About the Museum
Welcome to the Kansas City Museum at Corinthian Hall. The Kansas City Museum is Kansas City’s first, and most important, museum of local and regional history.
The museum is housed at the former urban estate of lumber baron and civic leader Robert A. Long and his family. The 3 acre plot is located atop a bluff overlooking the Missouri River Valley, adjacent to historic Kessler Park and Cliff Drive, a state Scenic By-way. The site features five of the six original structures. These include Corinthian Hall, the 70-room four-story Beaux Arts limestone residence; the Carriage House, in which Long’s famed equestrienne daughter, Loula Long Combs, housed her horses and many trophies; the StoryTarium in the former Conservatory, the Gatehouse, the Museum's administrative offices, and the Carpenter's shed. The property also includes the Museum's Visitor Center and reconstructed Historic Gardens.
Museum History
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 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 deeded 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 1967. 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.
