What is a ghost sign? Think: old painted advertisements on the sides of buildings, usually spelling out the name of a company + a description of their goods or services. Given Kansas City’s immense history, KC ghost signs are everywhere. Though many of these stories are lost to history, here’s what we learned about the signs adorning 3 West Bottoms structures.
Stowe Hardware and Supply Company
13th Street + Hickory Street
This colossal building stands out in the West Bottoms at 10 stories — at least 134 ft tall. It was created in 1903 as a factory and warehouse for Studebaker — wagons, buggies, and phaetons. It was later bought out by James G. Stowe in 1918. Stowe’s company ultimately ended in 1998. Retail took over around 2010 with antiquing and crafting. Today, it’s used as a hub for First Fridays and businesses, including French By Design and Ugly Glass & Co.
Advance-Rumely Thresher Company
12th Street + Mulberry Street
This building was constructed in the 1880s and owned for a time by the Advance-Rumely Thresher Company. The company built thousands of Oil-Pull tractors — a type of tractor that burned kerosene — until it was acquired by Allis-Chalmer in 1931. Today, the building has been repurposed as the Rumely Tractor Historic Event Space.
Seavy & Flarsheim
St. Louis Avenue + Mulberry Street
Originally established in 1882 by J. C. Salmon & Co., this building was taken over by Seavy & Flarsheim Brokerage Company just a couple years later. The company acted as a grocery middleman, specializing in “canned goods, beans and California fruits both green and dried.” Harry D. Seavey, originally born in Chicago, became a wealthy Kansas City man, doing business throughout the South and West during the turn of the century.
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