KC Library: The (Re-)Making of a Legend

by Dale Garrison

The Lobby of the First National Bank building--now home of Kansas City's Central Library.

The single most important fact about Kansas City's new central library may have occurred in 1904.

As Kansas City was becoming a regional business hub and undergoing one of its most significant building booms, Thomas Wright left his work in New York and Boston with the highly- regarded architectural firm of McKim, Mead & White. Joining his friend Edward T. Wilder, Wright formed one of KC's most prestigious architectural firms of the early to mid-1900s.

Wright and Wilder quickly put their stamp on some of the most important landmarks in metro Kansas City: the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City Life Insurance building, Jackson County Courthouse, City Hall, Federal Courts building, downtown Post Office, Municipal Courts building and Police Headquarters, Southeast High School, Pickwick Hotel and Col. Thomas Swope's Memorial in Swope Park.

Cast into these stones were Wright and Wilder's emphasis on classical architectural. These were buildings you did not walk past without noticing. Even the few homes they designed reflect a solid classicism and character.

One of Wright's first major contracts here involved a bank. Twenty years earlier, another pair of partners, Col. James Abernathy and James Lombard, had founded Kansas City's First National Bank. Opened on March 1, 1886, the bank was so successful that it quickly outgrew its first building, located where a fountain now divides Main Street. In 1891, First National moved to the Heist Building, a visible sign that the bank was moving up--in several ways.

Located on Main at 8th Street, the Heist Building was constructed as the tallest in the city. This early skyscraper was an incredible eight stories high. This precarious altitude was accentuated with a beehive tower and tall flagstaff.

Fortunately for our story, First National outgrew the Heist building as well. Just after the turn of the century, the bank began planning for a new facility, one it would occupy completely on its own, without other tenants. And this new building would emphatically communicate the bank's solidity in the community.

The result was the First National Bank building at Baltimore and 10th Street. Designed by Wright and Wilder, it carried their hallmark of classical design and solid, even weighty strength. This new building cost $450,000, which included $90,000 for land. Nearly a century later, this building has become Kansas City's new central library.

Even in an era of ornate building, First National was exceptional. Wright made extensive use of marble in the interior. The president's office was finished in mahogany from Peru and featured a marble fireplace. Outside, a series of huge columns stood guard. During construction, crowds gathered and cheered workmen as they maneuvered the 14-ton column sections into place with a huge steam engine.

The bank building was destined for a long, distinguished and varied career. From 1919 until the 1990s, continued success brought growth. In a steady series of expansions, the First National purchased adjoining properties and nearly doubled the size of the original bank. Significantly, these expansions were designed to blend architecturally. Marble for a new exterior came from the same quarry that supplied marble for the original 1906 building.

But all of this success spelled doom for the building itself. In 1969, bank administrators formed a multi-bank holding company. Within 15 years, the corporation would acquire 27 Missouri banks and change its name to CharterCorp. Then a series of mergers signaled the beginning of the end for people working in the bank building: First National Bank merged with Boatmen's Bancshares; Boatmen's Bancshares merged with NationsBank; and in 1998 NationsBank merged with BankAmerica to become Bank of America. When it was all over, the building on 10th Street stood empty.

Then in 2002, workers started remodeling for the new Central Library. In one of Kansas City's greatest examples of public/private collaboration, a stunning reuse of the bank became reality.

"This is something the entire community will appreciate," said Sandy Holder-man, deputy director of the library. "Those giant columns, the big bronze doors off 10th street, the triangular skylights--it's just very impressive."