Kansas City Title and Trust Building

Erected by the Kansas City Title and Trust Company in 1922, this building served as office space and a secure place to store real estate records and other title and trust industry materials. Preserving these records was essential for the company to protect itself from fraudulent claims and the building allowed the company to store them safely in one location. The storage space was located in the basement in a 2400-square foot vault capable of storing thousands of documents and protecting them from fire, water damage, or theft. The building is also significant for being one of the first three erected after World War I and marked the start of the post-war construction boom in Kansas City. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005, the building now operates as an office building with a restaurant on the street level.

The Kansas City Title and Trust Company was established in 1915 when a group of five local title abstract companies merged. It was one of the first title and trust companies in the country and, in 1916, became the first to operate outside its home state, which was unique in the industry at the time. In 1918, the company experienced a challenging situation when a series a forged titles emerged in Kansas City. Forgeries were covered in the policy the company offered but it still lost $8,000 that year. Ironically however, the news of the forgeries and the company's involvement gave it more business.

The company was first housed in the New York Life Building but within a few years it became apparent that more space was needed. The company, which was led by president John Henry Smith at the time, designed the building to fit its needs which included the basement vault (and a work room). The vault could only be accessed via an elevator that went to the second floor to prevent theft.

The company downsized during the Great Depression to only serve in-state business. It again expanded out of state in 1939 when it formed a national division. The next year, it terminated the trust department to focus on title insurance. By then it had become too difficult to do both in some states, which believed that doing title and trust business was a conflict of interest. To reflect this change, the company renamed itself the Kansas City Title Insurance Company. It did very well over the next decade, becoming the largest company of its kind in the Southwest. It expanded its reach to 22 states and in the Territory of Alaska by 1955. In 1961, the Chicago Title Company bought it and it remained in the building until 1971.

Millstein, Cydney & Warfield, Mary Ann. "Kansas City Title and Trust Building." National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. June 25, 2005. https://mostateparks.com/sites/mostateparks/files/KC%20Title%20and%20Trust%20Bldg.pdf.