rare and historically important original 19th century john wellborn root-designed kansas city board of trade building (1888) ornamental cast and wrought iron light court transom panel salvaged prior to the buildng's demolition in 1968. in my humble opinion, this is some wellborn's very best ornament - akin to louis sullivan's mccormick house radiator grille.
chicago-based winslow brothers executed the board of trade's ornamental iron work - including the oversized panel (it measures ten feet in length by three feet in height). the bower-barff finish wore off long ago - with the weathered panel exhibiting allover rust and light pitting, restoration work will be necessary.
william winslow's chicago-based foundry (founded in 1887) fabricated some of the finest metalwork during the late 19th and early 20th century, including sullivan's mccormick grille, the owatonna bank teller cages, guaranty building and stock exchange ornament, and so on.
note: the additional images, taken by richard nickel shortly before burnham and root's board of trade was demolished, shows the header panels "in situ." it's unclear how much of the ironwork was saved - i know of only two other existing panels.
over fifty architectural firms participated in a competition to design the new headquarters of the kansas city board of trade. some of the more notable respondents to submit drawings and/or plans, included peabody & stearns of boston, george b. post of new york and john root of chicago, who was awarded the commission in 1886. built at a cost of $700,000, the twelve story board of trade building was designed on an h-plan, with two major wings joined by a monumental entrance arch, skylighted concourse, and a soaring elevator tower. inside was a two-story lobby with a skylight supported, in part, by cast-iron columns. marble stairways on either side led to a gallery serving the mezzanine offices, while passage through the lobby led to the elevators. the building design is closely related to the rookery (1888) in Chicago. architectural historians consider the board of trade building in kansas city to be an important step in the evolution of john roots design work, which eventually led to his greatest achievements, (i.e., the monadnock building (1892) in chicago, etc.). richard nickel photodocumented the building prior to demolition in 1968. one of nickel's documented photographs (shown above), clearly illustrates a partial arrangement of the building's balusters "in situ." only one available.
Questions? Click on Contact Us below. Please make sure to reference the UR# when contacting us.
