A trip highlight from our recent visit to Kansas City MO was our Viator tour with Kris. The tour is called Outlaws & Legends Tour of Kansas City and it is a winner.
We met at the City Market and then walked around the River Market part of Kansas City for approximately two hours. Our guide talked about the old police station dating back to 1852, the lingering effects of the Civil War, Jesse and Frank James (products of dissatisfaction from the Cilvil War) and their brutality as well the infamous Tom Pendergast and the Kansas City mafia.
Next, we stopped in front of the restaurant Car No. 551 which is currently a charming part of town. Back in the 1970s, it was the site of the violent River Quay War – a local mafia turf war that ended badly for the mafia after much destruction via pipe bombs.
The walk through the historic garment district was especially fascinating. We learned about Nell Donnelly Reed who founded the Nellie Don brand of ladies clothing in 1919. By 1931, her company was generating over $3,500,000 in annual sales and had over 1,000 employees. She was such a dominant player in Kansas City that in 1931, she and her chauffeur were kidnapped at gunpoint and held for ransom. The search for Nell became a media sensation. Interestingly, the local mafia, not the police, found Nell and brought her home to safety.
The part of our walk dedicated to Tom Pendergast, infamous Kansas City Boss, was so interesting that I bought his biography while visiting the Harry S. Truman Library & Museum. While other U.S. cities were filled with bread lines and soup kitchens, Kansas City was economically booming during the Great Depression. In fact, the city was called the Paris of the Plains. The Majestic Steakhouse building started out as Fitzpatrick’s Saloon. The first floor was a bar with a brothel on the second floor and Jim Fitzpatrick’s personal residence on the top floor. The entire operation was backed by Tom Pendergast who kept office space for political meetings at the building. When asked why he didn’t obey federal Prohibition laws, he replied that the people are thirsty.
The tour ended in front of the New York Life building where Harry Truman worked at the Union Bank. During WWI, Harry became friends with Tom’s nephew Jim Pendergast. Jim and his father recruited Harry to run as a county judge and Tom Pendergast subsequently backed his run as a U.S. Senator. Tom Pendergast eventually served federal prison time for tax evasion and his political power ended. At his funeral, Vice President-elect Truman, against the advice of his political handlers, attended Tom’s funeral and said that Tom was always his friend.
In summary, the tour really gave us a great understanding of Kansas City’s history and architecture.
