Firestone Building

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.

Harvey S. Firestone

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.

Firestone Building

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.

Davis, Jim. "Firestone building owner considers conversion to condos." Kansas City Business Journal. August 28, 2003. https://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/stories/2003/08/25/daily38.html.

"Firestone, Harvey Samuel." Encyclopedia.com. June 11, 2018. https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/social-sciences-and-law/business-leaders/harvey-samuel-firestone.

"Harvey S. Firestone." Ohio Central. Accessed September 5, 2022. https://ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Harvey_S._Firestone.

"Our History has Always Been About the Road Ahead." Firestone. Accessed September 5, 2022. https://www.firestonetire.com/about-firestone/#.

Standlee, Emily. "The Stories behind Kansas City's most iconic signs." KCUR. May 22, 2022. https://www.kcur.org/arts-life/2022-05-14/kansas-city-signs-landmarks-western-auto-town-topic.

Yoakum, Sue E. "Firestone Building." National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. January 3, 1986. https://mostateparks.com/sites/mostateparks/files/Firestone%20Bldg.pdf.