for design, the building is relatively restrained in appearance but does feature Prairie School-style elements as seen, for example, in the diamond shapes at the top of the pilasters. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2012, it now operates as a hotel called the Hotel Indigo - The Crossroads.

2020 Grand Building 

The arts center is located in the building that also serves as the headquarters of the transportation and industrial services company established by Richard Belger in 1919. At that time, Belger owned only one truck, but he grew the company by offering a variety of services from transportation and warehousing to crane services and custom installation and removal of heavy equipment. The company now has locations and offices in Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas.In addition to serving as the Belger Cartage Company headquarters for over a century, the building has hosted over a hundred art exhibitions dating back to 2010 when Evelyn Craft Belger and Dick Belger decided to dedicate two of the building's three stories to exhibition space and storage for their growing personal collection of mostly modern works. The couple also transformed part of the space in the industrial building where they have a loft on nearby Tracy Avenue into the Belger Crane Yard Studios. In a 2015 article for American Craft Magazine, the couple explained that they hoped opening their building to artists and providing studio space and other support would help Kansas City grow and sustain a vibrant arts community.Belger Arts Center is the first of three Belger Arts locations. Belger Crane Yard Studios (2011 Tracy Avenue) is an arts complex that opened in 2013, dedicated to providing studio and exhibition space for artists, a range of programming in ceramics education, an artist in residence program, and Crane Yard Clay ceramics supply store. The Belger Glass Annex (1219 E. 19th Street), the first public glass-blowing studio of its scale and scope, opened in 2021, providing classes, public programs, and a visiting artist program. Programming at all three locations has made Belger Arts a center for contemporary art.  Evelyn Belger explained to American Craft Magazine that part of their decision to open their home is to provide not only support but create a safe environment. "That’s another reason for us to be sure to live here," Evelyn explained. "When we first lived here, before all this [renovation work on the building], there was quite a bit of unsavory activity going on right at that dead end. In time, that has improved."

The brick structure is the national headquarters of Belger Cartage Service, Inc., a company established in Kansas City in 1919 that provides warehousing services at locations in several states along with crane, heavy hauling, and specialty transportation services nationwide. Since 2000, the building has also been home to the Belger Arts Center which has hosted over 100 contemporary art exhibitions. These public exhibitions draw from the extensive Belger Collection as well as a variety of local, national, and international artists. The center is open to the public and provides free guided tours along with a variety of educational experiences ranging from summer art camps for children to adult ceramics classes.

Belger Cartage Service (1919); Belger Arts Center 2000-Present

Built in 1915, the Midwest Hotel is the largest of three remaining hotels in the area that were built following the relocation of Union Station from the West Bottoms in 1914. Along with the Rieger and Monroe, the purpose of these hotels was to accommodate both workers and travelers as more businesses moved into the area. With the growing need, Midwest Hotel offered 75 rooms, providing affordable and convenient lodging as it was home to many single workers without families and traveling salesmen who found it necessary to be in close proximity to their workplace. A few months after securing the bid for the Rieger Hotel, architects Smith, Rea, and Lovitt were hired by Joseph Harris to construct Midwest Hotel. Costing around $50,0000, this five-story hotel was designed like many at the time as a two-part commercial block building constructed from reinforced concrete and brick with terracotta veneers. Features unique to Midwest Hotel include rosette-framed terracotta tiles along the second through fifth floors and Black Vitrolite (a durable, shiny, colorful tile that was becoming increasingly popular at the time) surrounding the front facade. In 1943, Stella Parke, who had been operating the hotel for the last seven years under a lease agreement, purchased the property from Mr. Harris. Shortly after taking ownership, the United States War Department approached Mrs. Parke in April with plans to lease the hotel due to its proximity to Union Station and downtown. Not without protest, Midwest Hotel became a temporary headquarters for military police stationed in Kansas City during WWII. Possession was reinstated to Parke in 1946 and the hotel continued operating for many decades. The historic building deteriorated over the years as the city's business growth had shifted back to downtown. Jackson County prosecutors sued the hotel’s owner in 2003 in an attempt to force the sale of the building, alleging that ongoing drug use and prostitution were creating a nuisance for the area. In 2005, Midwest Hotel shut its doors. Owners of the hotel had plans to redevelop the building along with adjoining properties in 2008, until next door restaurant Hereford House was subject to arson. In a scheme to collect insurance in order to renovate their struggling downtown location, co-owner to Hereford House property Rodney Anderson hired two men who would then devise a plan using delayed ignition which created an explosion, destroying the restaurant. The plans for renovation ended there. Historic Kansas City Foundation reported that demolition for new construction would be likely, even though interest for renovation was shown by local developers. Midwest Hotel remained standing, but vacant. It was sold at auction in 2013 and put on the list for KC’s most endangered historic buildings in 2015. Revitalization began taking place in the Crossroads district when it was announced that the route of the new streetcar would run along Main Street from the River Market to Union Station. Architectural design firm BKV group of Minneapolis was hired to design a new apartment building in the lots adjacent to and including Midwest Hotel. The firm had experience renovating historic buildings and understood the importance of preserving as much of the original as possible. Making initial planning difficult, BKV Group did not know the extent of the dilapidated building. Deterioration and the occupancy of pigeons created a physical health threat so much that the architects were not allowed inside of the building, relying only on blueprints for interior measurements. After completion of the project, senior partner for BKV Group Mike Krych explained their process and how keeping the terracotta facade and exposed exterior brick is “a way to retain our collective memory of yesteryear.” The new, seven-story, 283-unit City Club Apartment building opened in 2020, while the renovated historic Midwest Hotel building serves as the apartment's amenities hub.

Kansas City's Midwest Hotel opened in 1915, a period of rapid construction for this part of the city resulting from the growth of the city and the decision to build the new Union Station after flooding in the West Bottoms created logistical issues for the city's previous leading railroad terminus. The hotel was located within walking distance of Union Station and was the largest of many budget hotels built in the area at this time. For its first three decades, the hotel provided affordable accommodations for travelers in addition to short-term housing for many single and itinerant workers. The building was also the first home of the Hereford House restaurant, now a popular steakhouse chain in the Kansas City area. Shortly after Stella Parke purchased the hotel in 1943, the US War Department leased the building to support their operations, housing military police during WWII. The hotel operated for decades after resuming normal business in 1946. Over the years the building began to deteriorate. After threats of legal action from Jackson County prosecutors, Midwest Hotel shut the doors in 2005 and was later added to the list of Kansas City's most endangered historic buildings. At the same time, the new streetcar had been approved and construction of the route began down Main Street. In a consensus to revive the Crossroads, BKV Group of Minneapolis was hired to design a new apartment building on the lots at 20th and Main, which included the decrepit hotel property. The City Club Apartments opened in 2020 and the restored Midwest Hotel building serves as the development's amenities hub.

Midwest Hotel Building

In the early 1900s, Kansas City was rapidly expanding with central industries like agriculture and meatpacking growing alongside new industries like automobile manufacturing. After a series of floods in the West Bottoms, the city built a new railroad depot further south. Union Station opened in 1914, leaving the area around Union Depot devoid of business travelers. The new Union Station on Main Street was accompanied by the construction of new buildings and parks, and local businesses that accommodated travelers moved to be closer to the bustling rail station. Jacob Rieger and his family immigrated to America from Austria-Hungary in 1879 and arrived in Kansas City in 1885. Jacob was a businessman with experience in many trades and while Alexander was only 15 when his family arrived in Kansas City, he went straight to work. First finding work as a stockboy at G. Bernheimer Brothers Dry Goods firm, he later joined his father after the family patriarch bought a small grocery store at 3rd and Gillis. Jacob later established J. Rieger and Co., a purveyor of liquor and a distiller in the Union Depot district, the central hub of the city at the time. Alexander took over the family operations in 1900 and created a grandiose marketing campaign for the spirits, offering free gifts with his mail-order service. He claimed J. Rieger &amp; Co. products to be the “Best on Earth” and “O! So Good!”, as well as the largest mail-order whiskey house with a base of over 250,000 customers. The expansion of businesses to the south of the original urban core that accompanied the relocation of Union Station led to the creation of restaurants, barbershops, drug stores, and even a new hospital, and post office. The growth of this area prompted Alexander to build a hotel that was within walking distance of Union Station. Rieger Hotel was one of three hotels built in the vicinity of 19th &amp; Main that catered to single working men without families, traveling salesmen, and itinerant workers needing long-term accommodations. The hotel advertised 21 rooms, private baths, and a restaurant. Designed by architects Smith, Rea, and Lovitt, and built by Gray Construction Company, the three-story hotel was constructed from brick with a terracotta facade, and a large marble cornice atop the building proudly displaying the nameplate “RIEGER”. Details included ornamental ironwork, marble, tile and terrazzo floors, skylights, and metal-framed windows. While this was not a luxury hotel, it was accommodating and convenient. Alexander even commissioned a mural on the south side of the building to promote the family business, J. Rieger &amp; Co.. In late 1919, the prohibition of alcohol led the Rieger family to pivot their business. Alexander Rieger closed the hotel in 1920 and opened the Home Trust Company with his son. With the pivot to finance, the Rieger's sold this building which became home to the Travelers Hotel in 1927. The building was also home to the office for EE Porter Soft Drinks. The building became vacant in 1941 but reopened after World War II as the Milton Hotel. The hotel also leased business space, including its longest tenant Acme Decal Company, until photographer Orville Anderson purchased the building in 1962. The photographer moved his corporate office to the main level and leased the rooms on the second and third floors to the Elms Hotel. The building was sold again in 2003 and like many other buildings in the area, it was renovated to offer condos. Ryan Maybee, a Kansas City bartender, recognized a growing interest in local distilleries and believed that Kansas Citians would appreciate the option to buy locally-produced spirits under a historic name like Rieger. Maybee began by opening Manifesto, a speakeasy concept bar in the basement of the historic Rieger Hotel. Manifesto opened in 2009, and the following year Maybee partnered with chef Howard Hanna to open The Rieger Hotel Grill &amp; Exchange, a historically-themed restaurant. on the main level. On the opening night of The Rieger, the last relative of the bloodline, Andy Rieger, came in to meet the owners and agreed they should work together to bring back the former Rieger distillery. Over the next few years, this team developed a business plan and partnered with a Kansas City creative agency. After acquiring the original trademark, J. Rieger &amp; Co. was officially back in business. Inspired by the past, the new J. Rieger &amp; Co. was branded using the original name, logo, and slogan (O! So Good!), secured property in the East Bottoms neighborhood, as the original distillery was demolished, and successfully launched Rieger’s Kansas City Whiskey in October 2014. After the closure of The Rieger and Manifesto in response to COVID-19 in 2020, the former Rieger Hotel has been vacant. However, the Rieger name continues to demonstrate the spirit of Kansas City's past as the distillery produces whiskey and other spirits at their distillery two miles east of Kansas City's River Market.

Built in 1915 as one of three hotels in this part of Kansas City that catered to traveling workers, the Rieger Hotel was developed by Alexander Rieger, son of Jacob Rieger and founder of Rieger &amp; Co. distillery. The hotel accommodated traveling businessmen, workers, and other individuals needing long-term but temporary accommodations during an era that saw the growth of industry in Kansas City. The hotel was open for only a few, short years before prohibition created a challenge for the family business and Alexander responded by closing the hotel and establishing a bank. The building changed hands several times over the years, accommodating a variety of businesses, including storefronts on the first floor and apartments on the upper stories. In a nod to the building's connection to the Rieger distillery, the building was home to The Rieger restaurant on the first floor and the speakeasy-themed bar Manifesto that occupied the basement.

The Rieger Hotel Building

Though political machines sometimes produced beneficial results for cities, they routinely came at the expense of corruption, heightened racial and ethnic tensions, and poorer civic services (because jobs went to people as political rewards instead of those best qualified). From the Civil War to the Great Depression, patronage machines ruled multiple large cities, including Kansas City. In addition to the Pendergast machine, famous political machines include those of William M. Tweed in New York, James M. Curley in Boston, and Richard J. Daley in Chicago.The Pendergrast machine in Kansas City started with Thomas' brother, James, who built a political network with revenue from saloons, gambling, and brothels. Thomas' and James' parents, Michael and Mary Reidy Pendergast, immigrated to the U.S. from Tipperary, Ireland, to Ohio, and then moved to St. Joseph, Missouri, in 1859. Michael Pendergast enjoyed a longtime membership with the Teamsters, as did many of his children. James moved to Kansas City in 1876 at roughly twenty years old. James first worked as a laborer, working ten to twelve-hour shifts, six days a week. He took some of his wages and gambling winnings to purchase the American House in 1881, a saloon, boarding house, and hotel. The establishment sat in the West Bottoms neighborhood, known for its rampant drinking, gambling, and prostitution, a vice lifestyle Pendergast's American House helped foster. From 1884 to 1892, James opened a second saloon while also working his way up the local political ladder, from ward delegate to Alderman, learning how to turn favors into political influence along the way. In 1894, Thomas (the youngest of nine children) joined the family business in Kansas City, became a Teamster like his dad, and learned from Jim the ins and outs of grassroots politics. James served nine terms as an alderman on the city council before dying in 1911, ostensibly leaving the machine he built in the hands of his younger brother. After James' death, Thomas served as an alderman for a brief period before becoming chairman of the Jackson County Democratic Party. As head of the party machine, he exerted immense influence to win elections for hand-picked candidates and provided innumerable government jobs to political supporters. As Chairmen, he gained tremendous support from the working class because he successfully funneled millions of federal dollars to Kansas City during the Great Depression, and his patronage and leverage over the police allowed illegal gambling, prostitution, and liquor sales to thrive during Prohibition.Where Jim would buy votes through favoritism in the form of jobs, food, and fuel, Tom manipulated elections. The Pendergast Machine consisted of an army of block captains, precinct captains and ward captains, for whom positions were political payments for favors done for the Machine. As a result, one Pendergast-appointed captain existed for every five voters. Additionally, Tom padded the voting ballots by using the names off the headstones of loyal yet dead democrats, known as the "ghost vote." By 1918, the Pendergast machine arranged for polling places to be staffed by election officials dedicated to Pendergast and guarded by thugs and ruffians. In one instance, Pendergast's Goat-Democratic-controlled police refused to intercede when a voter was beaten unconscious and bloodied during an election for the U.S. Congress involving Albert L. Reeves; Reeves suffered a resounding defeat.Voter fraud was merely part of Boss Toms' political power and manipulation. Tom threatened to hand code and license violations to any First Ward saloon that refused to buy liquor from his newly created T. J. Pendergast Wholesale Liquor Company. In addition, Tom arranged for the Ross Construction Company, owned by one of his ward captains, Michael Ross, to acquire lucrative city and county road paving contracts. Pendergast also operated as a silent partner in the company that disposed of the city's garbage. Moreover, he benefitted by contributing to Kansas City's Ten Year Plan in 1930, which involved building downtown skyscrapers and several miles of city and county roads, mainly with Pendergast Ready-Mix concrete. Furthermore, Pendergast worked with his puppet city manager, Henry McElroy, to take federal funds obtained via the Works Progress Administration and use them to award financially rewarding contracts to and hire loyal city employees, who provided kickbacks to Pendergast's bookkeeper.The historic headquarters played an integral role in the Pendergast machine. Tom Pendergast had the office constructed in the headquarters building, which could be accessed via a pathway to the second floor of his nextdoor Monroe Hotel. So, one could access the Jackson County Democratic Club in secret by entering the hotel instead of the headquarters building. But, not everyone arrived in secret. Pendergast held morning meetings three days a week with everyone from the unemployed and homeless to vendors and small-town politicians seeking favors. Pendergrast routinely paid for medical bills of those dealing with financial issues, provided aid to jobless citizens, or paid fines for those struggling. While on its face, the act seemed selfless, Pendergast said of providing help: "They vote for the fellow who gives it to them…We never ask them about their politics. We know pretty well how they will vote after we help them."By the early 1930s, Pendergast controlled the police, and his machine reached as high as the state and federal governments. Much like a mob operation, the machine growth resulted in more money gained from shady deals, fraudulent contracts, as well as gambling, prostitution, and bootleg liquor; every establishment provided a cut of their profits to either the police or Pendergast's enforcers. However, as the 1930s progressed, it became impossible for Pendergast and his machine to hide their rampant corruption and fraud. Activists, political enemies, journalists, women's groups, and even an influential Rabbi spoke out about Pendergast's corruption. But Pendergast's biggest mistakes came within the world of politics. In 1932, he pledged delegates to an ally James A. Reed, a former mayor and Missouri Senator, instead of Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) at the Democratic Convention. Roosevelt retaliated by appointing Maurice Milligan, a Pendergast adversary, to the position of U.S. District Attorney for Western Missouri. Pendergast tried to appease Roosevelt by sending a 'New Dealer' to the Senate: Harry S Truman. When Harry departed for Washington D.C., Pendergast instructed him to "work hard, keep your mouth shut, and answer your mail."  Pendergast also backed Lloyd C. Stark in the 1936 Missouri gubernatorial race, but after Stark won the governorship, he turned his back on Pendergast and began working to dismantle Pendergast's political network and influence. Stark appointed Pendergast adversaries to Kansas City election and liquor control boards. Stark successfully lobbied the legislature for a permanent voter registration law and control over the Kansas City Police Department. Most significantly, upon looking into Pendergast's deals with insurance companies during the mid-1930s, Stark summoned the Internal Revenue Service to audit Pendergast's income tax returns, leading to FDR ordering the Department of Treasury to conduct an exhaustive investigation of Pendergast; an indictment followed.Pendergast represented a nationwide issue of machine politics, so it's no surprise that J. Edgar Hoover came to Kansas City to attend the trial of Boss Tom. The jury convicted Pendergast; he received a sentence of fifteen months in federal prison (Leavenworth Penitentiary). Additionally, the court banned Tom from all political activity, and he was not allowed to visit the now-historic headquarters during his probationary period. The court also forbade Pendergast from gambling because of the discovery of his severe gambling addiction, which he kept secret from family, friends, and political supporters. He lost as much as $6 million on horses alone. By the late 1930s, his debt to bookies and gamblers gave those he owed virtual control of Pendergast business, meaning he went to prison effectively broke, without control of his private enterprises, and politically ostracized.In the wake of the trial, voters began electing "reformers" in droves, essentially driving out any of Boss Tom's people by the mid-1940s. Thomas J. Pendergast is buried at Calvary Cemetery on Kansas City's south side. His headquarters survives as a physical reminder of Boss Tom, the political machine he built, and the boss politics that dominated big cities throughout the nation.

Constructed in 1926, this building served as the headquarters of the Jackson County Democratic Club which was led by Thomas Joseph Pendergast, the penultimate "boss" of the infamous political machine that controlled Kansas City between 1926 and 1939. Referred to by many as "Boss Tom," Pendergast took over and expanded the political machine his brother built, choosing candidates for office who returned the favor by voting in line with the wishes of Boss Tom. As a result, Pendergast's businesses won prized city contracts and he wielded enormous influence over almost every aspect of Kansas City's political, economic, and cultural life.As the Jackson County Democratic Party chair, Pendergast controlled the city's government through patronage, notably by providing jobs and government contracts in exchange for political support. Although Pendergast's corruption became well known by the 1930s, many residents continued to support Pendergast and his candidates because they believed his leadership had ameliorated many of the worst aspects of the Great Depression. Others appreciated Pendergast's refusal to enforce prohibition, leading to a vibrant jazz scene and Kansas City's reputation as a "Wide Open Town" where liquor and vice lived alongside strong financial support for civic institutions like schools and hospitals. Pendergast launched the political career of Harry S Truman, but his reign as a political boss ended in 1939 when he was convicted of income tax evasionToday, the financial crimes and violence that occurred under Boss Tom's watch are sometimes overshadowed by nostalgia for the Jazz Age. and a perception that Pendergast and his men were supporters of integration. In reality, the advances for the Black Community had more to do with neighborhood leaders within the Pendergast orbit and the pragmatism of the political machine that traded funding for Black schools and hospitals for votes. At the same time, Kansas City was home to "Black-and-tan-clubs" that accepted all races than any American city beyond New York in an era otherwise dominated by segregation.

Jackson County Democratic Club (Tom Pendergast Headquarters)

The Monroe Hotel was designed by architect Raymond Sanneman and opened in 1921. The relocation of Union Station from the West Bottoms in 1914 was allowing the expansion of industry and business to the south of downtown, including restaurants, barbershops, drug stores, a hospital, and a post office. This expansion also created a need for affordable accommodations in the area, for both workers and travelers. Built within walking distance, Monroe Hotel was a budget hotel that typically housed single workers and traveling salesmen who found it necessary to live within close proximity to their employment. Political boss Tom Pendergast (1872-1945) bought the hotel in 1924 and hired the hotel's original architect Sanneman two years later to design a two-story building adjacent to the hotel. As this building served as the Jackson County Democratic Club and Pendergast headquarters, Monroe Hotel accommodated many of Pendergast's out-of-town visitors. Boss Tom eventually had a door installed connecting his second-level office directly to the hotel, allowing for a convenient and clandestine exit. This door was sealed in 1939 on orders from a Federal court following the release of Pendergast's’ imprisonment for tax evasion. Tom was barred from any further political activity. The hotel remained in business until 1971.The five-story Monroe Hotel is a Commercial style building, typical for the location and time. Costing around $150,000, it was constructed from reinforced concrete, brick, and terra cotta veneer on the façade of the two lower levels. While the large marquee above its center entrance still boasts the name ‘Monroe Hotel’, it has more recently been renovated into the Hotel Monroe Condominiums.

When the Monroe Hotel opened in 1921, it was one of many hotels in the area that catered to the needs of traveling workers following the relocation of Union Station from the West Bottoms. The hotel filled a need for affordable accommodations and housed mostly single workers and traveling salesmen as it was within walking distance to the rail station and other businesses in the area, including restaurants, barbershops, drug stores, and post office. In the years that followed, the hotel also accommodated many guests of political machine boss Tom Pendergast, especially after he purchased the building in 1924. A couple years later, Pendergast built the Jackson County Democratic Club in the adjacent lot which included a doorway between his second level office and the hotel. The door was sealed in 1939 after orders from a Federal judge following Pendergast's release from prison. The hotel stayed in operation until 1971 and was later renovated into luxury condominiums.

Monroe Hotel Building 

Thomas Corrigan arrived in Kansas City in 1868 and immediately set to work establishing basic infrastructure projects with his brothers, from carving out streets from the high river bluffs that now form the downtown area to mule-drawn streetcars in the 1870s. By the end of that decade, Bernard Corrigan had become the police commissioner and established what some consider Kansas City's first political machine with strong ties to leading banks and a near-monopoly on the streetcar business.Bernard Corrigan and his brothers likely overplayed their hand, however, when they pushed the city council to accept a 30-year deal that would effectively block competition by barring new streetcar companies. With publisher William Rockhill Nelson leading the fight against the monopoly, and with many leading businesses eager for new investment that could lead to cable cars, the mayor vetoed the proposal. With the support of other city leaders, the Metropolitan Street Railway invested in cable cars and Thomas Corrigan shifted his investments from streetcars to real estate. Bernard Corrigan remained a central figure in Kansas City and became president of the Metropolitan Street Railway in 1902.From 1935 to 1947, the primary tenant in this building was the Donnelly Garment Company was led by entrepreneur Nell Donnely Reed who was known for her business acumen, innovation in fashion design, opposition to unionization, and personal life that included a high-profile kidnapping and second marriage to a U.S. Senator. Donnely's form-flattering designs and business model which produced more affordable ready-wear clothing led to her business becoming one of the largest domestic clothing manufacturers at mid-century.

Named in honor of the 19th-century businessman who built a streetcar empire in Kansas City, the Thomas Corrigan Building is a ten-story reinforced concrete structure designed by architects Keene &amp; Simpson to support a variety of industrial needs from office space to manufacturing to warehousing. The building was completed in 1921 as an investment of the four daughters of Corrigan and the building stayed in the Corrigan family until 1977 when it was purchased by Alan J. Bronfman. Over the last century, the structure has been used by many influential KC businesses. From 1921 to 1931, the primary occupant was the Gateway Station Post Office while the Donnelly Garment Company was the main occupant from 1935 to 1947 followed by the Veterans Administration until 1958. After an initial plan to convert the building to apartments, the structure was acquired by a new ownership group in 2015 and renovated to support retail on the first floor and office space on the remaining nine stories. This development, known as Corrigan Station, was shaped by the creation of the Kansas City Streetcar Line, perhaps fitting owing to the building's connection to streetcar magnate Thomas Corrigan.

Thomas Corrigan Building (Corrigan Station)

Ellen Quinlan, later known as Nell Donnelly Reed, was born on March 6, 1889, in Parsons, Kansas. One of thirteen children in a family headed by an Irish immigrant who worked on the railroad, young Ellen learned quickly that her skill with a needle and thread could help her family. Ellen Quinlan moved to Kansas City in the early 1900s with her first husband, Paul Donnelly. Disappointed with the options that were available for women in the garment industry, Nell Donnelly decided to create her own business.In 1916, The Donnelly Garment Company was born and soon earned a reputation for providing women with affordable clothing options that were ready-made and flattering. Her business grew quickly owing to her business acumen, and by the early 1930s, the Donnelly Garment Company had more than 1,000 employees and brought in millions of dollars in sales.Donnelly divorced her first husband and married, James A. Reed, a former U.S. senator and a former mayor of Kansas City. The marriage was a high-profile event, made even more because she had recently been the victim of a high-profile kidnapping just as her business was growing, In later years, a family member revealed that Donnelly and Reed's son was their own as the boy was born out of wedlock Nell Donnelly was still married to her first husband, Paul Donnelly. Had this information been publicly known, along with the couple's decision to hide Donnelly's pregnancy and arrange to later adopt their own son would have been one of the largest scandals in Kansas City's history. Instead, Reed likely used his connections to the Pendergast Machine to call upon Johnny Lazia, also a member of organized crime, to assist with the search for their child. Within two days of her kidnapping, Nell and her chauffeur was located and brought safely home. The story was headline news in Kansas City for days, bringing more attention to the already prominent garment company owner. A year later, she and Paul Donnelly divorced, most likely due to an affair between Nell and James A. Reed, which had been ongoing prior to the kidnapping. To assure her control of the company she created, Nell purchased her former husband's share of the garment company after the divorce.In 1933, Nell and James A. Reed were married. The marriage boosted Nell's community prominence and provided her more connections. Although she implemented innovative assembly-line practices in her garment company, she also earned a reputation for using this innovation to speed up the pace of work and was also known for low pay and poor working conditions.At a time when garment workers were unionizing, Nell Donnely was one of the strongest opponents of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU). From the perspective of union leaders, Donnelly used strongarm tactics to prevent any of her workers from joining a union. While her opposition to organized labor led to criticism, she was a wealthy woman when she announced her retirement in 1956. She sold the Donnelly Garment Company which was renamed Nelly Don, Inc. Nell's exit from the industry was well-timed as the garment industry in Kansas City dwindled in the next two decades, reflecting national and global changes to the industry. Nelly Don, Inc. filed for bankruptcy in 1978. Although the company no longer exists, the building where Nell Donnelly's company was located still stands at 1828 Walnut Street in Kansas City, Missouri.After her retirement, Nell and her husband contributed to the Kansas City community. The James A. Reed Memorial Wildlife Area was developed on hundreds of acres of land that Nell donated to the Missouri Department of Conservation. She also served on multiple boards, including for the Kansas City Art Institute and the Starlight Theatre. On September 8, 1991, at the age of 102, Nell passed away. Although her personal and professional life had their share of controversy, Nell Donnelly Reed was unquestionably one of the most influential Kansas Citians of the 20th century and an astute businesswoman and innovator in the garment industry.

This building on Kansas City's Walnut Street was the headquarters of Nell Donnelly Reed's garment empire which became the largest manufacturer of women's dresses in the United States. A former worker in the garment industry, Reed built and grew her business from the early to mid-1900s by offering a variety of styles of women's clothing that were unique and form-flattering. Nell Donnelly was able to expand her company through a mixture of shrewd business practices and innovative designs. Known today for her opposition to organized labor, she also created fashionable designs for women of all sizes at lower prices than her competitors as her company pioneered new techniques in assembly-line production. While Nell Donnelly Reed was a successful entrepreneur who exhibited creativity and business savvy, she was also criticized by some who hoped a woman-led company would create more opportunities for unionization of the garment industry. At the same time, the Donnelly Garment Company offered numerous unique benefits for workers such as tuition support and family scholarships. After her retirement and subsequent sale of her company, Nell Donnelly Reed supported several community organizations and philanthropy, including the donation of over seven hundred acres to build a wildlife conservation area named in honor of her late second husband, former Senator James Reed.

The Donnelly Garment Company (1916-1978)

1901 McGee Street, one of the first buildings on "Automobile Row" to be constructed, was built during a time when it was becoming increasingly common to own cars. Before World War I, the processes needed to build and repair cars were expensive. At the time, a car cost between two and three thousand dollars, about twice the annual income of the average American worker. This kept cars in the hands of the wealthy only. However, during and after the Great War, a number of technological improvements, including the invention of the electric starter, and economic changes, including Ford's introduction of the rebate, began to make cars more affordable. The number of cars produced in the United States annually skyrocketed. In Kansas City, in particular, there were only 400 cars on city streets in 1907, but this grew to 55,000 over the next fifteen years. This building is an early example of the Commercial style common in early twentieth-century car dealerships and other businesses. The overall shape of the building is simple and would have been relatively inexpensive to construct. Like other Commercial style buildings of the time, the materials used were a combination of stonework and wood. However, unlike those buildings used for other purposes, 1901 McGee Street is supported by massive steel I-beams, necessary to support the heavy cars displayed inside. On the ground floor are some of the large windows that showcased the dealership's merchandise to those passing by on foot or in the streetcar. The windows on the second floor and the skylights on the roof let in natural light to illuminate the open display space on the inside of the building. 1901 McGee Street passed hands between many dealerships after it was opened, including the Dey Motor Company, Century Motor Company, and Erwin Davis Motors. It sat empty from 1935 until 1940 as the automobile industry suffered from the Great Depression but was bought by a new dealership at the start of World War II. In 1954 it was sold again and became McGee Radio. In 1968 the ground floor windows were removed, and metal plates were installed where they had been. This was in response to the riots that had taken place earlier that year after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. These windows were restored in the early 2000s when the building was redone by Rosin Preservation. As the restoration company put it, "Sometimes you don't see what is right in front of you. ... [This building's] historic features were lying dormant, waiting to be rediscovered."

The building at 1901 McGee Street, a former car dealership, is located in an area of town known as "Automobile Row." In particular, when this building was built in 1912, it was during a time when the automobile dealership district was still in its early years, and the popularity of cars was starting to rise. Like the nearby Kirkwood Building at 1737 McGee Street, which was also a part of Automobile Row, 1901 McGee Street is a commercially designed building specifically built to be a car dealership. However, since this building is older, it combines more modern design aspects with older ones. For example, the inside of the building is made of combined stonework and wood, common in early twentieth-century buildings, but supplemented with massive steel beams to allow the building to support its very heavy merchandise. Large windows, which allowed dealerships to display cars to pedestrians, can also still be seen on the ground level.

1901 McGee Street Automotive Service Building	

The company's roots date back to 1847 when German native William G. Hesse opened a wagon and carriage shop on Shawnee Street. He had arrived in American when he was 15 and lived in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and St. Louis before settling in Leavenworth, Kansas, which is just northwest of Kansas City. This was an ideal location for his shop since it was just west of where the Santa Fe, California and Oregon Trails, which were used by travelers heading west. Hesse moved to a bigger location in 1850 and expanded it in 1871 (it appears he was still using the Shawnee Street building but it burned down in 1871). He taught his son, Otto, who was born in 1865, woodworking, Blacksmithing, painting, trimming, and how to run the business. Otto invented the short-tongue Ludlow spring wagon, which became one of the company's best products. Otto and a partner, Joseph Falk, acquired a building in Kansas City in 1898 and took over management of the property in 1900. Hesse continued to manage the Leavenworth property. In 1903, Otto and Joseph built a four story building on East 17th Street and officially established the Hesse Carriage Company in August of that year (it is unclear what the status of the Leavenworth operation was at this time but Hesse died in 1907). The company manufactured a variety of wagons including those for delivering bread and pulling hearses. It also added a body shop in response to the increasing number of accidents. After the Ford Model T car was introduced in 1908, the company started manufacturing wagon bodies for automobiles. The revenue generated from this enabled the company to build a four-story building just to the north at 1700 Oak Street in 1909. It also partnered with Coca-Cola, which heard about the company and asked it to develop a specific type of vehicle to deliver Coca-Cola bottles. This also proved to be a lucrative venture as it allowed the company to build a two-story addition to the 1700 Oak Street building in 1915. In 1917, Otto developed a way to manufacture delivery van bodies that could be attached to the Model T chassis. Producing these type of bodies required more space. As a result, he bought and demolished three buildings down the street and built the Auto Coach Building in 1917. As noted above, he then enlarged it in 1926. Over the next twenty years or so the company gradually transitioned to only producing specialized bodies for beverage trucks. It began leasing the Auto Coach Building in 1940 and built a new facility in northeast Kansas City in 1948. That year it also changed its named to the Hesse Corporation. It closely followed innovations in the steel industry and developed a variety of aluminum products. In 1964, it showcased one of its all-aluminum truck bodies at the World's Fair in New York City. It appears that by then the company had completed its shift to building bodies for beverage trucks. Local businessman Ray Maher bought the company in 1972 and it became a division of his company. It was later sold to the Canadian firm, Remcor, in 1991. Another Canadian company, called Cambli, acquired it in 2013 and it is now known as Group Hesse.

One of the country's leading manufacturers of custom bodies for trucks in the early 20th century, the Hesse Carriage Company, built the Auto Coach Building in 1917. It gave the company increased manufacturing space to mass produce truck bodies used in building Ford Model T cars. This ability to rapidly build the bodies differentiated the company from competitors and laid the foundation for its future and ongoing success (the company exists today as Group Hesse). Increasing demand for its products prompted the company to expand the building in 1926 to its current size. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007 and is now a loft apartment building.

Auto Coach Building

The Kirkwood Building was designed by local firm Wight and Wight in what is described as a "restrained, streamlined Neoclassical style." Other buildings designed by the firm include the Nelson-Atkins Museum, the Kansas Governor's mansion, and several local courthouses, but while their designs all share the Neoclassical style, Kirkwood Building is different because it was designed specifically for commercial use. As a result, it is much more conservative and restrained than some of the firm's more well-known designs.Car dealerships in the early twentieth century tended to give off a feeling of grandeur and importance to their often middle-class customers without being too opulent, meaning that the building and its decoration were designed to be dignified but not too extravagant. In addition, this building, like others that used to exist on "Automobile Row," was designed specifically to feature auto showrooms. The features that allowed for this can still be seen today, including large entrances, a tall building height compared to other area buildings, and wide windows, especially on the ground level. These windows allowed those walking or riding the streetcar to the dealership to get a good look at the latest models of cars available before they even entered the building.The building was occupied by the Gridley Motor Company and the Indiana Truck Company initially. From 1920 until 1939, it was occupied by them and a variety of other tenants related to the automobile industry, including at least one insurance company, several other dealerships, and a few auto parts suppliers. The building was restored in the early twenty-first century with the intent to keep as many historic features as possible while still meeting modern code standards and ADA guidelines. The windows and exterior of the building were restored specifically to be as close to the original as possible, and the inside was converted into office space. Today Kirkwood Building is home to a software company.

The Kirkwood Building is the former home of an early twentieth-century car dealership located in a part of Kansas City previously known as "Automobile Row." The structure was built in 1920, a turning point in the industry where car ownership proliferated beyond the most wealthy to include many in the upper-middle-class while businesses ranging from agriculture to delivery services invested in trucks. As Kansas City neighborhoods expanded beyond the urban corps to create less walkable suburbs, more people bought cars out of necessity which in turn fueled demand for car dealerships like those that occupied this building. While the Kirkwood Building was only used by car dealerships for the first several years after it was built, the building has been well-preserved and serves as an example of how this part of the city was home to many automobile dealerships that shared similar design aspects that blended space for a showroom with sales offices and garage space.

Kirkwood Building

According to R. Crosby Kemper, a member of the banking family that led Old City Bank, the construction of this building was part of the city's southward expansion in the first decades of the twentieth century. With downtown real estate values peaking, many investors and companies turned their attention to a rapidly-developing area around 18th Street known as Midtown. The decision to build City Bank at 18th and Grand was centered on the idea that it would become an anchor of the neighborhood, which turned out to be correct despite the effects of the Great Depression. City Bank was located on a major trolley interchange, and it soon grew into an important commercial center.The City Bank building was designed by Holden, Ferris, and Barnes, a local architectural firm that built many other structures from 1925 to 1930. While most of the firm's buildings have been lost to time, this former bank survives as an example of the Commercial style of architecture HFB utilized and was popular during the 1920s and 1930s. The design firm made use of Art Deco features throughout the building's exterior, including brickwork that incorporates multiple colors and the stone torch-like fixtures between the windows.After several decades at 18th and Grand, City Bank accepted a relocation offer in 1972 and moved a mile away to Crown Center. The old building was eventually sold to Howard, Needles, Tammen, and Bergendoff, an engineering firm. HNTB moved to Corporate Woods in Overland Park in the early 1980s, demonstrating the continuity of the city's southward growth throughout the 20th century. The engineering firm sold the former bank building to Republic Bank. The building changed hands in the decades that followed, and today it houses the Church of Scientology's Kansas City location. While the church has made some minor changes to the building's exterior to indicate that it belongs to their organization, "City Bank" is still engraved over the entrance.

Constructed in 1930 in a part of Kansas City known at the time as Midtown, the City Bank building is a landmark of the Crossroads District that blends architectural and economic significance. The bank's construction symbolized the expansion of Kansas City's economic core from the downtown area south, and despite the Great Depression, the area around 18th and Grand would soon grow into a hub of business. The outside of the building has been changed very little since City Bank was first constructed which provides an example of the Commercial and Art Deco styles of architecture that were popular in the 1930s. City Bank was financed by William T. Kemper and led by his son Rufus Crosby Kemper. The business grew to become UMB Bank, so while this historic bank building is now home to the Church of Scientology, it is located across the street from a branch of UMB Bank

City Bank Building

The Kansas City Star newspaper was established in 1880 by William Rockhill Nelson and Samuel Morss. The pair had previously operated the Fort Wayne Sentinel in Indiana before moving to Missouri. Within a year Morss had left the enterprise and soon afterwards died, leaving Nelson in control of the paper. At its inception The Star faced stiff competition from three established local newspapers, The Times, The Journal, and the Mail. Nelson as a result decided to market his paper at two cents a copy. This undercut his competitors, who all charged five cents, and The Star quickly became more popular; within months subscriptions skyrocketed from three thousand to over fifty thousand. Under Nelson, the paper advocated for reforms and improved infrastructure in Kansas City, such as paved roads and sidewalks, better streetlights and sewage systems, more police and firefighters, and the creation of city parks. Nelson died in 1915, leaving the paper to his wife and daughter. After they had both passed away in 1926, a group of employees banded together to purchase The Star.The Star had its headquarters at five different locations before Nelson had a permanent building constructed in 1911. Prominent Chicago architect Jarvis Hunt, who had designed Kansas City’s Union Station, was commissioned to design the headquarters. The Italian Renaissance-style structure was built on 18th Street and Grand Boulevard. It consisted of a west building, containing the newsroom, and an east building, containing the printing presses, and also featured a 6,000 square foot skylight.The Star grew in popularity, influence, and national recognition during the middle decades of the twentieth century. In 1922 it opened a radio station, WDAF, and later a television station (WDAF-TV) in 1949. In 1942 The Star’s last daily paper competitor, the Kansas City Journal, was shuttered, giving it a virtual monopoly in the area. In 1945, due to paper rations brought on by World War II, The Star purchased a paper mill in Wisconsin to have a private, reliable supply of paper. During the 1950s the paper was a strong critic of President Harry Truman, much to his chagrin. In 1953 Truman’s administration pressed antitrust charges against The Star for its ownership of the WDAF radio and television stations, eventually forcing it to sell both.By the 1970s The Star was facing financial difficulties, brought on by the cost of new printing technology and the need to pay for pollution damages caused by the paper mill in Wisconsin. In 1977 the paper was sold to Capital Cities Communications Inc., and has since traded hands several times. Today it is owned by the McClatchy Company. In 2006 The Star constructed the Press Pavilion, a new high-tech printing and distribution plant to the northeast of its headquarters. The massive, two-block long structure cost $200 million, and was supposed to help revitalize the downtown area. Over the next decade the newspaper industry rapidly declined; The Star was hit hard, and the Press Pavilion became a financial burden. In 2017 The Star sold its historic headquarters building and moved operations into the Press Pavilion as a cost-cutting measure. Currently plans are being developed to renovate the old headquarters building into new office space.

The Kansas City Star is a major newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri. Established in 1880, the paper has been widely influential and achieved national recognition; it is the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes. Walt Disney delivered copies as a paper boy; Theodore Roosevelt wrote many columnns for it; Harry Truman and Ernest Hemingway were each briefly employed by it. This building was constructed as the paper’s company headquarters in 1911. It was designed in the Italian Renaissance style by noted Chicago architect Jarvis Hunt. After housing The Star for over a century, the paper sold the building in 2017 and moved into its Press Pavilion facility. Today plans are being made to develop the old headquarters building into office spaces and a data center.

The Kansas City Star Headquarters 1911-2017

Liquor wholesaler Raymond Stenzel erected the building in 1948, a few years after he established his business between 1943 and 1945 on west 4th Street. By then the neighborhood had evolved from primarily a residential area into an industrial district. Stenzel's business was one of 15 wholesale liquor operators in the city at the time. Stenzel operated the business until 1956 and became president of a cigar company. He later became chairman of the board at a drug company and then moved to Colorado in 1962. After he closed his business, a variety of other tenants occupied the building including a regulator company, a thermostat manufacturer, and a plumbing and heating equipment manufacturer.

Built in 1948, the R.O. Stenzel &amp; Company Warehouse is an excellent example of the commercial distribution buildings erected in Kansas City after World War II. Designed by architects Kivett &amp; Myers, it represents the architectural trends of the period such as simple masonry construction, light-colored veneer brick, minimal decoration, flat surfaces, banded windows, and loading bays. These features reflect the utilitarian, commercial purpose of the building. Today the the building is home to a branch of the CommunityAmerica Credit Union. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.

R.O. Stenzel & Company Warehouse

Charles Price arrived in Kansas City in 1911 and worked as a salesman for the National Candy Company prior to starting a soda and candy concession stand at the one-prominent Jones Store. He founded Price's Fine Chocolates in 1913. In addition to this building, the company built a second candy factory at 2 West 39th Street, which opened in 1929, shortly before the onset of the Great Depression. His son, Charles H Price II, worked at the family candy company from 1955 to 1981 (and managed it from 1973 until 1982), when the family sold the business. In 1969, Price II married Carol Ann Swanson, an heir to the Swanson food empire. Charles Price II met and befriended future President Ronald Reagan through his network of family and friends in 1970. In the spring of 1981, President Ronald Reagan appointed Price as the United States Ambassador to Belgium. Two years later, Price left Belgium to become U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom, where he proved instrumental in handling one of the United States' first foreign-terrorist attack tragedies: the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. The Price family sold the company to Minnesota Twins (Major League Baseball) owner Carl Pohlad in 1982, and then the ownership changed several times before Sweet Shop USA acquired Price's Fine Chocolates in 2000. Meanwhile, in addition to serving as the home to the Price Chocolates, the building housed a sewing company, a heavy-machinery company, and a wholesaler of industrial sewing machines. Today, it's the home to Tom's Town Distilling Co., named, according to the company, "after the country's most corrupt political boss, Tom Pendergast. Pendergast started as a saloon keeper and the founder of a wholesale liquor company."

Now known as Tom Town's Distillery, named after Kansas City's infamous "Boss" mayor, Tom Pendergast, the building was built in 1908 and became the headquarter for the Price Candy Company. The wealth gained from the candy and chocolate business allowed them to live among the social elites. Charles Price II, son of the company's founder, married the heir to a food empire, befriended a future U.S. President, and enjoyed immense success in the private sector and as a U.S. diplomat.

Price Candy Building; Tom's Town Distillery

The Vitagraph building opened in 1930 during a time when the film industry was undergoing significant transitions. Films were shifting from silent movies to those with synchronized sound and dialogue. As a result, the technology used to distribute films to theaters was changing to handle higher quality audio. American Vitagraph Company was able to handle these changes to technology, allowing it to survive as a company past the silent film era. This building was commissioned by Warner Brothers Film Corporation after they purchased Vitagraph Company.The inside originally included sound booths using Vitagraph's new recording technology. Additionally, like other film company buildings at the time, it was full of fire safety measures such as sprinklers, remote-controlled emergency exits, and fireproof steel storage vaults. This was because until the early 1950s, film reels used cellulose nitrate, an extremely flammable and explosive kind of plastic. The consequences of inadequate fireproofing had already been seen in Kansas City when the Famous Players-Lasky building went up in flames in 1920.After a $24 million renovation of the building financed by philanthropist Shirley Helzberg, the Kansas City Symphony moved to this building in 2010. The inside of the building has been heavily modified, including the removal of the steel vaults, in order to convert it into office space, but signs of it having been home to a warehouse and film distribution company can still be seen.Kansas City's Vitagraph building and many of the others on Film Row were built in Art Deco style in an attempt to look more modern as more modern technology became common. Buildings in this style tended to have a simple basic structure, as opposed to more extravagant ones built in classical revival styles earlier in the twentieth century. However, they would still feature detailing in the form of patterned lines, which can still be seen on the outside of Vitagraph, or zigzags, which can be seen between the windows on the front of the building.

This building was completed in 1930 in an area of Kansas City known as Film Row due to the area's association with the movie industry. It is a good example of Art Deco architecture, which was popular in the 1920s and 1930s when Vitagraph was commissioned and built. While the building has been altered on the inside in order to be converted to office space, the outside still looks very similar to how it looked when the building was first built after Vitagraph was purchased by Warner Brothers.

Vitagraph Film Exchange Building

Kansas City Public Schools was established in 1867. Early on, the city's only school buildings were simple frame or brick buildings with few classrooms, narrow hallways and staircases, and few windows. They were also unstable, often built in precarious places like on hills or in ravines. As a result, in the 1870s and 1880s, KCPS built the first generation of permanent public school buildings: Irving, Switzer, Hamilton, and Webster. Webster was built in 1885, making it one of the oldest still-standing public school buildings in Kansas City. It is likely that the school was named for statesman Daniel Webster, although it was possible Noah Webster, the lexicographer, was another inspiration.The public approved $60,000 in school bonds in 1885. Just two weeks later, the school board bought land from A.A. Whipple, cashier of the Citizen's National Bank, for $6,000. The carpenter was Charles B. Mumma, who was part of the partnership Mumma &amp; Wood and was better known for building "modern theatrical stagework." Previously, when building schools, the district hired individual local architects for each project, but the one responsible for Webster was Manuel Diaz, who was appointed in 1884 as the first official school board architect. For this building, Diaz chose a Victorian style with Italianate elements, also called Richardson Romanesque. This gave it a unique structure not seen in later KCPS schools, which were often designed to be larger and simpler in shape and ornamentation. Diaz worked for the board until 1887, and he was also responsible for the "new Central school" and the Jefferson, Garfield, Bryant, and Adams schools. The board architect after this was William Hackney, who expanded Webster when its student body grew.The Webster School was part of the KCPS for 45 years. The neighborhood it served primarily consisted of working-class people who lived in area homes and apartments and worked in commercial buildings nearby. However, the makeup of the area changed over time as Kansas City's population began to concentrate further south and in the suburbs, and larger businesses replaced the smaller ones that had previously dominated the neighborhood. The population dwindled, and Webster School closed in 1932. After lying empty for six years, it began a new life under a string of various owners and renters. The building was leased in the 1930s to the State of Missouri for Social Security Offices. From 1945 onward, it housed Midland Radio School. In 1978, the Historic Kansas City Foundation acquired it and enacted measures to ensure its preservation even after it was sold again.In the 1990s, preservationists and local organizations became concerned about the school building's future. Around this time, many school buildings across Kansas City were being declared surplus. If they were too expensive to be renovated, KCPS and the City of Kansas City often opted to tear them down. local entrepreneur and philanthropist Shirley Bush Helzberg painstakingly restored the building, which was likely not an easy undertaking due to its age. As of 2021, the Kansas City Symphony has plans to make the building its new headquarters.

This historic Kansas City school opened in 1886 and is one of the few remaining Richardson Romanesque buildings that remain in the city, thanks in part to the restoration work of philanthropist Shirley Bush Helzberg. The building was a school until 1932 and hosted a variety of businesses in the next four decades. The building fell into disrepair and was vacant from 1977 until the late 1990s when preservationists and civic leaders became concerned that the landmark structure was endangered. Helzberg financed the restoration of the structure which served as a restaurant and antique shop from 2002 to 2020. In 2021, plans were announced to convert the building to serve as the headquarters of the Kansas City Symphony with space for offices as well as recitals and educational programs.

Webster House, formerly the Webster School

Kansas City and the other exchange centers were essential to the film industry between the 1920s and the 1970s. Kansas City's central location in the country and its status as a major railroad transportation hub made it an ideal place to store and distribute films to Midwestern theaters. These were needed beginning in the 1920s, which is when the film industry took off. During that decade, nearly a thousand films were produced each year, a number that continued to rise in the coming decades. All of this production generated vast amounts of films as the average Hollywood movie needed six to ten reels of film reels, and all of these had to be stored at exchange centers, which were also places where films could be repaired.Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios erected its building on Film Row between 1929 and 1930. Designed in the Art Deco style and built of brick, it had a capacity of 15,000 reels and also had a small theater. The studio owned the building until 1990. In 1992, the building was bought by a vacuum company that used it for storage.While Metro-Goldwyn Mayer Studios experienced some of its greatest success in the late 1940s and 1950s with massive technicolor hits such as "Singin' in the Rain" (1952) or "Ben Her" (1959), so did the Kansas City office. This building was a center of what former Film Row employee Jack Poessiger considered one of the "greatest industry communities" in the city. Articles in The Kansas City Star report MGM's studio as being a local hang-out area for many exhibitors, even those who were not visiting to do business. One of the more intriguing stories to come out of the era was the case of the disappearing film reels. In March of 1947, "The Kansas City Times" reported that roughly 24,000 feet of film was stolen from the sidewalk in front of the branch office. The branch's booking manager, Walter Lambader, warned the perpetrators that their theft endangered public safety. He remarked that the nitrate film that was stolen was highly flammable. He worried that anybody, especially a child, might cause unintentional harm to themselves if the films were not returned. The films were never recovered. The robbery of film reels in Kansas City was a rare occurrence. Lambader's comments support Poissiger's perspective that the employees of Film Row cared deeply about the magic of film and took responsibility for public welfare.

Kansas City's Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Building was constructed between 1929 and 1930 and is one of many buildings that supported major studios in an area of Kansas City once known as "Film Row." From the 1920s through the postwar era, Kansas City's Film row was part of a network of 32 "exchange centers" around the country that stored and distributed films. Other major film companies such as Walt Disney, Warner Brothers, and 20th Century Fox operated from their own buildings in Film Row while smaller companies rented offices in neighboring structures. The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Building is located on the west side of Film Row, which encompasses the area between Central Street and Baltimore Avenue and between 17th and 20th Streets.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Building 

Commonwealth Theaters, Inc. was a movie theater chain based in Kansas City. Its headquarters were purchased in 1936 as part of Film Row. Over the course of five decades, the company was bought and sold several times. In 1983, the company went private after a merger with CMN Capital Corp. The following year, it was reportedly one of the largest movie theater chains in the United States. By 1986, a film production company called Cannon Group Inc. purchased the company. The chief operating officer rationalized the purchase by saying: “If you make films, it is rather smart to have a place to show them.”Two years later in 1988, Cannon sold Commonwealth to the Denver-based company United Artists Communications for $72.5 million. At this point, Colorado had 169 Commonwealth theaters and United Artists was the largest movie theater operator in the United States as well as one of the largest cable television companies. The building closed and the company went defunct by 1991.This was only one building to occupy Kansas City’s Film Row. Taking up four square blocks between 17th and 19th streets from the 1920’s to the 1960’s, Film Row (now known as the Crossroads Arts District) served as a distribution point for the film industry. In these buildings, film canisters were stored before being distributed to New York and Hollywood. They stored and distributed films from Paramount, MGM, Warner Bros., Disney, Universal, and more. These buildings even housed the Manley Popcorn Company.The need for a distribution point arose during the 1940’s and before television due to the vast amount of films being made at the time. There were more films being made every year between the 1920’s and 1960’s than is typically made in a year today. Kansas City was chosen as a distribution point in part because of its location at the center of the country. It also had strong railroad connections which was useful because the film canisters were transported by train. This specific block in Kansas City was chosen because municipal laws had been enacted in that area which determined how the buildings were built and fireproofed, which protected the buildings from damage should any of the highly flammable film rolls catch fire. The location was convenient as well - if film was damaged, it was easy to send them off to Ottawa, Kansas for repairs.Film Row began losing its purpose as technological improvements were being made. The most influential factor in the downfall of Film Row was the digitization of film - there is no need to store film when movies are now being transported on hard drives through the mail.

Kansas City's Film Row spanned four city blocks which included nearly twenty buildings that supported the production and distribution of films from Paramount, MGM, Warner Brothers, Paramount, and many others. Today, Kansas City’s Film Row is known as the one of the “most intact Film Row districts” in the United States.

Commonwealth Theaters Headquarters Building and Kansas City's Film Row

As early as 1920, there were about 800 films made annually in the United States. Movie theaters became so popular, that in 1941, The Daily Year Book stated that there was one theater for every eight thousand people in the United States. The population was 133.5 million at the time, and the demand presented a challenge for distribution and storage. One movie could be from 6 to 10 reels long, and these reels could contain cartoons, news, and media other than the feature film. As a result, Hollywood produced tens of thousands of reels every year that were stored and distributed in buildings like the ones that surround this building that served Paramount Pictures.Kansas City's Paramount Pictures Building was used to store films distributed by Hollywood and New York studios. At the time, it was not uncommon for these studios to make their movies. The term "exchange centers" was used for this location because studios like MGM, Walt Disney, and Warner Brothers stored and distributed their films to the theaters. The buildings on Film Row played a crucial role in ensuring the curtains rose for the masses.The Paramount Pictures Building, erected in the early 1920s and renovated again around 1930, was a unique design for film exchange centers. Offices and screening rooms were located near the front of the building. A firewall separated street-level entrances from the protected and flame-proof film vaults. Later, more film vaults were constructed in the basement. Thus, Kansas City's Paramount Building was one of the most secure facilities for its films.Paramount Studios also provided distribution centers with exciting publicity events for upcoming films, particularly in Kansas City. Studio head Adolph Zukor often passed through Kansas City as he traveled between financial offices in New York and the rest of his studio offices in California. In the summer of 1922, Billy Schaubert, a former local racer driver, parked in front of the building and - surrounded by youthful, enthusiastic eyes - proudly held up a banner that read "Across the Continent." The moment was one in a long line of public engagements that made Paramount thrive in Hollywood's golden age. The man behind the wheel of the car, Billy Schaubert, was later hired as one of Paramount's salesmen in the Kansas City area.The Paramount building was one of the last in the Film Row District to remove the studio's iconic name from the side of the building. The building and district has seen many changes since the end of Film Row's heyday, but the film vaults remain and demonstrate Kansas City's role in the early years of the film industry.

During the 1920s and 1970s, this building and many others served the film industry by offering storage, distribution, and other services that connected tens of thousands of movie theaters to studios from Hollywood to New York. From the 1920s to the 1970s, Hollywood and the Crossroads Art District in Kansas City were connected through a series of buildings known as Film Row. Kansas City was an essential part of the vast entertainment distribution industry given its geography and position as a railroad hub.

Paramount Pictures Building

Transcontinental and Western Air was formed in 1930 when two mail carrier airlines, Western Air and Transcontinental Air Transport, merged together and switched their focus to passenger travel. TWA set up its headquarters in Kansas City, supposedly at the recommendation of Charles Lindbergh, who had been associated with Transcontinental Air Transport. In 1939, wealthy aviator Howard Hughes purchased a controlling stake in the company and became its de facto leader. TWA initially prospered under Hughes. It became the first company to use planes with pressurized cabins for domestic service, which dramatically reduced the time of flights. It also commissioned the development of the popular “Connie” Constellation plane from Lockheed Aircraft. As it grew, the company began adding international routes and in 1950 was renamed Trans World Airlines. The company also developed a reputation for luxury and glamour. It flew a number of celebrities, and introduced amenities such as in-flight movies. In 1960 Howard Hughe’s erratic behavior and somewhat-questionable financial decisions caused the company to pressure him into leaving. In 1967 TWA began offering jet service for all of its domestic and international routes, the first airline to do so.TWA had its first headquarters in the Kansas City Municipal Airport, and additional offices were scattered throughout the city. In 1956 the company decided to consolidate all of its operations into one facility. A new headquarters building was constructed on 18th street at the site of the former Muehlebach Brewery. The 124,000 square foot building was designed in the International Style by architects Raymond Bales Jr. and Morris Schechter at a cost of $1.5 million. It was notably constructed using a process called Youtz-Slick, in which prefabricated slabs of concrete were lifted by hydraulic jacks and attached to the steel beams. The exterior was covered in red and white metal paneling.Originally a large model rocket named the Moonliner II stood on top of the corporate headquarters building. It was a 1/3 scale replica of another rocket, the Moonliner I, that stood in Tomorrowland at Disneyland. The Moonliner at Disneyland was sponsored by TWA from 1955-1962 and featured the company’s logo. After the partnership ended, the Moonliner II rocket was removed from the top of the headquarters. It was later donated to the National Airline History Museum by Dan Viets, an area attorney who has led efforts to restore the building that held Walt Disney's Kansas City studio.Due to its significant growth in the 1960s, TWA made the decision to relocate its headquarters to New York City in 1964. It maintained a number of offices in the Kansas City building until 1969. The corporate headquarters building was actually owned by the Kansas City Life Insurance Company, which leased it out to TWA. Starting in 1975 the building contained offices for the Bureau of Hearings and Appeals Regional Development Center. In 1981 the classic white and red paneling were covered in brown stucco surfacing.By the 1980s TWA was plagued by a number of financial issues. It now lagged behind in innovation, and was burdened by a large amount of debt. In 1985 the airline was acquired by Carl Icahn. Icahn was reportedly interested only in personal profit for himself, and was accused of mismanaging the company into worse financial problems. TWA struggled to be profitable, and declared bankruptcy twice in the 1990s. Finally in 2001 the company was acquired by American Airlines and ceased to exist.When TWA went out of business, the Kansas City headquarters building had been vacant for a number of years and was in a state of disrepair. In 2002 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places, and efforts began to restore the building. The El Dorado Architects firm embarked on a $15 million project to refurbish the TWA headquarters into a modern office building. The brown stucco was removed and the original exterior restored, complete with a reproduction of the Moonliner II rocket. One new feature was the addition of a green roof to absorb stormwater runoff. Since 2006 the building has been occupied by Barkley Inc., an advertising agency.

This building served as the headquarters for Trans World Airlines (TWA) from 1956 until 1964. Once one of the leading airlines in the world, TWA was in business from 1930 to 2001. The company pioneered many aviation achievements such and was known for being the first to utilize the Lockheed Constellation. TWA’s presence in Kansas City up until the late 1960s was a boon for the city’s economic development, as was the company's flight attendant training school that operated in Kansas City from 1969 to 1988. The corporate headquarters building was the first major commercial structure built in the city in decades. It was notable for being constructed with prefabricated concrete and steel. Howard Hughes commissioned a 1/3 scale model of the Moonliner Rocket attraction TWA sponsored at Disneyland in the 1950s to be placed atop the building. In the early 2000s the building was restored to its original appearance, along with a replica of the Moonliner, and today it houses offices for a local advertising company. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.

TWA Corporate Headquarters Building (1956-1964)

Interestingly, the building was not entirely newly constructed in 1916. It was actually a near complete reconstruction of the previous building on this location that was home to the Kansas City Elevator Manufacturing Company. That building was completed as early as 1895 and was one of the first structures erected on the block. By 1906 a wholesale liquor business was also located next door and the surrounding neighborhood included a number of industrial businesses such as a mill, lumber company, and machine works.The neighborhood continued to developed in the coming years especially after Union Station was built. New structures included warehouses and distribution and manufacturing facilities. To protect the area and freight operations at the station, the city decided to build a new police station (a new fire station was also built in 1911). The Kansas City Elevator Manufacturing Company leased the property to the city for ten years with an option to purchase. The city then hired a local architectural firm which devised plans to reconstruct the building using reinforced concrete. The first floor contained the police offices and separate jail cells for whites and African-Americans. The station was the first in the city to have segregated jail cells. The South Side Municipal Court, the judge's and clerk's quarters, and the matron's room and juvenile holding cells were located on the second floor.The police occupied the building for 22 years. An office of the Works Progress Administration was established in 1939 but closed in 1940. Five years later a distributor of club room accessories moved in. By 1950 it became a dice factory. It is unclear how long the factory operated and if other businesses were located in the building in the coming decades. It was vacant for several years before 2015 when it was remodeled and renamed the Hemingway Building. An event venue called the Havana Room operated for a few years but appears to have closed in 2020.

Completed in 1916, this former police station was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005 and is now known as the Hemingway Building. It was built to add police presence in the neighborhood, which required protection since it had been growing in recent years, including the construction of Union Station four blocks to the south. Between 1917-1918, author Ernest Hemingway visited the police station in 1917-1918 when he was a reporter at the Kansas City Star newspaper. The building is named after him. It is also significant for its Mission Revival architecture, which was popular at the time and distinguished the station from the rest of the buildings in the neighborhood. Notable features include a Spanish-tile roof and arched dormers, windows with ornamental hoods, an entrance on the west end of the 19th Street facade with Doric columns and arched pediment, and a decorative cartouche above it. A studio and comedy theater occupy it today.

Kansas City Police Station Number 4 (Hemingway Building)

The building was designed by Kansas City's J. G. Braecklein, a prolific architect who had a role in shaping three thousand buildings during his long career. The building features a stone foundation and an ornate entrance with double glass and wooden doors capped with a Greek Revival cornice and pediment.The Columbia Phonograph Company was established by Edward Easton on January 15, 1889. Easton was the general manager of the American Graphophone Company which produced the graphophone which was designed to reproduce recorded music. The company grew through a series of lawsuits and mergers, partly owing to Easton's recognition that dictaphones could meet the needs of courts as well as business executives.In the 1920s, Union Station was the third largest rail station in the country, and many regional and national companies built warehouses, offices, and showrooms in this district. In the 1920s, the growing popularity of radio led to a temporary decline in phonograph sales, but eventually, the growth of radio led to increased demand for records. When Columbia decided to focus less on their office machine division centered on dictaphones, that reduced the need for this showroom. Although the Columbia company only occupied the building for six years and left Kansas City in 1928, this unique space offered a mixture of showroom and warehouse space along Southwest Boulevard and within the sprawling warehouse district that offered close access to passenger and freight transportation. The building was later known as the Greenstreet Warehouse Building and has held a variety of businesses. With the transformation of this neighborhood from warehouses to artist studios, offices, hotels, and restaurants, the building joined many other former warehouses and industrial spaces in being repurposed as apartments and condominiums.

Constructed in 1920 for the Columbia Graphophone and Dictaphone Company, this three-story brick building served as a regional office with a warehouse on the first level, a second-story showroom, and offices on the third level. The company was one of the "Big Three" in the phonograph business, a trio that included Victor and the company founded by Thomas Edison. The company only remained in Kansas City for eight years, and at this location for six. The company's decision to close this branch office and showroom was a reflection of the company's shift towards a primary focus on recording music which led to its evolution to Columbia Records in the years that followed. The building was one of many similar structures built in the warehouse district north of Union Station following its completion in 1914. Similar to several neighboring buildings in Kansas City's Crossroads District that were constructed to fit within existing streets and alleys, the Columbia Building is roughly triangular in shape. Known as the Greenstreet and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is now home to loft apartments.

Columbia Building

Safeway was founded in American Falls, Idaho by Missouri-born Martin B. Skaggs in 1915. Skaggs developed retail strategies that involved bulk-selling and used a method of expanding and merging stores and corporations. Together, these strategies allowed Skaggs to expand throughout the Western United States, and by 1929, there were 2,000 Safeway locations throughout the West.Safeway's rapid growth created a need for a distribution center located at the center of the nation. Safeway selected Kansas City, Missouri, and hired the J.H. Thompson Construction Company who completed this building in 1929. Since that time, the structure has seen a few alterations, such as the 1939 redesign of the interior by Kansas City architect Charles E. Keyser. In 1949, a loading dock was added to the south side of the building and in 1979, a one-story addition was added to the north side. Otherwise, its integrity has been maintained throughout the years and still largely reflects what the building would have looked like while it was still operating.Safeway came to Kansas City at an interesting moment in history. The anti-chain store movement gained some followers in the area after Kansas City businessman Charles H. Lyon took a tour by car through the Great Plains. Lyon noticed all the towns had the same exact stores and sent a letter to then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt that claimed that for every one chain store in a town, three individually owned stores died. The letter also claimed that chain stores made mainstreets aesthetically unappealing and damaged the nation’s character because “individual stores [were] the backbone of a nation.” He proposed to Roosevelt that chain stores should be taxed high enough that individual stores could compete with chains, which wasn’t a new idea at the time but had more of an impact as the nation was in the throes of the Great Depression. Ultimately, the anti-chain movement lost momentum by the mid-1930s, and Safeway found success in Kansas City.Kansas City was chosen not only for its centralized location, but also because of its access to the railroads and because of the development of trucking. A method of docking called “cross-docking” was utilized, meaning “goods were off-loaded by vendors and then transferred to the surrounding retail stores.” These surrounding stores were in places such as St. Joseph, Joplin, and the area spanning out to Topeka, Kansas, and Columbia.Aside from distribution, the building was also used as a coffee plant, and a bakery. The structure eventually became home to the district offices for Safeway. The building was purchased by the Halls Company (now known as Hallmark) in 1953 and no longer operates as a distribution center.

This historic building in the Kansas City Crossroads District was completed in 1929 for use as a warehouse and headquarters for the supermarket chain Safeway, once a major national chain that was founded in 1915. Designed by Kansas City architects Archer and Gloyd, the warehouse and company office space was built by J.H. Construction Company in 1929 in the commercial style that was popular in the United States in the 19th and 20th centuries. The building was acquired by the Kansas City department store Halls in 1953 and later developed into loft-style apartments, a change that reflects the building's proximity to downtown and the development of the Crossroads District into a popular destination for arts and entertainment.

Safeway Stores Office and Warehouse Building

Located in a historic Crossroads building constructed as a beer warehouse by Tom Pedergast, this building has been home to the Mid-America Arts Alliance since 2004. MAAA was organized in 1972 by a group of civic arts leaders who wanted to provide access to visual, performing, and other arts experiences. The building now offers gallery space, while the organization offers a variety of services to support for area artists and arts organizations.

Mid-America Arts Alliance

When Leedy established this gallery, it was the first of its kind inf in the Kansa City Crossroads District. A graduate of the University of Kansas and the Kansas City Art Institute, Leedy hoped the gallery could provide a space for regional artists while also supporting a neighborhood in transition. The gallery maintains a substantial inventory of works and offers a variety of services for area art collectors.

For many years, this historic Crossroads building served as the headquarters of the J.W. Opie Brush Company, a manufacturer of street sweepers and janitorial supplies that was established in 1883. Since 1985, the building has been home to Sherry Leedy Contemporary Art, a contemporary art gallery that has hosted over 100 solo arts hows for both established and mid-career artists. The gallery was established by Sherry Leedy who continues to serve as the museum director and curator.

Opie Brush Building; Sherry Leedy Contemporary Art

Jacob Bauer was the son of an Indiana pharmacist and followed his late father into the trade by operating a drug store with one of his brothers. Jacob's early work includes a variety of tonics that were consumed at the end of a hard day's work promising rejuvination through natural ingredients sourced from around the world. The chemist also produced creams and lotions, including the bestselling "Baur's Lettuce Lotion" which was marketed as a beauty product. In the 1880s, Bauer worked on the process of liquefying carbon dioxide with the goal of being able to better produce soda for his tonics by distributing the gas under pressure in cylinders, an innovation that promised to make the process of producing soda as simple as opening a cylinder to release the gas into a liquid. Eight of Baur's family members and acquaintances recognized the potential of Baur's work and in 1888, they created the Liquid Carbonic Acid Manufacturing Company. The following year, the company sold Bauer's cylinders and the equipment needed to produce soda water simply by opening a valve to release carbon dioxide gas from the company's Red Diamond branded cylinders.Once drug store operators recognized the time they could save and the benefits of producing soda water and other carbonated products on demand, the company grew quickly and by 1893 Baur was able to demonstrate his invention at the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago. Bauer marketed his inventions as a way to quickly produce soda and mineral waters along with other uses that included producing "bottled drinks, wines and champagne … and for carbonating beer in breweries.” Bauer won a medal at the Exposition, but the real prize was a contract prior to the event to supply carbon dioxide for concessions at the World's Fair. With visitors from all around the globe enjoying refreshments from the one thousand soda fountains Baur's company sold to the Fair, the company combined their largest single order to date with a perfect mechanism to market their soda fountains to investors and customers.The Liquid Carbonic Company, as the company was known after 1903, built manufacturing and distribution plants all over the country in the next two decades, including the construction of this Kansas City building in 1913.In 1909, the company produced a single unit that combined all of the processes needed to produce up to twenty gallons of carbonated water in a single day. Capitalizing on the economic benefits of such a machine that would increase a drugstore's business, the machine was called the “Liquid-Diamond” Carbonator. The company also offered a variety of elaborate soda fountains that came complete with the equipment needed to produce sodas along with counters and stools for thirsty patrons.

Constructed in 1913, this historic building in Kansas City's Crossroads District was home to soda fountain manufacturer Liquid Carbonic Company until 1935. The six-story reinforced concrete building has a red brick veneer and served as the Kansas City branch office for the soda fountain manufacturer, offering a showroom, space for light manufacturing and warehouse space, as well as offices for regional salesmen. The company was founded by Jacob Baur, known as "the father of the soda fountain," and was one of about half a dozen providers of soda fountains in Kansas City and operated here until 1935 when the company moved to another location. Over the years, the building has held a variety of offices and businesses, including the Patricia Stevens Model &amp; Talent Agency. In 2007, Charles Barnard purchased the building for two million dollars and began the process of restoration and repurposing the building which has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1994. The first floor is home to the Helzberg Entrepreneurial Mentoring Program, a nonprofit established by Barnett Helzberg, Jr.in 1995. The top floor is a loft condominium while the remaining floors are home to a variety of businesses including Foot Traffic, a company owned by Barnard that specializes in making novelty socks.

Kansas City Crossroads Walking Tour