Kansas City Streetcar History Tour

Entries on This Tour

1. Gillis Opera House (1883-1925); Gillis Building

Now home to the Gillis Building, a cornerstone of City Market with retail and office space, this was the location of Kansas City's grandest theater at the turn of the century. Gillis Opera House was completed in 1883 at a cost of $140,000. The building was renowned for its opulence and quickly became a symbol of Kansas City's aspiration to become a leading city with culture and architecture worthy of the claim. The theater also symbolized a period when attending an opera was a symbol of one's status, something that began to change in the early 20th century when less "high-brow" performances were staged with more frequency. The theater experienced a slow decline owing to competition from newer theaters and motion pictures. In 1925, an explosion of unknown origin completely leveled the building and killed at least six people. The current Gillis Building was constructed in 1926 and has primarily served as office and retail space. Today, the building is once again located on a streetcar line and is a cornerstone of the revitalized entertainment and retail district centered around the City Market.

2. Kansas City's Old Square Historical Marker

Prior to the bustling city following the construction of the stockyards and railroads, this site near the confluence of the Missouri and Kansas Rivers was a hub for commerce and trade. Located between the original French village of Chez les Canses and Francois Chouteau's Trading Post, this location was once the center of Gabriel Prudhomme's land, who was an early resident of the Kansas City area. Prudhomme owned and operated some of the first businesses in the Square, including a tavern and general store. Little remains of the original structures of Kansas City's original marketplace as they were subject to many floods over the years. City Market continues to offer an array of merchants, eclectic shops, and dining.

3. Arabia Steamboat Museum

The packet steamboat Arabia sank in the Missouri River near Kansas City on September 5, 1856, taking down 200 tons of valuable cargo. The ship carried many Mormon settlers traveling westward, so the cargo included many everyday items they would have used after establishing homes. After its sinking, the Arabia vanished; the changing currents of the Missouri River buried it in mud and silt. In 1988, the ship was discovered buried 45 feet underneath a corn field located half a mile from the river's present course. The excavation that followed found well-preserved clothes, tools, guns, dishware, and other artifacts. The Arabia Steamboat Museum opened in 1991 to preserve and display these items to illustrate 1850s settler life. The museum also includes a recreation of the historic steamboat, displays about river transportation, and the early history of Kansas City.

4. Pearl Hill and Early Kansas City

This spot marks the southern edge of a former neighborhood called Pearl Hill, the most prestigious address in the early years of what grew to become Kansas City. The Town of Kansas (later the City of Kansas after 1853) began as Westport Landing in 1834. In its early years, the landing was simply a limestone ledge where riverboats could dock and send goods and passengers south to Westport. The landing hugged the Missouri River at the foot of 30-50’ tall bluffs that covered much of what is today downtown Kansas City. By the late 1840s, the river landing was developing into a town, and people started to build houses on the tops of the tall bluffs that were later removed over many decades. Some of the finest homes and buildings were constructed on the top of what was known as Pearl Hill between Grand and Main and between 3rd Street and the Missouri River. The Pearl Hill neighborhood was where the wealthiest people in the town built their homes, including many of the town founders. After the Civil War, the city of Kansas was expanding south rapidly, and most of the Pearl Hill neighborhood was abandoned as developers cut roads through the bluffs or removed them entirely. The last of Pearl Hill was graded down to street level in 1926. Subsequent development supported Kansas City’s railroad industry and the nearby City Market and warehouse district. Today, many of the older structures have been repurposed for shops and lofts as part of Kansas City’s efforts to revitalize the area into a residential and entertainment district that is connected to Kansas City's streetcar.

5. William Volker & Company

In the early 20th century, this building was constructed as a warehouse and headquarters for the William Volker & Company, one of the largest wholesalers of premium home furnishings during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Starting as a small manufacturer of picture frames, Volker grew the firm into a multimillion-dollar business. Along the way, he became one of Kansas City's wealthiest men and one of the city's most important philanthropists. He gave away much of his fortune to charities, public works, and hospitals. He participated in many of the city's great civic projects of the early 20th century, including the creation of the Liberty Memorial, the Nelson Atkins Art Museum, and the University of Kansas City. However, it was the countless quiet acts of charity to individual people in need that earned him the nickname "Mr. Anonymous." Today, this building houses a mix of businesses and loft apartments.

6. Pacific House Hotel (1860-1868; 1868-Present)

The Pacific House Hotel building at 401 Delaware Street is believed to have been designed by architect Asa Beebe Cross and operated as a hotel for many decades. The original building, constructed circa 1860, burned down in 1868 but was used as a Union headquarters during the Civil War. The building was where General Thomas Ewing of the United States Army issued General Order Number 11, which called for the evacuation of four Missouri counties in the wake of William Qunatrill's raid on Lawrence and other Kansas communities. After the war, the building again served as a hotel until it was destroyed in an 1868 fire. The building was quickly rebuilt and operated as a hotel for decades, and it was converted into loft-style apartments in 1999.

7. Muse of the Missouri

Also known as the David Woods Kemper Memorial, the Muse of the Missouri sculpture and fountain was dedicated in 1962 to the memory of David Woods Kemper, who was killed in action during World War II in Italy. It was a gift to the city by his parents Mr. and Mrs. James Kemper. Artist Wheeler Williams created the sculpture and designed the fountains. The sculpture depicts a muse, a Greek goddess of arts and sciences, with a fishing net from which fish fall to the the pool below. The water fountain consists of three pools that are filled by two hundred water spouts.

8. The Junction

From the 1880s to the mid-20th century, this was the intersections of Delaware, Main, and Ninth Street. These thoroughfares saw horse-drawn carriages, cable cars, and motorcars converge in one spot so central to the lives of Kansas City commuters that this intersection was known simply as "The Junction." 9th Street, Delaware, and Main formed a small triangle of land where traffic intersected. In the cable car era, a full-time traffic guard stood in that triangle, exclaiming, "Wide Awake" as a reminder of the danger of regular traffic and the potential of a runaway cable car. The Junction was the heart of Kansas City’s business and financial center, with the Vaughn Diamond Building and Kansas City Times Building joining signboards and street vendors advertising the latest products. Kansas City’s early streetcar systems met here, and even after the system's expansion created other junctions, this remained the center of Kansas City. By the 1910s, Kansas City’s business and financial centers gravitated southward, and 12th Street became the center of commerce and entertainment. The area around the Junction saw periods of neglect, with many of the buildings abandoned and demolished in the urban redevelopment plans of the 1950s. Delaware Street's junction was moved back while Main Street was widened, and many of the buildings in the area were razed to support street expansion and highway construction. While this area sees far less traffic, it is once again home to streetcar tracks. The only physical trace of the Junction today is the small median on Main, once the location of the Vaughn Diamond and KC Times buildings.

9. Commerce Tower

Constructed from 1962 to 1964, the 32-story Commerce Tower is the ninth-tallest building in downtown Kansas City and was home to the corporate offices of Commerce Bank and a popular rooftop restaurant in its first two decades. With the completion of the nearby Commerce Bank Building at 1000 Walnut Street in 1986, the bank sold their interest in this building in 1990 and it is now home to several hundred apartments along with retail space. The building's history is closely connected to the reinvestment in the downtown area that occurred in the postwar years and it became the first locally-designed skyscraper office building in Kansas City when it was completed. The building's planning committee studied various styles before selecting this modern and minimalist design by local architects Keene & Simpson & Murphy.

10. The Victor Building; Ten Main Center

This location was originally home to the Victor Building, an 8-story office building built in 1908 by Victor Laederich. The building was noteworthy for the fact that it was only 27.5' wide but 129' long. Nicknamed "the Toothpick Building for its unusual shape, the building housed 75 offices as well as a restaurant and leased retail space on the ground level. The building once housed the offices for the real estate company owned by Henry McElroy, a Jackson County Judge and later the city manager during the Pendergast Era. Laederich sold the building in 1923 and it passed through successive owners. It was purchased in 1964 and demolished to make way for the Ten Main Center Building.Designed by Charles Luckman and constructed from 1964 to 1968, this 20-story modern office building quickly became an iconic fixture in downtown Kansas City's Central Business District. The completion of the modern Ten Main Center was delayed by challenges related to funding as well as a labor strike. The building served as the headquarters for AMC Theaters from 2002 to 2013 when the company moved to a new office in suburban Leawood. Demand for downtown office space declined in the late 20th century, leading to several transfers of the property and redevelopment plans. New York-based Sovereign Partners converted eight floors to apartments after acquiring the structure in 2005. In 2022, the property was purchased by Price Brothers for nearly $50 million, with plans to create apartments throughout many of the remaining twelve floors. With office and retail space along with plans for 251 apartments, the mixed-use building is part of a larger trend that has seen many new and existing structures converted to apartments over the past few decades as more Kansas Citians move downtown.

11. Central Library, Kansas City Public Library

Located in the historic former headquarters of First National Bank, the Central Library serves as the major resource library for the Kansas City Public Library system. Offering breathtaking galleries and reading rooms, and an ingenious parking garage that looks like a bookshelf, the Central Library is consistently included in lists of the most beautiful public libraries in the United States. The former bank vault is now home to the Stanley H. Durwood film collection, while the old bank's 35-foot ceilings add grandeur to the main reading room. Located on the fifth floor of the Central Library, the Missouri Valley Room is the premiere collection of rare books and one-of-a-kind historical records related to the history of Kansas City. Patrons may use the reading room to view archival and genealogical materials that do not circulate beyond the library.

12. Harzfeld's Department Store (1891-1984)

Harzfeld’s was one of the most beloved department stores in downtown Kansas City’s golden age of department stores in the first half of the 20th century. Founded by Siegmund Harzfeld in 1891 as the Parisian Cloak Company at 1108 Main St., the store capitalized on the emerging trend of ready-to-wear fashions for women and children. In 1913, the store moved across the street to this location at 1101 Main St., becoming an anchor to the shopping district known as “Petticoat Lane.” For the next six decades, Harzfeld's helped define what was fashionable in Kansas City, and the store expanded over the years to include several branch locations in the Kansas City area. The company was sold in 1972 and eventually became part of the Allied Stores Company, which closed the Harzfeld ‘s Stores in 1984. The building housing the original Harzfeld’s was incorporated into the Town Pavilion skyscraper, built at this location in 1986. The original store facade has been preserved along Petticoat Lane.

13. Newman Theatre (1919-1972)

Built in 1919 for local exhibitor Frank L. Newman, the Newman Theatre was known for its opulence and extravagant features. It was the biggest and most costly of any Kansas City theatre at the time, holding an audience of 2,000. Notably, in 1921 a series of short satirical cartoons called Newman Laugh-O-grams were screened, which were the first animated productions created solely by Walt Disney. The Newman became Paramount Theater in 1947 and operated for a short time as Towne Theater before eventually closing due to a decline in business. It was demolished in 1972 for an urban renewal project and today, is the site is occupied by a skyscraper called the Lightwell Building.

14. The Jones Store (1899-1998)

For nearly a century, this was the flagship location of the Jones Store and downtown Kansas City’s largest department store. . Brothers Lawrence and J. Logan Jones established the Jones Dry Goods Company in 1879, a small-town general store that operated in Illinois and rural Kansas before 1895, when they established a flagship department store in a 6-story building on the northeast corner of 6th and Main St. The vastly expanded business model and urban location worked, and the brothers soon became one of the leading retailers in the city. Just four years later, a fire on the evening of November 4, 1899, completely destroyed that building. Undeterred, the brothers rented a four-story building here at 12th and Main just days after the fire. Within six weeks, the new store was open. The company later shortened its name to The Jones Store to match what most residents called the department store. The store covered an entire city block from 12th to 13th and Main to Walnut in just a few years. The store went bankrupt during the Panic of 1907, and the brothers were forced to sell to a New York-based company. Over the years, the Jones Store passed through successive owners and grew to include branch locations all over Kansas City and several other larger midwestern cities like Topeka and Omaha. As competition from suburban shopping malls forced the closure of department stores, the Jones Store was the last in Downtown Kansas City until it closed in 1998. The remaining mall locations of the Jones Store were rebranded as Macy’s Stores. The iconic Jones Store building that stood here for 99 years was demolished in 2005 as part of Kansas City’s Power and Light District redevelopment project. Today, the location is occupied by condos, retail stores, a health club, a parking garage, and Consentino's grocery store.

15. The Forum Cafeteria (1920-1977)

Of all the restaurants in Downtown Kansas City’s famous shopping district, perhaps none was as loved as the Forum, which operated for over half a century. Founded by Kansas City restauranteur Clarence Hayman in 1918, the first Forum at 1220 Grand was a massive success, with lines of customers waiting to get in during peak times. Hayward quickly opened a second location at 810 Grand Avenue, and in 1920, he opened a third location at 1212 Main. By the 1950s, the Forum Restaurants Company was one of the largest in the nation, with locations across America and over $17 million in annual sales. By the 1970s, populations had shifted to the suburbs. In response, the company closed most of its urban locations. The restaurant here at 1212 Main closed after 57 years, and today, the location is home to the One Kansas City Place office building and the Metro Center streetcar stop.

16. The Midland Theatre

The Midland Theatre is a historic entertainment venue in the Power & Light District of Kansas City. It first opened in 1927 as Loew’s Midland Theater; at the time it was the third-largest theater in the United States. It became well known for its opulent interior, which included features such as gold leafing, hand-cut crystal chandeliers, and other ornamentations. After the original theatre closed in 1961, it was acquired and operated by AMC for a number of years. It underwent extensive renovations and restorations in 2008. Today the theatre is sponsored by Arvest Bank, and is formally known as the Arvest Bank Theatre at the Midland. It hosts a number of live shows and performances throughout the year. The theatre was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.

17. Kansas City Baby Carriage Company; The Main Street Morgue (1970s-2003)

Now home to H&R Block's headquarters, this was once the offices and factory of the Kansas City Baby Carriage Company in the late 19th century. The factory later produced dolls, and after years of vacancy, the former factory building was transformed into one of the first commercially viable haunted houses in the United States. From producing baby carriages in the late 19th century to producing dolls in the early 20th century, this building was repurposed in the early 1970s into the Mainstreet Morgue. Guests were taken through a winding tour of rooms in the 4-story structure that showcased sets based on horror themes such as dungeons and haunted hospitals. When they reached the top, they would ride what was billed as Kansas City’s fastest slide down to the exit in the rear of the building. In 2003, after 30 years in business, the Mainstreet Morgue celebrated its last Halloween. The block of buildings that housed the business, along with its sister haunted house Nightmares, was sold and demolished to make way for the Power and Light District. In response to the changes in this neighborhood, Kansas City's haunted house industry utilized former factory buildings in the West Bottoms, where Kansas City continues to host a robust commercial haunted house industry.

18. 14th Street Brewery; Star Brewery

Now home to Main Street Theatre, this was the site of one of the largest breweries in Kansas City in the 1870s and 1880s. F.H. Kump arrived in Kansas City in 1859 and entered the soda manufacturing business with a small plant here in 1867. Kump used his equipment to bottle beer for other brewers, and within two years, the operation expanded to brewing and bottling his own beer. By 1884, the business had expanded and produced around 12,000 barrels per year when F.H. Kumps Star Ale Brewery was sold to Fred Heim and his family. Heim would later build one of the largest breweries in the city in the East Bottoms. This location was known by several names during Heim's tenure as owner, including the Bavarian Brewing Company. The theater was completed in 1921 and included several unique features, such as tunnels to the adjacent President Hotel that were utilized mainly by traveling actors who prepared their costumes and makeup in their rooms. The theater also featured a nursery for children whose parents were attending the show and a sub-basement with cages for animals such as elephants that could be lifted to the stage.

19. Mainstreet Theater, Kansas City, MO

Located in downtown Kansas City in Jackson County, Missouri, the four-story Mainstreet Theater is one of the city's most visible historic landmarks. First opened on October 30, 1921, during the vaudeville era, it was built for promoter Martin Beck by the distinguished architectural firm of C.W and Geo. L. Rapp of Chicago designed some of the most significant theaters in America in the 1920s and 1930s. It was the largest theater in the city until the Midland Theater was built in 1927, and it is distinctive for its Beaux-Arts design and prominent Byzantine-style dome. With a seating capacity of 3,250, it was one of the first theaters of its type to cater to the working class. Between 1921-1949 it presented vaudeville acts, movies, and traveling shows. The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007. After many years of being closed, the theater reopened in 2012 after being purchased and renovated by Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas. The theater closed during the pandemic and was purchased and reopened by B&B Theatres in 2021 and now operates as B&B Theatres Mainstreet KC at The Power & Light District.

20. Price Candy Building; Tom's Town Distillery

Now known as Tom Town's Distillery, named after Kansas City's infamous "Boss" mayor, Tom Pendergast, the building was built in 1908 and became the headquarter for the Price Candy Company. The wealth gained from the candy and chocolate business allowed them to live among the social elites. Charles Price II, son of the company's founder, married the heir to a food empire, befriended a future U.S. President, and enjoyed immense success in the private sector and as a U.S. diplomat.

21. George Hierb’s Main Street Brewery; Muehlebach Brewery (1869-1929)

In 1870, Swiss brothers George and John Muehlebach created one of Kansas City’s longest-running Kansas City breweries after purchasing George Hierb’s Main Street Brewery which was located here at the corner of 18th Street and Main Street. Hierb's brewery grew from a small shack producing beer in the mid-1860s to a sizeable plant that produced 3,000 barrels per year by 1869. This acquisition was part of the George Muehlebach Brewing Company's pattern of expansion that included the construction of a Romanesque brewhouse at this site that soon became known as the “Beer Castle.” That investment increased production at this site to 100,000 barrels per year by 1911. The Muehlebach brothers kept the Main Street Brewery title from their purchase in 1870 until 1884. After that time, the business saw several name changes that reflected the growth of Muehleback and the value of that brand in Kansas City and surrounding communities. When the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution banned the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages in the United States, the 18th and Main location closed in 1929 despite Muehlebach’s attempts to diversify their business with several soda drink products and an alcohol-free cereal beverage named Mulo. Muehlebach reopened after Prohibition was repealed in 1933, although it took five years, until February 5, 1938, to secure funding and a new site for the brewery at 4th and Oak Streets near the Kansas City riverfront. The old brewery at 18th and Main was condemned and demolished in 1941. While the post-prohibition Muehlebach company grew through the 1940s and early 1950s, it succumbed to a similar fate as many large regional breweries, and its 4th and Oak brewery was sold to Minneapolis-based Schlitz Brewing Company in 1956.

22. Monroe Hotel Building

When the Monroe Hotel opened in 1921, it was one of many hotels in the area that catered to the needs of traveling workers following the relocation of Union Station from the West Bottoms. The hotel filled a need for affordable accommodations and housed mostly single workers and traveling salesmen as it was within walking distance to the rail station and other businesses in the area, including restaurants, barbershops, drug stores, and post office. In the years that followed, the hotel also accommodated many guests of political machine boss Tom Pendergast, especially after he purchased the building in 1924. A couple years later, Pendergast built the Jackson County Democratic Club in the adjacent lot which included a doorway between his second level office and the hotel. The door was sealed in 1939 after orders from a Federal judge following Pendergast's release from prison. The hotel stayed in operation until 1971 and was later renovated into luxury condominiums.

23. Jackson County Democratic Club (Tom Pendergast Headquarters)

Constructed in 1926, this building served as the headquarters of the Jackson County Democratic Club which was led by Thomas Joseph Pendergast, the penultimate "boss" of the infamous political machine that controlled Kansas City between 1926 and 1939. Referred to by many as "Boss Tom," Pendergast took over and expanded the political machine his brother built, choosing candidates for office who returned the favor by voting in line with the wishes of Boss Tom. As a result, Pendergast's businesses won prized city contracts and he wielded enormous influence over almost every aspect of Kansas City's political, economic, and cultural life.As the Jackson County Democratic Party chair, Pendergast controlled the city's government through patronage, notably by providing jobs and government contracts in exchange for political support. Although Pendergast's corruption became well known by the 1930s, many residents continued to support Pendergast and his candidates because they believed his leadership had ameliorated many of the worst aspects of the Great Depression. Others appreciated Pendergast's refusal to enforce prohibition, leading to a vibrant jazz scene and Kansas City's reputation as a "Wide Open Town" where liquor and vice lived alongside strong financial support for civic institutions like schools and hospitals. Pendergast launched the political career of Harry S Truman, but his reign as a political boss ended in 1939 when he was convicted of income tax evasionToday, the financial crimes and violence that occurred under Boss Tom's watch are sometimes overshadowed by nostalgia for the Jazz Age. and a perception that Pendergast and his men were supporters of integration. In reality, the advances for the Black Community had more to do with neighborhood leaders within the Pendergast orbit and the pragmatism of the political machine that traded funding for Black schools and hospitals for votes. At the same time, Kansas City was home to "Black-and-tan-clubs" that accepted all races than any American city beyond New York in an era otherwise dominated by segregation.

24. The Rieger Hotel Building

Built in 1915 as one of three hotels in this part of Kansas City that catered to traveling workers, the Rieger Hotel was developed by Alexander Rieger, son of Jacob Rieger and founder of Rieger & Co. distillery. The hotel accommodated traveling businessmen, workers, and other individuals needing long-term but temporary accommodations during an era that saw the growth of industry in Kansas City. The hotel was open for only a few, short years before prohibition created a challenge for the family business and Alexander responded by closing the hotel and establishing a bank. The building changed hands several times over the years, accommodating a variety of businesses, including storefronts on the first floor and apartments on the upper stories. In a nod to the building's connection to the Rieger distillery, the building was home to The Rieger restaurant on the first floor and the speakeasy-themed bar Manifesto that occupied the basement.

25. Kansas City Union Station

The third-largest railroad station in the country when it was completed in 1914, Kansas City's Union Station has been restored to its former grandeur and offers a variety of educational and cultural attractions, including Science City, theaters, restaurants, retail shops, office space, and museum exhibits. The Beaux-Arts style building, noted for its colossal size and fine ornamentation, was part of the "City Beautiful Movement" to develop more green spaces and aesthetically pleasing public facilities in Kansas City. The station served as the heart of city's booming transportation industry in the early twentieth century, when the Kansas City was at the intersection of multiple railroads. During its peak, over 200 trains passed through the Union Station daily. The facility experienced a period of decline and deterioration from the 1950s to the 1980s as passenger rail traffic collapsed. Community efforts starting in the 1990s led to a $250 million project to restore the station and revitalize it as a major commercial and educational center. It serves as a model for the potential of adaptive reuse in historical structures. Union Station was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.

26. Henry Wollman Bloch Fountain

Built in 2001 by the designers of Las Vegas's famous Bellagio Hotel fountains, the Henry Wollman Bloch Fountain features 232 water jets and performs a five minute show every 30 minutes. The fountain was given by and is named for well known Kansas City businessman and philanthrope Henry Bloch, who was the co-founder of the premier tax preparation company H&R Block. Bloch is also known for his charitable contributions and commitment to improving the quality of life in the greater Kansas City area.

27. Tivoli Gardens (1870-1883), Signboard Hill (1914-1973), Westin Crown Center

Now home to the Westin Kansas City at Crown Center Hotel, this location has been a crossroads and a destination throughout the city's history. The road that connected Westport to Westport Landing on the Missouri River ran through this area, and this was later the site of a stone quarry that produced many of the city's earliest buildings. In the 1870s, this was the site of Tivoli Gardens, a small amusement park with a brewery and German-style beer garden. After Union Station was completed in 1914, roads were extended, and the resulting cuts into the hills to create the roads created a high point here. The resulting bluff was soon surrounded by dozens of advertisements, resulting in the nickname Signboard Hill. At the base of the hill, a small business district sprung up that catered to railroad workers with restaurants, bars, and hotels, including the nine-story Plaza Hotel. The majority of Signboard Hill and the business district were removed during the construction of the Crown Center redevelopment project that opened in 1973. This former hill became Crown Center Hotel, today part of the Westin chain. The hotel was built into the last remaining section of Signboard Hill, and a small portion of the hill’s bedrock has been preserved inside the hotel and converted to a three-story indoor waterfall.

28. National World War I Museum and Memorial

The World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City Missouri, is recognized by the United States government as the nation's official World War I museum. The landmark began as the Liberty Memorial, a monument created from 1921-1926 to honor Kansas City residents who had died during the war. The memorial was the product of tremendous community organization. Prominent locals operated a planning community, and city residents crowdfunded over $2.5 million for the project in less than two weeks. The monument draws from various architectural styles, including Beaux Arts Classicism and Egyptian Revival, and features an illuminated, 217-foot, limestone shaft at the center. Renovations starting in 1998 included the expansion of a World War I museum underneath the monument. It reopened in 2006 as the National World War I Museum and Memorial. The museum portion of the complex includes thousands of artifacts as well as the Edward Jones Research Center. The Liberty Memorial is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a designated National Historic Landmark.

29. Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and Money Museum

Originally located downtown, the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank has continued to serve several states throughout the Midwest and Southwest since 1907. The Federal Reserve is one of the most important financial institutions in the country that regulates and controls the flow of money. Due to growing responsibilities at the Kansas City branch, a new building was constructed in 2008. Located inside the bank, the Money Museum features President Truman’s extensive coin collection and offers free, self-guided tours where guests have the unique opportunity to get their hands on a solid gold bar, setting the Kansas City Federal Reserve apart from other banks.

30. Saint Mary's Hospital (1909-1988)

This was the location of St. Mary's Hospital, which served the Kansas City community from 1909 to 1988. Built by the Franciscan Order of the Sisters of Saint Mary, over the years the hospital grew from a humble beginning in a modest brick building with 150 beds to major hospital complex covering several acres. However, by the early 1980s, declining admissions and the high costs of maintaining the aging infrastructure were deciding factors in the hospital's relocation to Blue Springs, Mo. in 1988. The original buildings were mostly vacated and were demolished in 2004 to make way for the Federal Reserve Building. Today all that remains is a small monument at this location built of bricks from the first 1909 building. The monument holds the original cornerstone and the hospital chapel's bell.

31. Willows Maternity Sanitarium (1905-1969)

Now home to an apartment complex, this was the location of the Willows Maternity Sanitarium from 1908 until 1969. This home for unwed mothers was one of many maternity homes in Kansas City, which was nicknamed the “adoption hub” of the United States owing to Missouri's unique adoption laws that provided simplicity and privacy for mothers and the adopting parents. Tens of thousands of mothers came to Kansas City in the first half of the 20th century owing to the existence of numerous institutions like Willows Maternity Sanitarium, as well as partnerships between social services organizations and Kansas City hospitals. The Willows and its owners, Edwin P. and Cora May Haworth, earned a reputation for kindness, first-class medical care, and exceptional accommodations for the young women under their care. These factors distinguished the Willows from many other maternity homes, but still, nearly all of the estimated thirty thousand women who entered this facility left alone as nearly all of the babies born here were placed for adoption.

32. Pla-Mor Ballroom (1927-1951)

Now home to a car dealership, this was once home to the Pla-Mor Ballroom, one of the nation's leading jazz venues. The Pla-Mor claimed to be the nation's largest entertainment venue when it opened, with the largest indoor swimming pool west of the Mississippi along with an ice rink, bowling alley, and its iconic ballroom that hosted every leading jazz musician of the early 20th century. The legendary Kansas City venue opened on Thanksgiving 1927 to a crowd of 4,000 patrons who came out to dance to the sounds of the Jean Goldkette Orchestra. The venue held a bowling alley and billiards room underneath the ballroom, as well as an ice hockey rink next door. In 1931, the Pla-Mor complex added the indoor swimming pool, and the venue stayed full despite the Great Depression, thanks in part to the "wide open" nature of Kansas City in the Pendergast era where prohibition was seldom enforced. During its heyday, the Ballroom welcomed jazz greats such as Ella Fitzgerald, Claude "Fiddler" Williams, Louis Armstrong, and Frank Sinatra. The business struggled in the war years and never fully recovered as suburbanization drew the population away from the city's center while large ballroom-style events and entertainment faced competition from newer venues. The ballroom permanently closed in 1951, with other attractions at the Pla-Mor complex following soon after. In 1971, the site was demolished and replaced by a car dealership.

33. Row House Buildings

Missouri and Kansas added several thousands of miles of railway tracks during the 1880s, which coincided with a population boom for the Kansas City area. Construction of the Row House Buildings occurred in 1888 at the height of the boom (and just before a bust put a damper on the growth during the following decade). The population boom also coincided with a building boom, much of it predicated on out-of-town speculators investing in Kansas City construction. Although a railway laborer technically built The Row House Building, it's likely he served as a representative for one of those out-of-town speculators. The Row House Buildings existed as one of several row house structures to emerge during the 1880s in Kansas City, many of which enjoyed a Queen Anne design; very few have survived into the twenty-first century.

34. Davey's Uptown Rambler's Club (1950-2020); Uptown Lounge

For over seven decades, this corner of Kansas City has been home to live music. The Uptown Rambler’s Club was a small bar and restaurant established in 1934 that became a live music venue in 1950 when longtime bartender and World War II veteran Davey Markowitz bought the business. The new owner added his name to the business and installed a stage and dance floor. Davey’s Uptown Rambler Club, or "Davey’s," as it was known to locals, had a reputation as one of Kansas City’s most eclectic stages that hosted everything from burlesque and variety shows to live music. Bands that couldn’t land gigs anywhere else in Kansas City found a home at Davey’s, a venue that welcomed all genres of music and provided opportunities for everyone from beginners to professional acts. After Dave Markowitz died in 1988, the business was taken over by his daughter Michele Markowitz, who expanded the size of the business and added a second and larger stage. A fire in 2020 destroyed Davey’s, and after several months of challenges related to the global pandemic, the owners decided not to rebuild. Today, new owners have restored and repurposed the historic Kansas City venue, which is now home to an upscale piano bar. The new owners donated the historic neon sign to a local organization working to restore it, and they pay tribute to the seven decades of music history on this corner of Kansa City with the venue's new name, the Uptown Lounge.

35. Goodenow Textiles Company Building

Constructed in 1930, the Goodenow Textiles Company Building represented the growth of a family business from a small operation in 1909 to one doing upwards of $100 million in business by 1945. The company focused on undergarments and hosiery, and its growth mirrored that of the garment industry in Kansas City. The company's growth also mirrored the mass adoption of standardized undergarments around the time of World War I when the mass-produced, one-piece, elastic-banded underwear commonly worn today regardless of social and financial status became more common. This production facility was designed with design ideas of the Progressive-Era; with a factory that allowed for plenty of light and offered workers a better environment with the goal of increasing production as a result of the better workspace.

36. Hyde Park Theater (1920s); The Grand Emporium (1981-2004); Aura

Constructed in 1912, this historic Kansas City building has been home to live performances since the 1920s, when it held a small hotel with a rooftop terrace that offered vaudeville and musical performances. The building was home to a series of taverns in the mid-20th century before becoming the location of the Grand Emporium, one of Kansas City’s leading live music venues of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Founded in 1981, the venue was repeatedly voted one of the best blues clubs in the country. The venue welcomed musicians of various genres, and many of the 20th century’s biggest blues musicians played here. The business was sold in 2004 to new owners who opened the Aura dance club.

37. The Netherland (aka Netherlands Hotel, Tocoma, and Hawthorn Plaza)

The construction of this apartment-hotel in 1928 coincided with a city-wide population boom, as well as an influx of wealthy and upwardly mobile middle-class residents in Kansas City's Hyde Park neighborhood. With easy access to streetcars and a vibrant neighborhood, this building, known as the Tocoma, Netherlands Hotel, and Hawthorn Plaza over the next century, began as one of several luxury apartment-hotels constructed in the area during the 1920s. The historic building demonstrates the popularity of the Spanish Revival style of architecture at this time in Kansas City. Renowned architect Robert F. Gornall designed the building, which also incorporates both Moorish and Baroque elements. In 2013, the building was included on lists of endangered historic structures, but thanks to the efforts of preservationists and investors, the building once again serves as a residence and hotel for the same reasons as it did a century before- a vibrant neighborhood and streetcar line.

38. Price Candy Company (1929-1977); Foolkiller Theater (1977-1985)

Constructed in 1929, this historic Kansas City building served as the headquarters and factory of the Price Candy Company, once one of the city's largest candy manufacturers. The company started in 1913 when Charles Price rented space at the Jones Store. The company quickly became successful with retail locations and production kitchens in fourteen cities. Price occupied this building until 1977, when the company built a larger candy factory in Richmond, Missouri. The building was subsequently sold to Kansas City's Foolkiller Theater Collective, which sprang from Kansas City's counter-culture movement of the late 1960s using money the group raised by operating haunted houses. The Foolkiller Theater hosted countless workshops, plays, and concerts in this building, which became a center of Kansas City's independent theater and music community. Foolkiller also leased some of the retail space on the corner to the New Earth Bookstore, which specialized in feminist literature. The theater collective hosted various events and concerts, including some that supported Kansas City's gay and lesbian community in the early 1980s. Due to the high costs of maintaining the building, Foolkiller sold the building in 1985. Since that time, the historic building has passed through a succession of owners and retail businesses.

39. The Warwick Theater

The Warwick Theater was built in 1914 by Kansas City entrepreneur and filmmaker William Andlauer. In its early years, the theater showed films from the Paramount Pictures company. Andlauer also owned the Bonaventure Theater on Independence Ave and the Andlauer Film Company, which specialized in promotional films for government agencies, churches, and businesses. Fire struck the Warwick in 1927, but when it reopened in 1929, the resulting reinvestment made the Warwick one of the first Kansas City movie theaters to show "Talkies" (movies with sound). Andlauer produced his first feature film, As the World Rolls On, in 1921, starring the famous African American boxer Jack Johnson and filmed throughout Kansas City with an all-Black cast. The Warwick closed in 1953 after Andlauer's death. In the years that followed, the former theater sat vacant for many years and was later home to a thrift store, a furniture store, and a studio for the Soreal Design Company. The building was purchased in 2015 by the Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre (MET), which renovated the space for live theatrical performances. However, fire struck the building for a second time in 2024, destroying the rear of the building. The MET is currently raising money to restore the building once again.

40. Katz Drug Store (1934-1971)

The largest drugstore in the world when it opened in 1934, this former flagship store of the Katz chain remains an iconic Westport landmark. The company was founded by brothers Mike and Ike Katz, who hailed from a small village in Ukraine. Their family immigrated to the United States and settled in St. Paul, Minnesota, where the pair grew up selling goods along the railroads. Upon moving to Kansas City, the pair opened a fruit stand in the West Bottoms district and later expanded to operate two stores. In the next two decades, the company prospered, leading to the creation of this flagship store in the heart of the Great Depression that soon became a hub of the Westport neighborhood. The Katz chain offered everything from a pharmacy and soda fountain to home appliances and pet monkeys. This store operated as a Skaggs Drug Company operation following a 1971 merger, and this location eventually became an Osco owned by CVS Corp. In 2011, the property was bought by a church and was later acquired by Lux Living developers from St. Louis, Missouri. As of 2024, the company is transforming the building into an apartment complex while preserving many of the unique exterior features of the store, including the iconic clock tower.

41. Flight 42 Lounge (1965-1967)

Although shortlived, Flight 42 Lounge may have been Kansas City’s most unusual cocktail bar. The lounge was housed in an old TWA airliner that had been towed to the southeast corner of 42nd and Main Street, which is now home to a parking lot for an H&R Block branch. The sight of a Super-G Constellation Airliner being towed across Main Street drew attention to the lounge's 1965 opening. The airline-themed bar featured waitresses dressed as airline flight attendant uniforms with airline call buttons for guests to request service. Despite initial excitement, Flight 42 experienced financial turbulence. The owners declared bankruptcy in December 1966, and by April 1967, all traces of the plane had been removed.

42. The Wishbone Restaurant (1948-1981)

Now home to the Mariot, this was the location of the Wishbone, one of Kansas City’s most iconic restaurants and the namesake of the famous salad dressing brand. Founded by restauranteur Phillip Anthony Sollomi in 1948, the Wishbone occupied an old Victorian-style mansion overlooking the Country Club Plaza at 4455 Main. Named “The Wishbone” in honor of its signature dish, pan-fried chicken, the restaurant gained its biggest following for its Italian vinaigrette salad dressing, made by Sollomi’s mother, Lena, with the family recipe brought from Sicily. Sollomi began bottling and selling his Wishbone Salad Dressing to customers and launched a business that would soon eclipse the restaurant. After years of producing the iconic American dressing, the Sollomi family sold Wishbone Salad Dressing to the Lipton Company in 1957. The Wishbone Restaurant passed through several owners until it closed in 1981, and the building was torn down in 1983 to make way for what is today the Kansas City Marriot Hotel.

43. Community Church designed by Frank Lloyd Wright

Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1940 and constructed the following year, Community Church is Wright's only non-residential building in Kansas City. The congregation dates back to the late 19th century with the formation of a youth mission that grew to become a small congregation by 1890. After a fire in 1939 completely burned the church's building, the lead pastor contacted the famed architect who incorporated a variety of his design aesthetics and modern materials, including prefabricated materials and concrete. The architect worked to blend modern elements into the area's natural landscape, with building lines and other features that evolved from his "Usonian Model."

44. Mill Creek Park Fountain

Mill Creek Park fountain (formerly known as the J. C. Nichols Memorial Fountain) was brought from New York to Kansas City in 1951 by the Nichols family and is now one of the 48 city-owned fountains. The ornate fountain was designed and cast in France in 1910 for New York financier and telegraph mogul Clarence Mackay who was also a leading collector of fine art and Renaissance armor. The cast bronze fountain features four horsemen, representing the world’s four mightiest rivers, surrounded by four smaller sculptures of children playing on fish. One of these small fish sculptures had been sold prior to the demolition of Mackay's estate in 1947, so a replica of the fish was commissioned so that the fountain would match its original appearance when it arrived in Kansas City. The fountain was refurbished, installed, and dedicated to J. C. Nichols in 1960. The missing fish was eventually found and installed in a 2014 renovation. In recent years, city leaders have begun a process of recognizing the influence of J.C. Nichols in shaping the city in both positive and negative ways, including his use of racially restrictive covenants to bar African American and Jewish residents from his residential and commercial developments. In an effort to show that Kansas City parks are open to all, city leaders voted unanimously to rename the fountain on June 30, 2020.

45. The Sachem Massasoit Statue

Known as the Sachem or Massasoit, this statue is one of four copies of the original 1921 work of sculptor Cyrus Dallin. Massasoit was the sachem or paramount chief of the Wampanoag People, and Dalin's original statue was installed at Plymouth to honor the Wampanoag's role in helping the Pilgrims survive their first winter in Plymouth. This event forms the basis of the first Thanksgiving celebration, and the statue was originally installed in Kansas City's Country Club Plaza, which has its own Thanksgiving tradition. Dallin created numerous works depicting Native Americans including the Scout statue in Kansas City's Penn Valley Park that has become one of the symbols of the city. Real estate magnate Miller Nichols found this statue in a gallery in Santa Fe, and he purchased it to display outside of the Plaza Tennis Courts in 1979. When those courses were expanded in 1997, the Kansas City Parks & Recreation Department created this small park on the southeast corner of Brookside Blvd. and Emmanuel Cleaver Blvd. to showcase the statue.

46. The Colonial Shops and Bismark Place

The Colonial Shops opened in 1907 at what is today 51st and Brookside Blvd. This was Kansas City developer J.C. Nichols’ first shopping center, and it was built to support his first housing development in Kansas City, Mo. In 1905, Nichols and his financial backers had purchased 10 acres located between Walnut and Main St., 49th St. to 51st St. The area had been platted into a neighborhood called Bismark Place in 1887 but few lots ever sold. Nichols began actively advertising and promoting the development. Since it was just south of the city limits at the time and far from businesses and stores, Nichols built the Colonial Shops to provide necessities for the neighborhood. This started a tradition, where Nichols would include a dedicated shopping center for most of his developments, most famously the Country Club Plaza.

47. The Countryside Stop on the Country Club Streetcar Line

This spot marks the location of the Countryside Neighborhood stop on the Country Club Line of Kansas City's streetcar system. The Country Club Line ran from Westport to Waldo and serviced the east side of developer J.C. Nichols' various housing developments and shopping centers. The line was abandoned in 1957 and today the right of way serves as the route of Kansas City's Harry Wiggins Trolley Trail. The marble statue was placed at this site in 1980 by the Kansas City Area Transit Authority in an effort to beautify the area. It is a representation of the Greek Goddess Hebe, the goddess of youth. In the early 2000s, it was listed as a geocache site and people interested in the hobby were encouraged to place bird figurines around the statue earning her the nickname "The Bird Lady" and "Our Lady of the Birds."

This Tour is a Driving or Biking Tour.

Kansas City Streetcar History Tour

Created by David J. Trowbridge on February 7th 2025, 1:46:25 am.

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Description

The route follows the recently expanded Kansas City streetcar loop from the River Market to UMKC. This interactive tour makes it possible to sit and read or listen to the histories of over forty landmarks that are viewable from the streetcar route. Kansas City's streetcar history dates back to 1869 when the first mule-drawn carts operated. Within a short period, Kansas City was home to the third-largest cable car system in the United States in terms of track mileage. The metro area was later home to one of the largest streetcar systems, with tracks that connected the downtowns of KCK and KCMO with suburban neighborhoods in five counties. The network also connected to several interurban railroads that reached St. Joseph, Lawrence, and other surrounding communities. In 1957, the city commemorated the last run of its streetcars, but increased interest in public transportation led to the creation of this streetcar line in 2016. This interpretive trail along the streetcar line was built in anticipation of the spring 2025 expansion, extending the line south from Union Station to the UMKC campus.

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Kansas City Streetcar History Tour

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