Quality Hill YMCA, formerly Progress Club

This architecturally-significant structure housed the Progress Club, Kansas City's first Jewish gentleman's club. The building was designed in the Chateauesque Style of architecture which was popular in the late 19th century and usually blended detailed and imposing masonry facades with a steeply-pitched roof to accentuate a building's height. During a time when Jewish people faced increased discrimination in business and social clubs, the more established members of the local community founded their club in the historic Quality Hill neighborhood. From 1893 until 1910, this building was a place for Jewish people to socialize outside of the synagogue. In 1910, the organization's operations were moved to the new Oakwood Country Club which reflected migration patterns. The building operated as a YMCA until May 2020.

In the late nineteenth century, Jews across the United States faced discrimination, finding themselves excluded from some universities, workplaces, and housing. Many were also blocked from joining the local business and social clubs. In response, the Jewish community founded two Jewish clubs, the first of which was the Progress Club, a gentleman's club, in 1881. At first the club ran out of rented spaces on Main Street including the John Taylor Dry Goods Company.

Even before getting its own building, the Progress Club established itself as "the premier business and social club for Kansas City's Jewish Community." It provided the local community with a way to socialize and celebrate together outside of the formal religious setting that was the synagogue. By 1890, the club had grown and established itself enough that its members could start planning to build their own, dedicated clubhouse.

Local architects Louis Curtiss and Frederick Gunn designed the Progress Club building based on the Chateauesque tradition. Buildings of this style, inspired by the Renaissance-era chateaux of the French Loire Valley, tend to be asymmetrical with steeply pitched roofs. The building was finished in 1893, and the Progress Club moved into their new home the same year.

Exclusionary practices continued into the twentieth century and local Jews found themselves denied admission to Kansas City's many country clubs. The leaders of the Progress Club began the search for a piece of rural land where they could make their own private club, complete with a golf course. In 1910 they had found it, purchasing the former W.A. Rule farmstead south of city limits. After this they sold the Progress Club building, moving all their functions to what would become the first location of the Oakwood Country Club. The building later served as a YMCA before closing after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It needs to be noted that the practice of excluding Jewish people has fallen out of favor, but it hasn't disappeared completely. Famously, as recently as 1990, significant area businessman Henry Bloch's application to the Kansas City Country Club was quietly withdrawn, allegedly because Bloch was Jewish. Tom Watson, a famous golf player with a Jewish wife and children, withdrew his own membership from the club "as a matter of conscience." Discrimination and antisemitism stretching into the modern day is likely the reason why Jewish people continue to run their own clubs such as Oakwood.

Rosin, Elizabeth. May 19th, 2020. Accessed November 4th, 2022. https://mostateparks.com/sites/mostateparks/files/Jackson-County_Oakwood-Country-Club.pdf.

Adler, Frank J. Roots in a Moving Stream: The Centennial History of Congregation B’nai Jehudah of Kansas City, 1870-1970 (Kansas City, MO: The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah, 1972).

Tom Watson quits Kansas City Country Club over Henry Bloch membership, UPI. November 30th, 1990. Accessed November 5th, 2022. https://www.upi.com/Archives/1990/11/30/Tom-Watson-quits-Kansas-City-Country-Club-over-Henry-Bloch-membership/9984659941200/.

IMPORTANT QUALITY HILL YMCA UPDATE, YMCA of Greater Kansas City. May 11th, 2020. Accessed November 5th, 2022. https://kansascityymca.org/blog/important-quality-hill-ymca-update.