William Rockhill Nelson Elementary (1924); Grant Hall

Grant Hall is home to UMKC's Conservatory and Department of Theatre. The building was originally the William Rockhill Nelson Elementary School, built in 1924. Starting in the 1940s, the then-neighboring University of Kansas City maintained a partnership with Nelson School with demonstration classrooms and teacher training programs operated by the college's School of Education in partnership with the Kansas City School District. In 1979, the school district closed the school, and the university leased the building for use by its Conservatory and Department of Theatre. In 1987, the university purchased the building and expanded it, adding a north wing. At that time, the building was renamed W.D. Grant Hall in honor of W.D. Grant, one-time president of the Kansas City Conservatory Board of Trustees. Grant organized the merger of that cultural institution with the University of Kansas City in 1959.

The history of the William Rockhill Nelson School dates to 1922, when the Kansas City Missouri School district built two frame buildings at 52nd and Charlotte. These buildings were referred to as the "overflow school" and reflected the rapid growth of area neighborhoods in what was then known as the Rockhill District, where the school was located. By 1925, the new school had over 350 students the district built a permanent brick building. The school was named after Kansas City Star founder William Rockhill Nelson, whose mansion, Oak Hall, was located north of the school and college before its demolition to create today's Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Nelson's daughter Laura donated a large portrait of him, which hung in the entryway of the school.

In 1933, the University of Kansas City began operations one block north of the Nelson School. In 1954, the university founded its School of Education. Since the 1940s, a formal relationship existed with the school district, allowing the university's Department of Education and later the School of Education to run a summer demonstration school and a teacher training program at the Nelson School. The University of Kansas City had desegregated in 1948, and many of its first African American students enrolled in the education program. The School of Education opened up its demonstration school to children of all races, which was unprecedented in Kansas City. Moreover, black teachers from the university took part in the summer demonstration schools. Before that time, it was unheard of for African American teachers to teach white children in Kansas City.

In 1951, Professor Hugh Speer, chair of the Department of Education, was asked to give expert testimony in the Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education case. During his testimony, he repeatedly referred to the success of the desegregated demonstration school and teacher training program, which he oversaw.

In 1980, the Kansas City, Missouri School District closed the Nelson School and UMKC began leasing the building for its Conservatory and Department of Theatre, which both needed extra space. The Conservatory operated out of its original facility on Warwick Blvd, named Grant Hall after W.T. Grant, a former president of its board of trustees, who had passed away in 1954. W.T. Grant's son, W.D. Grant, took over for his father, and he orchestrated the merger of the Kansas City Conservatory with the University of Kansas City in 1959. The former Nelson School building was renamed W.D. Grant Hall in his honor. For a time, UMKC had a W.T. Grant Hall and a W.D. Grant Hall, which were commonly referred to as Old Grant and New Grant. In 1989, UMKC sold Old Grant to the Kansas City Art Institute, which tore it down and built the Kemper Museum of Modern Art in its place. In 1987, UMKC formally purchased the former Nelson School and added a large addition on the north.

Today, Grant Hall on UMKC's campus provides faculty offices as well as classroom, practice, and performance spaces for conservatory and theater students. The school's original cafeteria space has been remodeled and is now used for recitals. The original auditorium has become the theater for UMKC's undergraduate theater program.

Speer, Hugh. A Short Black History of the University of Kansas City. Independent article held by UMKC Miller Nichols Library Labudde Special Collections. Published January 1st, 1976.

Decker, Mary Bell. Decker, Clarence Raymond. A Place of Light: The Story of a University Presidency. New York, New York. Heritage Press, 1954.

"Conservatory Move From Grant Hall to Nelson School Complete." The University News (Kansas City) August 28th, 1989. .15.

Nichols, Sam. "Nelson School to be Renovated." The Kansas City Star (Kansas City) September 1st, 1987. .

William Rockhill Nelson School , PaseoHighschool.org. Accessed September 26th, 2024. https://www.paseohighschool.org/nelson.