This prominent Kansas City building has stood under a variety of giant signs

By the time the Businessmen’s Assurance Company put their name atop the striking structure across from Union Station, the building had already spent 12 years as the Sweeney School.

Emory Sweeney opened what would become one of the most successful trade schools in America in 1908, teaching 14 different vocational skills ranging from auto and tractor mechanics to aviation guidance and radio engineering. In 1917 the school moved into its new home on Pershing Road just down the hill from where Liberty Memorial is now.

Radio played an even bigger role there when WHB signed on to broadcast from the site in 1922.

But by the late 1920s, financial issues were putting the pinch on Sweeney’s operation. He chose to focus on other endeavors, including a real estate venture in south Kansas City called Indian Village.

And in 1929, Sweeney sold the building to the Businessmen’s Assurance Company.

They spent 32 years in that location, most of them with the new Kansas City Post Office for a neighbor. In 1961, the business moved, with great fanfare, into the ultra-modern BMA Tower on Signal Hill.

Since then, several different companies, including Riss International, have occupied 215 W. Pershing Road. Currently, Portfolio Kitchen and Home operates inside the 108 year-old landmark, as does the Kansas City office of the Associated Press.

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Looking for more Kansas City history?

The Businessmen’s Assurance Building had another prominent neighbor—Liberty Memorial

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This story was originally published April 9, 2025 at 5:00 AM.