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New York Life Insurance Building (Kansas City)
Encyclopedia
The New York Life Building is a highrise building completed in 1890 in Kansas City, Missouri
. The tower is one of six buildings built by New York Life Insurance across the United States, and it is regarded as the first skyscraper in the city and the first to have elevators.
Built in Italianate Renaissance Revival style, the building has a brick and brownstone exterior and an H-shaped footprint with ten story wings flanking a twelve story tower. A monumental eagle tending eaglets in a nest is perched above the main entry. The work was sculpted by Louis St. Gaudens
and contains more than two tons of cast bronze. The lobby has an Italian granite atrium floor. The building's location on Quality Hill marked the first significant movement of the city south from its founding at River Market
along the Missouri River
. The imposing structure also marked a dramatic change in the Kansas City skyline where the tallest buildings previously had been three and four stories.
The New York Life Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places
in 1970, but was abandoned in 1988. In 1996, a $35 million restoration of the building added state-of-the-art energy, communications, and environmental features.
In 2010, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-Saint Joseph
purchased the building for $11.7 million. It will become the new home of its administrative offices (the chancery) and Catholic Charities, about 180 employees in all. The building was renamed the Catholic Center.
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
. The tower is one of six buildings built by New York Life Insurance across the United States, and it is regarded as the first skyscraper in the city and the first to have elevators.
Background
The building was designed in 1885 by Frederick Elmer Hill (1857–1929), of the New York City architecture firm of McKim, Mead & White. Hill, who graduated from MIT in 1882, came to Kansas City in 1885 to oversee the construction of his design, but ended up staying in the city until 1901, and designing some important buildings. From 1893 until 1895, he was involved in the design and construction of the Nave of Grace Church, (now Grace and Holy Trinity Episcopal Cathedral,) located at 13th Street and Broadway Boulevard, only a few blocks from this building. Hill designed both of the Convention Halls Kansas City built between 1899 and 1900, and Westport City Hall. Hill was responsible for the design of Oak Hall, the elegant private residence of Kansas City newspaper publisher, William Rockhill Nelson (1841–1915).Built in Italianate Renaissance Revival style, the building has a brick and brownstone exterior and an H-shaped footprint with ten story wings flanking a twelve story tower. A monumental eagle tending eaglets in a nest is perched above the main entry. The work was sculpted by Louis St. Gaudens
Louis St. Gaudens
Louis St. Gaudens , was a significant American sculptor of the Beaux-Arts generation....
and contains more than two tons of cast bronze. The lobby has an Italian granite atrium floor. The building's location on Quality Hill marked the first significant movement of the city south from its founding at River Market
River Market
The River Market is a riverfront neighborhood in Kansas City, Missouri that comprises the first and oldest incorporated district in Kansas City.-Background:...
along the Missouri River
Missouri River
The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...
. The imposing structure also marked a dramatic change in the Kansas City skyline where the tallest buildings previously had been three and four stories.
The New York Life Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1970, but was abandoned in 1988. In 1996, a $35 million restoration of the building added state-of-the-art energy, communications, and environmental features.
In 2010, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-Saint Joseph
Roman Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-Saint Joseph
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-Saint Joseph is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the state of Missouri in the United States, erected on September 10, 1880, as the Diocese of Kansas City, with territories taken from the Archdiocese of Saint Louis. ...
purchased the building for $11.7 million. It will become the new home of its administrative offices (the chancery) and Catholic Charities, about 180 employees in all. The building was renamed the Catholic Center.