The museum is open to the public on Fridays from 10am-3pm. Private group tours of the museum and walking tours of the Garment District may be arranged.
Now On Display:
1920s-1960s Spring & Summer Clothing
Featuring spring and summer garments made in Kansas City’s Garment District factories
The Historic Garment District Museum of Kansas City is located at 801 Broadway in the heart of the old Garment District between 6th and 11th streets and Washington and Wyandotte streets. Many of these buildings date back to the 1870s and are on the National Register of Historic Places (bronze plaques are located near their entrances identifying the original businesses).
The manufacture of coats, suits, dresses, hats, and children’s wear started on the upper floors of the wholesale dry goods buildings in the early 1920s.
After World War I, and through the 1940s, the area employed over 4,000 persons and boasted that 1 out of every 7 women in the U.S. purchased a garment designed and made in Kansas City. The garment manufacturing industry was the second largest employer of any industry in Kansas City.
A lovely park, located across Broadway from the museum, was dedicated in 1990 by the Kansas City Parks and Recreation Department. The Park has a fountain and a 22 foot “Needle” sculpture as a tribute to the Garment District.
If you choose to arrange for a private tour, Ann Brownfield, museum curator, will walk you through the buildings and the museum at 8th and Broadway which tells the story of the beginning of the garment district. She will also explain the work involved in the design and manufacture of clothing when Kansas City’s garment district clothed the world.
The museum is now open to the public on on Fridays from 10-3.
Hours: Fridays 10am-3pm, other tours by appointment only (913.205.8520)
Cost: $10 per person for the museum; $100 for group walking tours of The Historic Garment District, up to 20 people
For information call 816.474.2112 or send us an email using our Contact Us form.
A few photos from past exhibits:
