Loretto Academy, at 39th Street and West Prospect Place (now Roanoke Road), was built in 1903 by the Sisters of Loretto at the Foot of the Cross, an order of the Catholic Church. The firm of Barnett, Haynes and Barnett of St. Louis drew the plans, and the contract to build the handsome day and boarding school for girls was signed by Stephen J. Hayde, a prominent Catholic layman and building contractor here.The first sod was turned for the new school on Oct. 20, 1902, by Reverend Mother Praxedes. Bishop Glennon officiated at the laying of the cornerstone on April 24, 1903. He was assisted by Bishop Thomas F. Lillis and Fathers James T. Walsh, M. J. O'Dwyer, A. M. Clinton and P. Harvey. A larger Loretto academy occupied a 38-acre site at 124th Street and Wornall Road until the property was purchased by the National Office Machine Dealers Association in 1984. The old academy on 39th Street has been vacant since 1980 when the Calvary Bible School vacated the building. The midtown landmark is presently being transformed into a retirement community by the Westin Financial Group, which is based in California. Plans are being made for occupancy between April and June of 140 units, each averaging 500 to 700 square feet. The old red brick Loretto, as pictured, once alive with young girls in their dark blue serge uniforms, will soon become the Kensington with a more mature occupancy. The Kensington Corporation of Minneapolis, Minn., will manage the facility. The postcard, in color, printed in Germany, was published by the Southwest News Co. of Kansas City. It was mailed March 23, 1908, to Mr. H. Williams, Trenton, Tenn. Kansas City Times, April 7, 1989.
Reproduction (printing, downloading, or copying) of images from Kansas City Public Library requires permission and payment for the following uses, whether digital or print: publication; reproduction of multiple copies; personal, non-educational purposes; and advertising or commercial purposes. Please order prints or digital files and pay use fees through this website. All images must be properly credited to: "Missouri Valley Special Collections, Kansas City Public Library, Kansas City, Missouri." Images and texts may be reproduced without prior permission only for purposes of temporary, private study, scholarship, or research. Those using these images and texts assume all responsibility for questions of copyright and privacy that may arise.