National Register of Historic Places

Loretto Academy

Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri
Listed
July 27, 1983
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
83001009

About this property

The Loretto is a multipurpose venue in the Westport neighborhood of Kansas City, Missouri. It was adapted from a former girls' academy known as Loretto Academy, dedicated in 1904 as a "boarding and day school for girls." It is named after the Sisters of Loretto, who established a presence in Kansas City in 1899. The land upon which Loretto Academy was built was purchased in September 1902 by Mother M. Praxedes Carty. The architect of Loretto Academy, Thomas P. Barnett of Barnett, Haynes & Barnett, was soon after appointed the architect of the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis. The academy was the site of a fire in 1909 at a Halloween party; three students lost their lives when a paper dress became ignited by a lit jack-o'-lantern. Loretto Academy admitted its first black student in September 1947. In 1966 the site was sold to Calvary Bible College, who owned it for two decades; it then passed through the hands of three owners until a 1993 foreclosure. By then it had been listed on the National Register of Historic Places for a decade. As The Loretto, it currently hosts weddings in the historic cathedral chapel and wedding receptions in the ballroom. The building also offers apartments and offices. Its current owner, Loretto Redevelopment Corp., taking advantage of a tax abatement, has had plans for further redevelopment since 1996; as of 2011, those plans include "a hotel conversion, a small office space facing Mercier Street and two small rental buildings" on the 6-acre (2.4 ha) site. Loretto Academy (St. Louis, Missouri), also NRHP-listed

Location

1111 W. 39th St.
Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri
39.05960, -94.60043

Categories

EDUCATIONARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Benton, Thomas Hart, House and Studio
Industrial
0.2 mi
Tromanhauser, Norman, House
Industrial
0.3 mi
Volker, William, House
Industrial
0.3 mi
Pilgrim Lutheran Church for the Deaf of Greater Kansas City and Parsonage
Industrial
0.4 mi
Valentine on Broadway Hotel
Industrial
0.5 mi

Nearby Battles

Price's Raid — Battle of Westport
1864Civil War
0.9 mi
Battle of Westport – Westport Town Fighting
1864Civil War
1.4 mi
Battle of Westport (Kansas forces) 1864
1864Civil War
1.7 mi
Battle of Westport (Missouri 1864)
1864Civil War
2 mi
Battle of Westport Missouri
1864Civil War
2 mi

Questions about this property

When was Loretto Academy listed on the National Register?

Loretto Academy was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 27, 1983.

What type of historic resource is Loretto Academy?

Loretto Academy is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Loretto Academy?

The period of significance for Loretto Academy is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Loretto Academy?

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