Locals Shocked to Learn What Once Stood at 500 Main St. in KC

Photo byBrock WegneronUnsplash

Kansas City, MO. - When driving along the 500 block of Main Street in Kansas City, you pass an unassuming parking lot. And chances are, if you've ever needed to find a place to park downtown, you might have used (and been quite grateful to find) that lot.

However, many local KC drivers have no clue about what once stood at this now "convenient" parking lot.

According to a post on the Local Kansas City History Buffs Facebook page, the west side of the 500 block of Main Street was the site of the Golden Eagle Clothing House well over 100 years ago.

A postcard of the Golden Eagle Clothing House that was included in the post, provides a few details of the popular consumer goods that were manufactured at this business back in the day:

• Hats
• Home furnishings
• Men's clothing
• Children's clothing

A few Facebook users inquired why ladies clothing wasn't mentioned on the postcard.

Apparently, it wasn't until the 1910s that ladies' ready-to-wear clothing became popular enough to become its own niche.

Another Facebook commenter suggested that a local history buff should conduct tours of "famous Kansas City parking lots," because you never know what might have once been there.

But nearly everyone on the Facebook post felt sad that the historic building was torn down at some point to become a parking lot.

So, the next time you're driving past the 500 block of Main Street, take a look to the west and think about "what once was."