Kansas City Museum at Corinthian Hall is Kansas City’s oldest and largest museum of local and regional history. The Museum opened in 1940, located in the former home of Kansas City lumber entrepreneur and philanthropist Robert A. Long.
The house was designed by Kansas Citian Henry Hoit in the Beaux Arts style. This French school is renowned for its solid proportions, classical materials and exuberant combinations of architectural style and ornament. The majority of architectural decoration on the site, interior and exterior, is well preserved, although interior furnishings have not.
The home was completed in 1910, and the Long family lived here until the death of Mr. Long in 1934. Mrs. Long had passed away in 1928, and the two Long daughters were married and living elsewhere. After a two-day auction, the house sat empty until late 1939 when the Kansas City Museum Association formed and opened the Museum the following May.
In 1948 the Museum Association deed the property to the City of Kansas City, Missouri. The Museum’s operations are funded by a tax collected solely for this purpose, established in 1978. The residence and estate were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
The Museum was long staffed and operated by the dedicated volunteers of the Women’s Division and the Musettes. These tireless and committed para-professionals worked in collection development, exhibit preparation, fundraising and education, both on-site and in the community.
In 1999 the Museum Association merged with the Union Station Assistance Corporation to form Union Station Kansas City, Inc. At that time various professional staff and administrative functions, and collection storage, were relocated to the great train station. Museum staff are still headquartered on the site.
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