Drive-by history: Holy Name Catholic Church and the MLK riots

If Kansas City kicked back on a shrink’s couch for psychoanalysis, this church would definitely play a role in its most repressed, battle-scarred memories.

That’s something I learned Tuesday night at a lecture by Dr. Jacob Wagner, a professor at UMKC who teaches Urban Planning and Design. In front of a diverse sprinkling of folks at the ScionLAB, Wagner discussed Kansas City’s tendency to demolish important historical structures. He pressed us to consider the greater meaning behind which buildings are torn down, which buildings are saved, and what new structures are built in a city.

Wagner shared the history of the Holy Name Catholic Church building at 23rd Street and Benton Boulevard, which, miraculously, is still standing. I found the building’s National Historic Register paperwork online, and it tells the same story: