Architect Bios — M-N-O

Edgar P. Madorie — Architect for 13 houses in Hyde Park

Four bungalows were built in 1908 and 1909 at 3909, 3911, 3915 and 3919 Campbell St and three Shirtwaist houses built in 1909 at 4132, 4136 and 4138 Charlotte St. In addition he was the architect for 501 E. Armour Blvd (1912), 717 Manheim Rd (1908), 3533 Campbell St, 3655 Campbell St and 3820 and 3827 Harrison Blvd.

 Madorie is first listed in Kansas City directories in 1897 as a carpenter. He began working as a contractor in 1899 and as an architect in 1907. Madorie enjoyed an architectural career that spanned forty years and produced at least fifty-six buildings, including both commercial and residential structures. Many of his residential structures are found in Kansas City neighborhoods that are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. 

 The firm of Madorie and Bihr began in the mid-1920s, designed the 1929 St. James Rectory at 3909 Harrison St and the 1931 fire station at 4518 Troost Ave.

 John H. Martling — Architect of colonnaded apartments at 4200-02 Harrison St. and house at 3537 Harrison Blvd (1910).   

 Born in Neosho, Missouri, John Martling was an architect in Kansas City from 1886 to 1930. During his career he designed many residences and apartments.

 John W. McKecknie (1862-1934) — Architect of 3326 Campbell St. (1900), 3538 Harrison Blvd (1907), 3652 Charlotte St (1908), #7 Janssen Place (1909), 3511 Locust St. (1910), 3900 Holmes St (1912), and 419 E. 36th St.

Born in Clarksville, Ohio, John W. McKecknie graduated from Princeton University in 1888 and studied architecture at Columbia University. After graduating, McKecknie studied and taught art in New York and Brooklyn for two years. At that early period of his life, he turned his interest toward photography and was one of the outstanding amateur photographers in the United States. In 1892 he spent a year in Europe studying and taking pictures of architectural monuments in Italy and France.

After spending some time in architects’ offices in New York, he came to Kansas City in 1896 and opened an office. McKecknie was responsible for 120 local buildings. His work was diverse, including single dwellings, newly designed colonnaded apartments and commercial structures. He designed Kansas City’s first large building constructed of reinforced concrete, the 1903-04 Gumbel Building at 801 Walnut. Other early buildings include the 1910-11 Grand Avenue Temple and Office Building at 9th and Grand and the 1911-12 Siegrist Engraving Company at 924 Oak Street. In 1914, he formed a partnership with Frank Trask that lasted until McKecknie’s death in 1934. Among the buildings designed by the firm are the Board of Trade, Stats hotel, Ridernour-Baker Grocery company, the Ninth and Main garage, the Insurance Exchange building and the University Club.  McKecknie was a charter member of the University Club.

A partnership of McKecknie and Frost is credited with a bungalow at 4227 Kenwood (1914) (An Edward Frost is listed in the 1915 city directory as a carpenter living at 3531 Wayne.)

F. H. Michaelis — Architect of 3651 Charlotte St.

 L. V. Middaugh — Architect of 3815 Campbell St.

 Matthew (Matt) O’Connell — Architect of 4101, 4103, 4105 and 4433 Campbell St. and 4100 and 4104 Harrison St — While not in current Hyde Park neighborhood, Chicago Apartments at 1110 E. Armour Blvd. signified a shift in residential construction on Amour Blvd from grand homes to high-end apartments and luxury hotels.

Opening in 1909, the five-story Chicago Apartments (also known as the Chalfonte Apartments) consisted of ten original apartments, two per floor. Classical Revival features characterize the distinguished front façade of the building designed by O’Connell. The style, ornate features, and building materials provide visual clues about the apartment's intended audience. The Chalfonte provided its tenants with luxuries, including modern conveniences and a host of amenities. The apartment building had an internal telephone and front door buzzer system, which secured the front door. It also had an elevator (a rare inclusion for any building in 1909). Meanwhile, the individual units included such features as china closets, buffets, ice boxes, and built-in bookcases. A retrospective article of later years publicized the “Chicago Flats” as containing “the first apartment suites in Kansas City with two baths.” 

A city-wide population boom and an influx of upwardly mobile middle-class professionals into Kansas City's Hyde Park and surrounding neighborhoods in the years before World War I led to a boom in multi-family residential development. The Chicago Apartments is believed to be the first apartment development on Armour Boulevard, and the building, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, serves as a reminder of that transition from mansions to apartments/hotels.

 J. M. Oudley — Architect of 4446-48 Troost Ave.

 Albert S. Owen — Architect of 4335 and 4438 Harrison St. See Owen & Payson architects.

 Warfield D. Owen — Architect of Shirtwaist houses at 3926 and 3938 Harrison St. (1909) — Warfield Owne is listed in the 1910 city directory as a draftsman for Edwards & Sunderland and living at 3426 Tracy. The 1920 directory lists him as a draftsman for Shepard & Wiser.

 Owen & Payson — Architects of 711 Manheim Rd, 4301 & 4305 Campbell St. (1910), 4422 Harrison St, (1909), 4009 & 4011 Kenwood Ave. (1912), 3507-13 Gillham Rd. (1916), 3430-36 Gillham Rd. (1913), and 3800 Troost Ave. (1914)

In 1914, a mere eight years after the formation of their architectural practice, a Kansas City publication said of Charles Payson and Albert Owen “….[they] now rank with the leading architects of the Southwest and many of the better class of buildings in the city stand as a silent testimonial to their ability.” 

Charles Payson, born in 1876 in Illinois, gained his knowledge of architecture by working as an apprentice for Louis Curtiss and Frederick Hill and as a draftsman for the major Kansas City firm of Root and Siemens (1902-1908).  Albert Owen, born in Missouri, was originally a carpenter by trade. The firm was in existence from 1908 until 1919 and was reconfigured several times over the next decades under various names.   

The Owen and Payson firm was responsible for the design of several schools, commercial buildings, residences, and distinctive apartments. They used a strong reliance on Classical architectural motifs in many of their best works. Among the firm’s distinctive apartment buildings are the Hawthorne Apartments at 3507-13 Gillham Road (1916) and the St. Regis Hotel at 1400 E. Linwood Blvd. (1914). The apartment building at 3430-36 Gillham Road (1913), a modified version of the St. Regis Hotel, was considered innovative in the use of sun rooms in place of the traditional open porches common in Kansas City apartments. In 1914 the firm designed St. Mark’s Lutheran Church at 3800 Troost (1914).