Quality Hill is a historic neighborhood near

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 ...

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, on a 200-foot-high bluff which overlooks the confluence of the

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

and

rivers in the

West Bottoms The West Bottoms is an industrial area immediately to the west of downtown Kansas City, Missouri. Located in Kansas City, Missouri and Kansas City, Kansas it sits at the confluence of the Missouri River and the Kansas River. The area is one ...

below. It is on the west side of downtown, bounded by Broadway to the east, I-35 to the west, 7th Street to the north, and 14th Street to the south. The

border is half a mile away through the West Bottoms. Since 1978, Quality Hill has been listed as an historic district on 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 ...

. Today, it includes residences, large businesses (including the headquarters of

Kansas City Southern Industries Kansas City Southern (KCS) is a pure transportation holding company with railroad investments in the United States, Mexico, and Panama. The KCS rail network includes about of track in the U.S. and Mexico.https://www.kcsouthern.com/pdf/communit ...

and

DST Systems DST Systems, Inc. is an American company that was acquired by SS&C Technologies in 2018. The company provided advisory, technology and operations outsourcing services to the financial services and healthcare industries. It was founded in Februa ...

and a large branch of the

State Street Corporation State Street Corporation is an American financial services and bank holding company headquartered at One Lincoln Street in Boston with operations worldwide. It is the second-oldest continually operating United States bank; its predecessor, Un ...

), retail establishments, entertainment venues, two cathedrals, and private clubs.

History

Situated within fourteen blocks of the Missouri River, Quality Hill is the oldest established residential area in the Kansas City metropolitan area to remain continuously inhabited.

French origins

The Chouteau Society, a society dedicated to highlighting Kansas City's French origins, erected a signpost at the northwest corner of 11th and Washington streets, in French and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, which states the corner was the site of an early-18th-century French

missionary A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

church, the oldest structure known to have been built by Europeans in the region. This would have been during the era of French

fur trappers The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most ...

who traveled the region's rivers. The first recorded church on the site was built in 1822 at the behest of François Chouteau, who is credited as the founder and first Euro-American permanent settler of Kansas City. Today, the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, is on the site of Chouteau's church. Known for its

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

-covered dome, the cathedral is the oldest standing building on Quality Hill. Two blocks down Washington Street is

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 ...

, which was built beginning in the 1860s, and serves as the seat of the Episcopal Diocese of West Missouri. Several buildings on Quality Hill date to before the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

Lewis and Clark Expedition

On September 15, 1806, the

Lewis and Clark Expedition The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gr ...

stopped on what is now known as Quality Hill, on its return from the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

. Meriwether Lewis noted in his journal that the site offered a "commanding situation for a fort." Today, the site is commemorated by a large bronze sculpture including a figure of the enslaved man York, the only monument in Missouri to include a slave. Informational signposts and a lookout point are at the north end of Case Park, located at 8th Street and Jefferson Street. The sculpture was made by Eugene Daub.

Quality Hill's heyday

Between its formal inception as a neighborhood by

Kersey Coates Kersey Coates (September 15, 1823 – April 24, 1887) was a businessman from Kansas City, in the U.S. state of Missouri, who developed Quality Hill, founded the Kansas City Board of Trade, and was among those who attracted the Hannibal & St. Jo ...

in 1857 and a short time after the end of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Quality Hill was the most fashionable and expensive neighborhood in Kansas City. Many of the city's leaders of power and industry lived high on Quality Hill's limestone bluffs in large houses overlooking the West Bottoms below, which contained the city's industrial heart, rail center, and famous stockyards. From Quality Hill they had ready access to their businesses and to the ports of commerce. Quality Hill YMCA Kansas City MO

One figure who greatly influenced Quality Hill's rise was

Tom Pendergast Thomas Joseph Pendergast (July 22, 1872 – January 26, 1945), also known as T. J. Pendergast, was an American political boss who controlled Kansas City and Jackson County, Missouri, from 1925 to 1939. Pendergast only briefly held elected ...

, a notorious political boss in the city. In the early 20th century, his brother,

Jim Pendergast James Francis Pendergast (January 27, 1856 – November 10, 1911) was a Democratic politician and the first Big City Boss of Kansas City, Missouri. He was the elder brother of Thomas J. Pendergast and Michael J. Pendergast. Early life Pender ...

, a saloon owner in the West Bottoms, began a Democratic Party political machine which soon achieved nearly total power over politics in the region. His chief rival was Joe Shannon. Shannon's faction was nicknamed "the rabbits" because of their connection to the old ways of doing things in lowlands along the rivers (one of the early nicknames for Kansas City was "Rabbitville"), while the Pendergast faction was nicknamed "the goats" because of their desire to climb out of the Bottoms. Tom Pendergast succeeded his brother as boss of the machine. In 1941, Pendergast arranged for President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...

to build a large park on Quality Hill overlooking the

Kansas City Downtown Airport Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport is a city-owned, public-use airport serving Kansas City, Missouri. Located in Clay County, this facility is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems, which categorized it as a general aviat ...

, which also was built during his reign. This park is known as Case Park today, occupying the entire edge of Quality Hill's bluffs. Tom Pendergast commissioned a statue of his brother Jim to be placed in the park, and it still stands. Until the completion of Kansas City International Airport in 1972, Case Park was a popular spot to watch planes take off from the Downtown Airport. One consideration in the decision to build the new airport was the difficulty planes encountered taking off from the Downtown airport, as they had to climb steeply to avoid the 200-foot bluffs and Quality Hill's buildings. The Kansas City Riverfront Bicycle Trail, a 20-mile bicycle route along the Missouri River around downtown Kansas City, also runs through the park and along the bluff. River Club Kansas City

In 1953, the American Hereford Association placed a

fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass ( Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass clo ...

statue of a bull on a 90-foot pylon at its headquarters at 715 Kirk Drive, with President

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

presiding. The bull was nicknamed "Bob" by locals, a name derived from the acronym created by the phrase "bull on building." It either was loved as an icon or reviled as kitsch detracting from the city's beauty. The statue's sculptor was Will Decker with Rochetti and Parzini of

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 ...

, and it was manufactured at the Colonial Plastic Corporation of

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area. Beginning in the 1960s, Downtown Kansas City's population began a steep decline. The city's center of population moved south to the suburbs. Elite who used to live on Quality Hill gradually moved to upscale areas farther south, such as the

Country Club Plaza The Country Club Plaza (often called The Plaza) is a privately-owned regional shopping center in the Country Club District of Kansas City, Missouri. Opened in 1923, it was the first planned suburban shopping center and the first regional shoppi ...

and Sunset Hill. As a result, houses were divided into multiple families, income levels of residents went down, and Quality Hill gradually fell into extreme disrepair. In the early 1970s, Arnold Garfinkel, a real estate developer, began acquiring and assembling properties and by 1976, he controlled several large parcels. Garfinkle created a report promoting the investment possibilities on Quality Hill. He envisioned a combination of new development and historic renovation. Garfinkel did not implement his ambitious plan, but it served as a catalyst for other investors, who began renovations on several loft buildings. These new developments encouraged the Kansas City LCRA, in 1983, to revise the downtown central business district plan to include the revitalization of the Quality Hill area. That same year, LCRA selected

McCormack Baron Salazar McCormack Baron Salazar is an American real estate development firm based in St. Louis, Missouri specializing in economically integrated urban neighborhoods with more than $4.23 billion invested in affordable and mixed-income housing proje ...

, a development company from St. Louis with strong historic preservation experience, to serve as master developer for the effort. The City, in partnership with the neighborhood and a consortium of the Hall Family Foundation, DST Systems, J.E. Dunn and others, acquired nearly all of Quality Hill from Garfinkle and others. McCormack Baron Salazar, as developer, built many new structures, both residential and commercial, and refurbished old ones. In the 1990s, the architecture firm HNTB bought the American Hereford building for its world headquarters and removed the bull statue from the building. In 2002, HNTB and other firms arranged to have the bull moved across I-35 to Mulkey Square. In 2004, Kansas City Southern Industries completed a multimillion-dollar new headquarters between the two cathedrals and designed after Quality Hill's distinctive architectural style. Around that time, State Street purchased Quality Hill property from DST Systems and opened a major branch. The Heart of America

United Way United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit fundraising affiliates. United Way was the largest nonprofit organization in the United States by donations from the public, prior to 2016. United Way organizations raise funds ...

(the Kansas City Metropolitan Area branch of the United Way) also maintains its headquarters in the heart of Quality Hill, in the former Virginia Hotel and in a 19th-century house along Pennsylvania street. Previously it was also located in a 19th-century house on the corner of Washington Street and 11th Street. In 2016, that location was converted into Quality Hill Academy, a local charter school for grades K-3.

Today

Since the late 20th century, Quality Hill has regained its attraction as a highly upscale urban neighborhood. According to Tony Salazar, it is widely regarded as one of the best successes in

urban renewal Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities. Urban renewal involves the clearing out of blighte ...

in the United States. Quality Hill's appeal to potential residents is based both in its historic beauty and its ready access to the cultural and business life of downtown Kansas City. Its architecture – both historic and new, reflects Kansas City's origins. It is mostly of a 19th-century French and Federal style, similar to St. Louis's historic Soulard neighborhood. In February 2008, McCormack Baron Salazar, who owned and managed its large property as a development called New Quality Hill, sold 21 buildings (consisting of 382 residential units_ to C.R.E.S. Management LLC, a Kansas City-based development company. Its plans were for a major restoration of all the buildings and area landscape. Many other properties are privately owned, including residences and businesses. Quality Hill contains undeveloped land, most of which is owned by DST Systems and the Kauffman Foundation. This property includes several large, often-unused parking lots and many vacant house lots. The Kauffman Foundation has continued refurbishing its remaining historic buildings for lease. Recently some residents voiced concerns that the New Quality Hill portion of the neighborhood is declining. McCormack Baron Salazar initially said it was working to address those concerns, but in November 2006 decided to sell the bulk of its property on Quality Hill. As redevelopment 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 ...

burgeons, and with the population having swelled from 3,000 in 2002 to over 16,000 in 2006, Quality Hill's population continues to grow rapidly (and the cost of living there continues to increase). The Quality Hill Playhouse features many

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

and off-Broadway shows. The River Club, one of two

private city club Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

s on the Missouri side of Kansas City (along with 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 ...

in the nearby Library District), is on Quality Hill, on 8th Street between Jefferson Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, near the Lewis and Clark historic site.

References

External links

"Information about Quality Hill"
Kansas City Public Library {{Kansas City, Missouri Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Missouri Neighborhoods in Kansas City, Missouri Populated places established in 1857 Works Progress Administration in Missouri National Register of Historic Places in Kansas City, Missouri 1857 establishments in Missouri