This iconic stone castle sits in ruins off KC’s Vine Street. Here’s what it used to be

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It was the kind of castle best seen from the outside.

Kansas City’s workhouse, built in 1897 at 2001 Vine Street served as the city’s municipal jail—housing petty offenders, debtors and vagrants.

And yes, it closely resembled a castle and was commonly referred to as such.

The architects, James Hogg and Wallace Love, concluded that because inmates could quarry rock from the hillside, a four story Romanesque Revival version would cost about the same as a far less dramatic one. The price, $30,000.

The wing that ran along the building’s north side contained the majority of cells, with perches upstairs where guards kept watch..

In the early 20th century, Kansas City made attempts at prison reform, some of which were implemented at the castle. But by 1909, conditions had worsened to the point that Mayor Thomas Crittenden called for a new jail, the Municipal Farm was built in Leeds to replace it.

By 1923, the castle workhouse transferred out its final prisoner. The following decades saw the facility used in a variety of ways—from city storage to a training facility for Marines.

Closed since 1972, the crumbling structure has constantly attracted graffitists, photographers and seekers of the paranormal. There have been numerous plans for restoration and repurposing of the iconic ruins, but to date, none have broken ground.

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