Reliefs On The City Hall In Kansas City

The City Hall was built in 1937, under the influence of Tom Pendergast (who owned a concrete company that built the city hall), the “political boss” of Kansas City at the time. It was built to “counter” the effects of the great depression on Kansas City, and was part of a series of other government buildings, which include the Jackson County Courthouse. Both buildings were designed by Wight and Wight.

If you’ve ever squinted trying to see the reliefs on the City Hall building in Kansas City,MO you are not alone. So I thought I’d present to you some close-ups of all four sides of the building, brought to you by my lunch walks and short attention span. Some scenes I could interpret, probably incorrectly, other ones seemed more mysterious. If you know what they mean, fell free to comment.

Major episodes in the city’s history are depicted in a frieze of 16 panels directly above the sixth story. Sculptures on the building’s exterior were done by C. P. Jennewein, Ulric H. Ellerhusen, and Walker Hancock.

*it was sunny, I had to make photos a little darker to make detail more visible.