Sherman Dreiseszun
Encyclopedia
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...
's two tallest buildings as well as several shopping malls throughout the Midwest
Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American Midwest....
.
Early life
Dreiseszun was the son of PolishPoles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
immigrants. He was born at 1734 Prospect Avenue in the 18th and Vine
18th and Vine-Downtown East, Kansas City
18th and Vine in Kansas City is internationally recognized as one of the cradles of jazz. Along with New Orleans's Basin Street, Beale Street in Memphis, 52nd Street in New York City and Los Angeles's Central Avenue - the 18th and Vine area was a midwife to the birth of a new style of jazz...
Jazz District of Kansas City, Missouri
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...
.
He served in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
as a crewmember on B-17 planes.
In 1946 he and nephew Frank Morgan (four years his junior) formed a partnership Vic-Gene Manufacturing Inc. to sell women's wear to Kansas City, Missouri
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...
-area stores.
Shopping malls and banking empire
In the 1960s it branched into building shopping malls opening the French Market in Overland Park, KansasOverland Park, Kansas
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 149,080 people, 59,703 households, and 39,702 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,627.0 people per square mile . There were 62,586 housing units at an average density of 1,102.9 per square mile...
. In 1964 they took over a struggling effort to build the East Hills Shopping Mall in St. Joseph, Missouri They operated under the name of MD Management.
In 1967 they opened Metcalf South Shopping Center
Metcalf South Shopping Center
Metcalf South Shopping Center is a dead mall in Overland Park, Kansas. It opened in 1967 along with a nearby strip center that is anchored by Kmart and Hancock Fabrics. The mall itself had major stores such as Victoria's Secret, and Waldenbooks. It also had Orange Julius, and Topsy's Popcorn...
which was the first large indoor mall in the Kansas City area. They would also establish a banking network Mission Bank in Mission, Kansas
Mission, Kansas
Mission is a city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States. The population was 9,727 at the 2000 census. The city is a first-tier suburb in the Kansas City Metro. In 2003, Mission absorbed the neighboring city of Countryside.- History :...
, Metro North State Bank in Kansas City, Missouri, Valley View State Bank in Overland Park Industrial State Bank in Kansas City, Kansas
Kansas City, Kansas
Kansas City is the third-largest city in the state of Kansas and is the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri, and is the third largest city in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. The city is part of a consolidated city-county government known as the "Unified...
and Security Bank of Kansas City as well as Merchants Bank in Kansas City. The banks would finance their expansion.
Some of the projects would be done in conjunction with Copaken, White & Blitt
Copaken, White & Blitt
Copaken & Brooks is a family-owned commercial real estate developer headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri that owns and developed some of the city's and Missouri's largest buildings.The firm was founded by Herman Copaken in 1922....
.
Rebuilding the Kansas City skyline
In addition to building suburban shopping centers they made their mark with the construction of Kansas City's two tallest buildings—the Town PavilionTown Pavilion
Town Pavilion is a 38-story skyscraper located at 1111 Main Street on the northeast corner of 12th and Main Streets in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, around the corner from Oppenstein Brothers Memorial Park. The tower occupies the former site of several retail buildings--including Kline's...
in 1986 and One Kansas City Place
One Kansas City Place
One Kansas City Place is the tallest building located in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, bounded by 12th Street to the north, Baltimore Avenue to the west, and Main Street to the east...
in 1987. The buildings changed the landscape of downtown Kansas City where the Kansas City Power and Light Building
Kansas City Power and Light Building
The Kansas City Power and Light Building is a landmark skyscraper located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri...
had stood as the tallest since 1931. One Kansas City Place is twenty one feet taller than the Gateway Arch
Gateway Arch
The Gateway Arch, or Gateway to the West, is an arch that is the centerpiece of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial in St. Louis, Missouri. It was built as a monument to the westward expansion of the United States...
.
In 1985 and 1991 he and Morgan were listed on the Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
list of richest Americans with more than $500 million in assets.
Collapse
Their empire took big hits in the early 1990s when their banks faltered in the Savings and loan crisisSavings and Loan crisis
The savings and loan crisis of the 1980s and 1990s was the failure of about 747 out of the 3,234 savings and loan associations in the United States...
. They were charged with bid rigging for leasing its office space. Morgan died in 1993 proclaiming his innocence. The FDIC
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is a United States government corporation created by the Glass–Steagall Act of 1933. It provides deposit insurance, which guarantees the safety of deposits in member banks, currently up to $250,000 per depositor per bank. , the FDIC insures deposits at...
prohibited Dreiseszun from being involved with the banks.
In 1996 he pled guilty to misdemeanor charges and paid a $375,000 fine and would regain control of many of his banks via the Valley View Financial Group.
He was resident for life at Kehilath Israel Synagogue in Overland Park and was active with Jewish philanthropies.
Shopping malls
- Oak Park MallOak Park MallOak Park Mall is a super-regional shopping mall located in Overland Park, Kansas, containing 200 stores in a covered area of . It is the largest mall in the Kansas City Metro Area as well as the entire state of Kansas, and is split into two levels and contains five department stores.It was...
in Kansas City - Crestview Hills Mall, in Crestview Hills, KentuckyCrestview Hills, KentuckyCrestview Hills is a city in Kenton County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 2,889 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Crestview Hills is located at ....
- Westminster MallWestminster Mall (Colorado)Westminster Mall was an enclosed shopping mall in Westminster, Colorado, a suburb of Denver, Colorado, USA. Opened in 1977, the mall features three anchor stores , with three vacant anchors last occupied by Montgomery Ward, Mervyns and Macy's. The mall also includes a food court and formerly...
, Denver, ColoradoDenver, ColoradoThe City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains... - Metcalf South Shopping CenterMetcalf South Shopping CenterMetcalf South Shopping Center is a dead mall in Overland Park, Kansas. It opened in 1967 along with a nearby strip center that is anchored by Kmart and Hancock Fabrics. The mall itself had major stores such as Victoria's Secret, and Waldenbooks. It also had Orange Julius, and Topsy's Popcorn...
, Kansas City (1967) - Buckingham Square Mall, Aurora, ColoradoAurora, ColoradoCity of Aurora is a Home Rule Municipality spanning Arapahoe, Adams, and Douglas counties in Colorado. Aurora is an eastern suburb of the Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area . The city is the third most populous city in the Colorado and the 56th most populous city in the...
- Southwyck Shopping Center, Toledo, OhioToledo, OhioToledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...
(1972-2008) Demolished in 2009 - French Market, Overland Park
- Indian Springs Shopping Center (1971)
- Metro North MallMetro North MallMetro North Mall is a 1.3 million square foot regional mall located at 400 NW Barry Road, in Kansas City North, Missouri.Metro North opened its doors in 1976 and was the only enclosed mall located north of the Missouri River in the Kansas City metro area, as well as being the second largest mall...
in Kansas City