Thomas Hart Benton Home and Studio State Historic Site

The Thomas Hart Benton Home and Studio State Historic Site is a state-owned property located at 3616 Belleview, Kansas City, Missouri, that preserves the house and studio of Missouri artist Thomas Hart Benton. The historic site was established in 1977 and is managed by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. Tours are provided that show the furnished house and studio as Benton left it when he died on January 19, 1975.^[4] The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.^[5]

Thomas Hart Benton Home and Studio State Historic Site
Location in Missouri Show map of Missouri Thomas Hart Benton Home and Studio State Historic Site (the United States) Show map of the United States
Location	Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri, United States
Coordinates	39°03′44″N 94°35′52″W[1]
Area	0.32 acres (0.13 ha)[2]
Elevation	955 ft (291 m)[1]
Established	1977[3]
Operator	Missouri Department of Natural Resources
Website	Thomas Hart Benton Home and Studio State Historic Site
Thomas Hart Benton Home and Studio
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Built	Ca. 1903
Architect	George A. Mathews
Architectural style	Late Victorian
NRHP reference No.	80002362
Added to NRHP	November 21, 1980

History

The property was built in Kansas City's Roanoke Park neighborhood around 1903. Although not overly large, the house has a fortress-like appearance owing to its elevation above street level and the random ashlar masonry of its limestone front.^[6]

The house was built for Walter E. Kirkpatrick. The architect was George Mathews, a proponent of the City Beautiful movement. Kirkpatrick was the secretary and treasurer for the Kansas City Electric Light Company, and on the board of directors of the KC Street Railway Company. The home is approximately 7800 square feet on 31⁄2 floors, containing 24 rooms, 4 fireplaces on 3 chimneys, and a full finished basement. The Benton family purchased the 1⁄3-acre property in 1939 for $6000.^[7]

References

1. "Thomas Hart Benton Home". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
2. "Benton State Historic Site: Data Sheet" (PDF). Missouri Department of Natural Resources. November 2017. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
3. "State Park Land Acquisition Summary". Missouri State Parks. 25 August 2011. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
4. "Thomas Hart Benton Home and Studio State Historic Site". Missouri State Parks. Missouri Department of Natural Resources. 10 December 2010. Retrieved October 10, 2014.
5. "Thomas Hart Benton Home and Studio". NPGallery. National Park Service. November 21, 1980. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
6. Dudley J. McGovern, Site Administrator (March 1, 1980). "Thomas Hart Benton Home and Studio" (PDF). National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. Missouri Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
7. Lowe, Hilary Iris (November 2005). "The Thomas Hart Benton Home and Studio State Historic Site". The Public Historian. 27 (4): 98–101. doi:10.1525/tph.2005.27.4.98. ISSN 0272-3433.

External links

• Thomas Hart Benton Home and Studio State Historic Site Missouri Department of Natural Resources
• Thomas Hart Benton Home and Studio State Historic Site (video, 2:08), Modrnmedia