Postcards commemorated a 1907 fire that scorched this historic KC building

Most picture postcards highlight scenes of natural beauty or eye-catching examples of civic pride.

Occasionally though, they’re more dramatic.

Like this one — part of a 4-card set depicting a fire in downtown Kansas City in 1907 that killed one man and badly damaged the Pepper Building at the corner of 9th & Locust Streets.

The building’s name apparently referred to its owner, Colonel George Pepper. But it actually began life as a YMCA designed by Chicago architects Burnham & Root. Its cornerstone was laid by President Grover Cleveland during a visit to Kansas City in 1887.

Why and how it shifted gears to house tenants like the Kansas City Art Institute (which operated there in 1894) is uncertain. What is known is that the building featured a large interior court with balconies on each floor.

And that the Pepper Building became a haven for music teachers, who lived in it and gave lessons there.

News accounts say that as many as 15 people jumped from the building escaping the fire. Numerous rescues were made using extension ladders and pole-like pompiers.

Despite significant damage, repairs were undertaken, and the Studio Building (as it came to be called) stuck around until 1972 when it was razed and replaced by a parking lot.

Planning for a new federal courthouse on the site began around 1990, but it wasn’t until ten years later that the facility finally opened its doors. Small trivia note, the Charles Evans Whittaker Federal Courthouse is named for the only Supreme Court justice to come from Kansas City.

Having trouble seeing the video? Watch it here.

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