Sears, Roebuck and Company Warehouse Building

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.

From the record

“Sears, Roebuck and Company Warehouse Building, also known as Missouri Poster and Sign Company, Inc. and Bellas Hess Antique Mall, is a historic warehouse building located in North Kansas City, Missouri. It was built in 1912-1923, and is a nine-story building built as a merchandise warehouse for Sears.”
Wikipedia article Sears, Roebuck and Company Warehouse Building (North Kansas City, Missouri), CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 39 National Register listings published here for Clay County · listed in 1997 · category: Building.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service · the Wikipedia article

The listing

What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 building as contributing to the listing.
Address. 715 Armour Rd., North Kansas City, 64116
When was it listed? May 1997
Category. building
Township. Gallatin township
Architectural style. Chicago School
National Register reference number. 97000411 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

What happened here

An account from the chapter on Gallatin township. The inset identifies its exact source book and publication year.

From History of Clay and Platte Counties, Missouri;, published 1885 - Gallatin Township

Chapter Viii The Mexican War

Army of the West - Platte and Cole Infantry Battalion - Departure of the Expedition - Arrival of Kearney in Santa Fe - Col. Sterling Price - Capt. Morin's Platte County Company - Names of Members - The Ortiz Insurrection - Murder of Gov. Bent and Others - Battle of La Canada - Ambuscade at El Embudo - Storming and Capture of Fort Pueblo de Taos - Other Battles - Massacre and Subsequent Battle at Moro - Engagement at Cienega - The Return Home - Capt.

Read the rest of this passage

The ground it stands on

1,398 words

This property stands in Gallatin Township. History of Clay and Platte Counties, Missouri;, published 1885 gives that township a chapter of its own.

The chapter covers boundary and physical features, villages in this township, barry, harlem, moscow, arnold's station.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Gallatin Township - 1,398 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.

Fires near this property

104 since 2007

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 104 fires within 5 miles of Sears, Roebuck and Company Warehouse Building between 2007 and 2020, burning about 43 acres in total. None started naturally. 13 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause	Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	60
Arson/incendiarism	13
Recreation and ceremony	7
Smoking	7
Equipment and vehicle use	6
Debris and open burning	6
Misuse of fire by a minor	2
Power generation/transmission/distribution	2
Fireworks	1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

Date	Cause	Size	Reported by	Name on the report
7 September 2007	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	1.0 acres	Missouri State Fire Marshal's Office	not named
7 September 2007	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Missouri State Fire Marshal's Office	not named
30 September 2007	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Missouri State Fire Marshal's Office	not named
29 September 2018	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Kansas Forest Service	24406
29 September 2017	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Wyandotte County	23456
28 September 2007	Recreation and ceremony	2.0 acres	Missouri State Fire Marshal's Office	not named
24 September 2007	Recreation and ceremony	under an acre	Missouri State Fire Marshal's Office	not named
2 September 2017	Arson/incendiarism	under an acre	Wyandotte County	21119

Every fire recorded in Clay County

Mines and quarries near this property

10 of 53 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 53 workings within 5 miles of Sears, Roebuck and Company Warehouse Building: 46 past producers, 7 producers. 7 still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Clay, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Perlite. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Site	Commodity	Status
Lite Weight Products Perlite Plant	Perlite	Producer
Unknown-Ls and Shale	Clay, Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer
Holliday Sand & Gravel Plant	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Randolph Dredge	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Unknown	Clay	Past Producer
Unknown	Clay	Past Producer
Unknown	Clay	Past Producer
Unknown	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unknown	Stone, Crushed/Broken, Clay	Past Producer
Unknown	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer

Every working recorded in Clay County

Storms near this property

37 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names North Kansas City, the town this property stands in, in 37 storm reports between 1996 and 2025: 14 hail, 14 thunderstorm wind, 6 flash flood, 2 flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
May 2000	Tornado (F1)	North Kansas City	$5,000,000	The tornado formed rapidly in southwest Clay County in Kansas City, MO, causing considerable damage to two auto dealerships at 39th and North Oak Trafficway. A nearby apartment complex suffered roof damage. Many trees and power lines were downed as the tornado moved east, lifting near Parvin Road and Chouteau Trafficway.
March 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	North Kansas City	$250,000	Roof blown off Block Road at 12th and Burlington. Multiple power poles snapped off...windows and structural damage to buildings...around 10th through 12th Street and Burlington.
March 2006	Hail	North Kansas City	$200,000	no account filed
June 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	North Kansas City	$5,000	Damage to Ameristar casino building.
May 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	North Kansas City	-	Numerous 2-6 inch diameter tree branches down.
May 2020	Flash Flood	North Kansas City	-	There was flooding on the ramp of Briarcliff and Southbound HWY 9.
April 2019	Flood	North Kansas City	-	Ongoing flooding along the Missouri River continued through the month of April and into May. Several roads were closed near the banks of the Missouri River. This flooding began in mid March and due to upstream releases and continued periods of heavy rain the flooding continued into May. Monetary damages are unknown despite the entry indicating 0 dollars of damages.
May 2019	Flash Flood	North Kansas City	-	A water rescue took place along Highway 9 and Briarcliff in Northmoor.
October 2018	Flash Flood	North Kansas City	-	Several roads around 169 and 69 were flooded.
July 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	North Kansas City	-	Numerous trees of unknown size or condition were down near North Kansas City.
August 2017	Flash Flood	North Kansas City	-	Two water rescues occurred at Briarcliff Parkway and Highway 169 near Northmoor.
May 2016	Flash Flood	North Kansas City	-	North Kansas City Fire Department assisted in helping stranded motorists in high water. It is unclear to what extent the motorists needed assistance.
May 2016	Hail	North Kansas City	-	This report was gathered via social media.
May 2016	Hail	North Kansas City	-	This report was gathered via social media.
May 2013	Hail	North Kansas City	-	Hail was reported around the downtown Kansas City airport.
May 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	North Kansas City	-	Thunderstorm wind gusts were estimated up to 60 mph.
August 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	North Kansas City	-	The ASOS at the downtown Kansas City Airport, measured a thunderstorm wind gust to 58 mph.
May 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	North Kansas City	-	Trees were reported down and power out at 23rd Street and Burlington.
August 2006	Flash Flood	North Kansas City	-	Several cars stalled on roads and intersections...where 1.5 inches of rain fell in 40 minutes.
May 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	North Kansas City	-	Trees downed from thunderstorm winds.
November 2016	Hail	North Kansas City	-	no account filed
May 2011	Hail	North Kansas City	-	no account filed
April 2010	Hail	North Kansas City	-	no account filed
May 2010	Hail	North Kansas City	-	no account filed
June 2008	Hail	North Kansas City	-	no account filed
April 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	North Kansas City	-	no account filed
April 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	North Kansas City	-	no account filed
July 2007	Hail	North Kansas City	-	no account filed
March 2006	Hail	North Kansas City	-	no account filed
June 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	North Kansas City	-	no account filed
June 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	North Kansas City	-	no account filed
May 2003	Hail	North Kansas City	-	no account filed
October 2002	Hail	North Kansas City	-	no account filed
May 2001	Hail	North Kansas City	-	no account filed
September 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	North Kansas City	-	no account filed
September 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	North Kansas City	-	no account filed
May 1996	Flood	North Kansas City	-	no account filed

Every storm recorded in Clay County

Map coverage status

No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.

Listed places nearby

5 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Property	Distance	Listed
Armour Theatre Building	0.3 miles	2008
Wheeling Corrugating Company Building	0.5 miles	1994
Antioch Christian Church	3.0 miles	1979
Dr. James Compton House	4.9 miles	1979
Atkins-Johnson Farmhouse Property	5.3 miles	2007

Sources for this property

National Archives record	The nomination case file for reference 97000411 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia article	Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Clay County	All 39 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.