What’s in a name? KC’s Manual High School was all about trades

Manual Training High School opened in 1897 with a mission to teach skills like drafting, woodworking, metal work, steam and electrical maintenance, cooking and sewing.

In fact, it claimed to be the first public school west of the Mississippi River to offer a complete roster of manual arts classes for both boys and girls.

The three-story building on 15th Street between Forest Street and Lydia Avenue housed a student body that grew as large as 1700. Brochures listing Kansas City’s assets touted the “superior” instruction Manual Training High School offered.

Among Manual’s graduates was Herbert Hare, whose work as a landscape architect in the firm Hare & Hare still adorns local landmarks like the Nelson-Atkins Museum, Loose Park and much of the Country Club Plaza.

Following the Supreme Court’s Brown vs Board of Education decision in 1954, Manual was the first of Kansas City’s public schools to desegregate.

In April 1968, in the aftermath of Martin Luther King’s assassination, students from Manual took part in a march on City Hall that preceded four days of civil unrest.

In 1969, as 15th Street became Truman Road, the 72-year-old school fell victim to urban renewal. For the next several years, Manual students attended classes at the old Kansas City Junior College in Westport.

Today the Manual Career & Technical Center (built on the same site) offers auto repair, construction, cosmetology and culinary training, fashion design, and a long list of other 21st Century trades.

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This story was originally published November 12, 2025 at 5:00 AM.