Kirkwood Building

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.

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.

Richards Johnson, Susan. Kirkwood Building - National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, National Register of Historic Places. February 20th, 2001. Accessed August 27th, 2022. https://catalog.archives.gov/OpaAPI/media/63819401/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MO/01000767.pdf.