Argyle Building

Gate City National Bank, Katz Drug Store, reinforced concrete 
 

 

Home to businesses such as Gate City National Bank and Katz Pharmacy, the late Renaissance Revival Style building, designed by Louis Curtiss, was erected in 1906 in the Central Business district of Kansas City, Mo.

 

In 1914, Issac and Ike Katz purchased the ground-floor space and opened up a confectioner’s business.  Due to new laws that required shops selling tobacco to close at 6 p.m., the Katz Drug Store hired a pharmacist and added medical products for purchase. Katz Pharmacy offered an eclectic array of product—the usual prescription drugs and over-the-counter meds, as well as appliances, groceries, produce, and even pets of exotic nature (like baby alligators!). It’s proprietors were nicknamed the “Cut-Rate Kings.”

 

Argyle Building’s intended tenants at 12th and McGee were various medical professionals, and later the building would house more than 50 practices at once. The building’s 10 stories of steel and reinforced concrete—topped with a penthouse—was expanded upon in the 1920s. Curtiss (along with fellow Missourian architect McKecknie) pioneered the reinforced concrete construction method in Kansas City and several of his structures throughout the city have been selected for the National Historic Registry, including the Boley Building and the Folly Theater. Most of the Argyle’s original structure and style remain intact.