Hoit, Price and Barnes
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Architecture |
| Founded | 1919 |
| Founder | Henry F. Hoit, Edwin M. Price, Alfred E. Barnes |
| Defunct | 1941 |
| Headquarters | Kansas City , United States |
Area served | Kansas City and surrounding areas |
Key people | Henry F. Hoit, Edwin M. Price, Alfred E. Barnes |
| Products | Architectural design services; notable skyscrapers and residences |
Hoit, Price & Barnes stood as a prominent architectural firm in Kansas City during the early 1900s, credited with designing numerous skyscrapers and grand residences, including three of the city’s tallest structures: the Kansas City Power and Light Building, 909 Walnut, and Oak Tower.
History
The firm’s roots extend back to Boston, where Harvard alumni William R. Ware and Henry Van Brunt established Ware & Van Brunt in 1864. In 1868, Frank M. Howe became part of the team. When Ware accepted the position as founding chair of Columbia University’s School of Architecture in 1881, the practice was renamed Van Brunt & Howe and launched a Kansas City office in 1887. After Van Brunt passed away in 1903, Howe joined forces with employees Henry F. Hoit and William H. Cutler—both graduates of MIT—to create Howe, Hoit & Cutler in 1904.
In 1901, Van Brunt & Howe won the contract for the Palace of Varied Industries at the St. Louis World’s Fair. Cutler, serving as lead draftsman, suggested bringing Hoit on board to oversee this project. Following Van Brunt’s retirement, the firm became Howe & Hoit in 1907 after Cutler’s death; Howe himself died two years later in 1909.
Hoit then practiced solo until 1913 when he partnered with fellow MIT alumnus Edwin M. Price. On January 1, 1919, Alfred E. Barnes joined the partnership, establishing Hoit, Price & Barnes.
Industrialist Robert A. Long admired Hoit’s design for the Varied Industries building, sparking a lasting partnership that produced works such as Independence Boulevard Christian Church; the steel-structured R. A. Long Building; Long’s home at Corinthian Hall (now a museum); the Longview Farm estate; Christian Church Hospital; and Long’s mausoleum. The firm also designed the Mack B. Nelson House for Nelson, Vice-President of the Long-Bell Lumber Company.
When completed in 1929, the Bell Telephone Building was Kansas City’s tallest at 28 floors until it was overtaken by the 34-story Kansas City Power and Light Building in 1931—the tallest building in Missouri until 1976.
The practice continued operations until 1941 when wartime shifts in industry reduced construction opportunities.
Van Brunt & Howe
- 1887 - Residence of Frank M. Howe (Designed by Howe)
- 1890 - Emery, Bird, Thayer Dry Goods Company Building
- 1904 - Palace of Varied Industries at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, St. Louis, Missouri (demolished)
Howe, Hoit & Cutler
- 1905 - Independence Boulevard Christian Church
- 1907 - R.A. Long Building
- 1908 - Temple B'nai Jehudah (repurposed as Mohart Multipurpose Center in 2003)
Henry F. Hoit
- 1908 - R.A. Long Residence (Kansas City Museum at Corinthian Hall)
- 1914 - Longview Farm
- 1914 - Mack B. Nelson House, located at 55th & Ward Parkway
- 1915 - Christian Church Hospital, situated at 2697 W. Paseo Blvd.
- 1916 - Residence of C.C. Peters, corner of 55th & State Line
- 1916 - O. H. Dean Building (Reeves-Wiedeman Company), 3635 Main Street
- 1918 - Cosden Building (Mid-Continent Tower) in Tulsa, Oklahoma
- 1919 - Charles A. Braley residence at 3 Dunford Circle
- 1920 - Bell Telephone Building (Oak Tower), initially constructed with 14 stories
Hoit, Price & Barnes
- 1920 - Baker-Vawter Building
- 1923 - Kansas City Athletic Club (transformed into Continental Hotel in 1932 and later renamed Mark Twain Tower in 1982)
- 1926 - Dierks Building, levels 8 through 15
- 1928 - Robert Keith Furniture Company Building at 13th & Baltimore
- 1929 - Bell Telephone Building (Oak Tower), with an additional 14 floors constructed
- 1930 - Dierks Building, levels 16 and 17
- 1931 - Kansas City Power and Light Building
- 1931 - Fidelity National Bank & Trust Building (909 Walnut)
- 1935 - Municipal Auditorium (responsible for mechanical systems)
Firm Leadership
- Henry F. Hoit (1873–1951) – Originally from Chicago, he moved to Kansas City in 1901
- Edwin M. Price (1884–1957) – Hailing from Webb City, Arkansas; became part of Howe, Hoit & Cutler in 1905
- Alfred E. Barnes (1892–1960) – Native of Kansas City who joined Hoit’s firm in 1909; grandson of architect Asa Beebe Cross
Structures Listed on the National Register of Historic Places
- Baker-Vawter Building, located at 915-917 Wyandotte, Kansas City (Registered May 5, 2000)
- Charles A. Braley House, situated at 3 Dunford Cir., Kansas City (Registered October 9, 2013)
- Christian Church Hospital (now Robinson Neurological Hospital), found at 2697 W. Paseo Blvd., Kansas City (Registered October 21, 2004)
- Continental Hotel (formerly Kansas City Athletic Club and Mark Twain Tower), at 106 W. 11th St., Kansas City (Registered August 8, 1983)
- Cosden Building (Mid-Continent Tower), located at 409 S. Boston, Tulsa, Oklahoma (Registered February 1, 1979)
- O.H. Dean Building, addresses 3625-3635 Main St., Kansas City (Registered September 3, 2009)
- Dierks Building, spanning 1000-1006 Grand Blvd., Kansas City (Registered January 29, 2009)
- Fidelity National Bank & Trust Building (909 Walnut Tower), Kansas City (Registered August 14, 1997)
- Frank M. Howe Residence, at 1707 Jefferson St., Kansas City (Registered April 18, 1985)
- Independence Boulevard Christian Church, located at 606 Gladstone Blvd., Kansas City (Registered January 14, 2015)
- Kansas City Power and Light Building, found at 1330 Baltimore Ave., Kansas City (Registered January 9, 2002)
- R.A. Long Building, situated at 928 Grand Blvd., Kansas City (Registered January 8, 2003)
- R.A. Long House (Kansas City Museum at Corinthian Hall), located at 3218 Gladstone Blvd., Kansas City (Registered November 14, 1980)