A short history of the Webster School Building.
1644 Wyandotte Street Kansas City, Mo. 64108
All the information is from internet searches.
I put together a collection of articles, trusting the dates and details were accurate.
There are gaps in the information, but this gives you a quick look at the history.
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Webster School was a part of the Kansas City school system for 45 years. 
Designed by local architect Manual Diaz and opened in 1886. It was closed in 1932. 
The building lay vacant for six years, when it was leased to the State of Missouri 
for Social Security offices. 

In 1938 it was sold to the Helping Hand Institute and then traded to the Kansas City Association 
for the Blind. The State continued to use the school building until 1945 when the Midland Radio School 
acquired it. 
Midland modernized the Webster School interior and used it for twenty years. The institution's name went through several changes: 
Midland Radio & Television School, 
Central Technical Institute, 
Central Institute of Technology and 
Missouri Institute of Technology. 

In 1969 Bell & Howell purchased the building. 
Bell & Howell Education Group (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_%26_Howell)  
completed its acquisition of DeVry Technical Institute in 1967. 
A year later, the company acquired the Ohio Institute of Technology (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio_Institute_of_Technology) 
and DeVry was renamed DeVry Institute of Technology. 
The DeVry Institute moved to a new location in January 1977, and the Webster School was again vacant. 

In 1978 historic Kansas City Foundation acquired the building in order that it be preserved, then sold 
it to the Ramos Group. The building remained vacant. In 1982 the building was put on the 
National Register of Historic Places. During 1990’s (date unknown) the Central Park Art Gallery 
occupied the building. 

In 2000, concern about the neglect and disrepair, prompted philanthropist 
Shirley Bush Helzberg to finance the restoration of the structure. Completed in 2002, opening as 
the Webster House Antiques and Restaurant, closing in 2020. In 2021 plans were started to convert 
the building for the Kansas City Symphony offices.

The 1886 school was built without the bell tower that you see on the restoration. There were original 
plans for the bell tower, but after the Lathrop school’s tower fell into the building during a tornado, 
the Webster’s tower was outlawed and never built.

edited by Allan Hanson Class of September 1966.   Feb, 2024