National and State Registers of Historic Places
Kansas City Kansas High School Gymnasium & Laboratory
1017 N 9th Street
Kansas City (Wyandotte County)
Listed in National Register
Jan 20, 2012
Architect: Rose and Peterson
Category: education related
Thematic Nomination: Historic Public Schools of Kansas
The Kansas City, Kansas High School Gymnasium and Laboratory building was built in 1923 as an education-related structure intended to support educational activities. The related high school sat across the street, but a fire destroyed the school in 1934. A tunnel beneath 9th Street had connected the two buildings. The three-story gym and lab building featured specialized classrooms, such as chemistry and physics laboratories and a home economics department, and indoor athletic facilities that included a spacious two-story gymnasium, swimming pool, and locker rooms with showers. After the fire, a Junior College program moved into the gym and lab building and would later expand into the nearby Horace Mann Elementary School and remained there until 1968. The high school left the building for good when the new Wyandotte High School opened in 1937. School district architects William W. Rose and David B. Peterson designed the gym and lab building in the Renaissance Revival style. It is nominated for its local significance in the area of education.
