just came across this cool little blog about the Kansas City Workhouse on Vine street.

http://kansascityworkhouse.wordpress.com/

Seems like that project that was planned for the building (http://forum.kcrag.com/index.php?topic=10934.0) has gone nowhere, I know there are folks on here with great interest in this building, the blogger is looking for photos/info regarding the building so if you've got any, check it out.

They also have some interesting historic illustrations of the Workhouse.

If I were to make a list of five favorite buildings in KC this would be on it. I have a few postcards of it from the teens. There is a website called dupontcastle or something that has a bit of info about it

It's hard to think of a purpose for this building.  Ideas?

The location on Google maps.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=2011+Vine,+Kansas+City,+MO&sll=39.088102,-94.563473&hl=en&sspn=0.006295,0.006295&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=2011+Vine+St,+Kansas+City,+Jackson,+Missouri+64108&ll=39.087727,-94.56351&spn=0.002756,0.008218&t=h&z=17

event space for sure

Lucian Development, of Rochester, NY, owns the property, and it is for sale.

http://www.lucianglobal.com/lucian-development/

I've been thinking about this for awhile, and I've come to the conclusion
that the City should purchase the site, stabilize it as a ruin that could be explored, and build a landscaped garden around it.  It could serve as a park for the Beacon Hill neighborhood, and a tourist attraction (for photography, weddings, graduations, etc.).  The building could be dramatically lit up at night.

Or a wealthy benefactor could purchase the parcel, prepare the park and site, and turn it over to the City.

The Vine Street firehouse, formerly the Black Archives, could be converted into a restaurant with an outdoor dining courtyard, and small museum, to tell the history of the workhouse and firehouse. It would not be a formal museum, but would be part of the restaurant.

The Public Works buildings across the street could be restored and converted into some type of rentable public space.  If the Beacon Hill neighborhood eventually gets built back up, and repopulated, these buildings could also serve as stores or restaurants.

In a perfect world, the former Wheatley-Provident Hospital, at E. 19th and Forest, could be moved and re-sited behind the Public Works buildings, and restored as something.

Another idea would be to move other threatened houses and structures around this area and conserve them, and create a sort of heritage village, but reusing the structures for other purposes.

For example, Buck O'Neil's former house could be moved and placed next to the Buck O'Neil Education Center.  Or the house Jean Harlow lived in on Gillham could be moved into this area.

I got the idea for a landscaped garden around the old Workhouse from looking at these images and sites:

The historic landscaping of the Workhouse.

http://www.vintagekansascity.com/places/workhouse.html

http://kchistory.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/Mrs&CISOPTR=992&CISOBOX=1&REC=4

Other examples:

http://www.archdaily.com/99074/ad-classics-st-bernard-de-clairvaux-church/

Castle Otttis in Florida

http://www.castleotttis.com/otttisphotos.htm

On another note, I've always thought that the Disney home on Bellefontaine should be moved across from the Laugh-O-Gram Studio on 31st.

http://kchistory.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/Montgomery&CISOPTR=2035&CISOBOX=1&REC=17

Eric Bowers and I went to the old Workhouse to take some pictures Sunday, the clouds were awesome. My wife got a new fancy little Canon camera with some neat built in effects, but they're nothing like Eric's shots. Too bad he doesn't haunt the forum anymore - although we did talk about a comeback?

On the buildings across the street, behind them was an open doorway with a letter for code violations stapled to what was left of a door frame. It was dated mid-July, and mentioned fines if certain violations weren't corrected. Not sure what for, but I'm guessing an unsafe and open/abandoned building? Just a guess since there were beams collapsing in on it.

I took careful note of the stone on the castle, and unfortunately, I'm not sure much of it can be saved. The limestone is returning to soil in the turrets up at the top, literally its crumbling. It's possible that if the bottom parts of the building are still sound and not crumbling, they could rebuild the top courses of stone with new stone, but it's in pretty bad shape.











Trash inside...


Tag inside










Inside the Street Dept building...