Old New England Building

The Old New England Building was the tallest building in Kansas City when it was completed in 1888. The last few decades of the 19th century were a time of immense population growth and the area saw an influx of investors, architects, and builders who had previously created some of the leading buildings in cities like New York, Boston, and Chicago. The completion of buildings like this signaled Kansas City's growth into a regional powerhouse. The building was the original home of the New England Mutual Life Insurance Company and featured fifty-seven fireplaces, two elevators, and two walk-in safes on each floor. The architectural design includes a two-story high oriel bay window and five unique ornamental carved stone seals of five New England states. The building was later used by Trans World Airlines and now serves as residential loft-style apartments.

From 1880 to 1890, Kansas City's population grew from 55,000 to 132,000. By the decade's end, Kansas City ranked as the nation's tenth largest metropolitan center. The city benefited from the opening of the stockyards (1870), the arrival of the railroad, and the city's role as a launching point for the Santa Fe Trail. During the 1880s, Kansas City enjoyed expansive downtown construction and the robust growth of cable roads (trailing only San Francisco and Chicago in numbers), indicating the number of workers moving through downtown Kansas City. 

One of the buildings that emerged during that time was the Old New England Building, which stood as the home to the New England Mutual Life Insurance Co. of Boston; the New England Safe Deposit & Trust Co. and the New England National Bank rented space in the building, as well. The New England building existed as one of numerous Kansas City buildings built during the 1880s financed by Eastern U.S. businesses. Further demonstrating the building's connection to New England, the unique architectural design includes ornamental carved stone seals of five New England states: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. The most recognized feature of the late nineteenth-century Renaissance Revival commercial structure involves its two-story high oriel bay window, but its most significant feature might be its likely place as Kansas City's first fireproof building.

In 1944 the New England Mutual Life Insurance Company sold the building. One of the companies that leased office spaces was Trans World Airlines (TWA), which used it as a training school and for offices. For a time, the federal government's Social Security department leased offices in the building. Today, it functions as a residential building (lofts) known as "The New England."

"The American Architect and Building News - April 9, 1887, The New England Building, KCMO." Kansas City Public Library. kclibrary.org. Accessed September 2, 2022. https://kclibrary.org/art-objects/american-architect-and-building-news-apr-9-1887-new-england-building-kcmo.

American Institute of Architects. Kansas City Chapter. "The American Institute of Architects guide to Kansas City architecture and public art." Internet Archive. archive.org. 2000. https://archive.org/details/americaninstitut00stac/page/n5/mode/2up?q=New+England+Building.

Coombs, Cathy. "The Old New England Building in Kansas City, Missouri Carries History With Its Architecture: Eastern investors brought some New England to Kansas City back in 1887."  Cathy Coombs. medium.com/@cjcwriter04. July 2, 2022. https://medium.com/@cjcwriter04/the-old-new-england-building-in-kansas-city-missouri-carries-history-with-its-architecture-bc2bb7e836a4.

Conrads, David. "Kansas City Board Of Trade." Kansas City Public Library: Pendergast Years. pendergastkc.org. Accessed September 2, 2022. https://pendergastkc.org/article/buildings-orgs/kansas-city-board-trade.

"Historic New England Building will get new life as apartments." Kansas City Business Journal. bizjournals.com. April 27, 2016.

https://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/news/2016/04/27/new-england-building-apartment-conversion.html.

Holmes, M. Patricia. "Old New England Building." National Register of Historic Places. mostateparks.com. 1973. https://mostateparks.com/sites/mostateparks/files/Old%20New%20England%20Bldg.pdf.

Newcomer, Daniel and Ben M. "Kansas City Stockyards." Clio: Your Guide to History. May 15, 2017. Accessed September 2, 2022. https://theclio.com/entry/24270. 

"New England Building." Kansas City Public Library. kchistory.org. Accessed September 2, 2022. https://kchistory.org/image/new-england-building-6?solr_nav%5Bid%5D=a5edc512d17c0d466ff5&solr_nav%5Bpage%5D=5&solr_nav%5Boffset%5D=1. 

"A Rich History and Culture." Historic Kansas City. historickansascity.org. Accessed September 2, 2022. https://www.historickansascity.org/kansas-city/.