The New York Life Building is a 12-story, high-rise in the Library District of

downtown Kansas City Downtown Kansas City is the central business district (CBD) of Kansas City, Missouri and the Kansas City metropolitan area. It is between the Missouri River in the north, to 31st Street in the south; and from the Kansas–Missouri state line east ...

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

. The brick and brownstone tower, which was completed in 1890, generally is regarded as Kansas City's first skyscraper and was the first building in the city equipped with elevators. It was commissioned by the

New York Life Insurance Company New York Life Insurance Company (NYLIC) is the third-largest life insurance company in the United States, the largest mutual life insurance company in the United States and is ranked #67 on the 2021 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States ...

, which also used the same design for the Omaha National Bank Building in Omaha that was completed in 1889. Several buildings around the world share its name. A centerpiece of the Library District and Baltimore Avenue Historic District, the building is located amid historic structures such as the

Kansas City Club The Kansas City Club, founded in 1882 and located in the Library District of Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, USA, was the oldest gentlemen's club in Missouri. The club began admitting women members in 1975. Along with the River Club on nearby ...

and the Central Library.

Background

The building was designed in 1885 by Frederick Elmer Hill of the

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

architecture firm of McKim, Mead & White. Hill, who graduated from the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

in 1882, came to Kansas City in 1885 initially to oversee the construction of his design but ended up staying until 1901, when he designed other notable buildings. From 1893 until 1895, he was involved in the design and construction of what is today

Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral is an Episcopal cathedral in the Quality Hill neighborhood of downtown Kansas City, Missouri, United States. It is the seat of the Episcopal Diocese of West Missouri. History Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral wa ...

on nearby Quality Hill. Hill also designed

Convention Hall Convention Hall was a convention center in Kansas City, Missouri that hosted the 1900 Democratic National Convention and 1928 Republican National Convention. It was designed by Frederick E. Hill and built at the corner of 13th and Central and cos ...

. Built in Italianate

Renaissance Revival Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range o ...

style, the New York Life Building has a brick and brownstone exterior and an H-shaped footprint with ten-story wings flanking a twelve-story tower. A monumental bald 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. With an Italian

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...

atrium floor in the lobby, the building's location marked the first significant movement of the city south from its founding at the

River Market The River Market (formerly known as Westport Landing, the City Market, and River Quay) is a riverfront neighborhood in Kansas City, Missouri that comprises the first and oldest incorporated district in Kansas City. It stretches north of the down ...

along the Missouri River. The imposing structure also marked a dramatic change in the skyline of Kansas City, where the tallest buildings previously had been three or four stories. In 1970, the New York Life Building was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. In 1988, however, it was abandoned. In 1996, a $35 million restoration of the building added modern energy, communications, and environmental features. Purchased by the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-Saint Joseph Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

in 2010 for $11.7 million, the building now houses the diocese's administrative offices (the chancery), totaling about 180 employees. The building was renamed the Catholic Center. File:NY Life Bldg-back-Kansas City MO.jpg, Northwest view File:NY Life Bldg St-Gaudens Eagle Kansas City MO.jpg, Massive bronze sculpture by Louis St. Gaudens of an eagle tending a nest of baby eaglets above the street entrance

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Missouri Towers in Missouri Skyscraper office buildings in Kansas City, Missouri 1890s architecture in the United States McKim, Mead & White buildings Office buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Missouri New York Life Insurance Company National Register of Historic Places in Kansas City, Missouri Library District (Kansas City, Missouri) Commercial buildings completed in 1888 1888 establishments in Missouri

Background

See also

References