Asa Beebe Cross

Asa Beebe Cross was an American architect born December 9, 1826 in New Jersey and died August 18, 1894. He studied architecture under Thomas Walsh and John Johnson.[1] He primarily worked in Kansas City where it is estimated that he designed more than 1,000 structures.[1] He designed Union Depot in Kansas City (opened 1878), Seth E. Ward Homestead for Seth Ward, Old Jackson County Courthouse in Kansas City, Missouri,[2] and the Vaile Mansion. He designed many homes in Quality Hill. His grandson Alfred E. Barnes was also an architect.[3]

Union Depot in Kansas City, circa 1880

Work

• Wornall House, 146 W. 61st St. Kansas City, MO Cross, Asa Beebe [4]
• Seth E. Ward Homestead, 1032 W. 55th St. Kansas City, MO Cross, Asa Beebe [4]
• Union Depot (Kansas City, Missouri) (built in 1878, predecessor to Kansas City Union Station)
• Jackson County Courthouse, also known as the Truman Courthouse, completed 1936[5]
• Vaughan's Diamond Building, 9th and Delaware, completed 1870[6]
• Sauer Castle, 935 Shawnee Rd. Kansas City, KS, believed to be a Cross design, 1971[7]
• Vaile Mansion, 1500 N Liberty St, Independence, MO, completed 1881[8]
• Gillis Opera House, 5th and Walnut, completed 1883[9]
• St. Patrick's Catholic Church, 8th and Cherry[1]

References

1. "Biography of Asa Beebe Cross (1826-1894), Architect | KC History". kchistory.org. Retrieved 2020-08-25.
2. https://extension2.missouri.edu/ued6047
3. Mitchell, Giles Carroll (1934). There is No Limit: Architecture and Sculpture in Kansas City. Brown-White Company, Kansas City.
4. NRHP database
5. "Our History | Jackson County, MO". www.jacksongov.org. Retrieved 2020-08-25.
6. "One of KC's most iconic buildings was a diamond in the rough". Covering the Southland. 2020-02-09. Retrieved 2020-08-25.
7. "The Fate And Future Of Wyandotte County's Sauer Castle". KCUR 89.3 - NPR in Kansas City. Local news, entertainment and podcasts. Retrieved 2020-08-25.
8. "At Independence's Vaile Mansion, Visitors Have Themselves A Scandalous Victorian Christmas". KCUR 89.3 - NPR in Kansas City. Local news, entertainment and podcasts. 2017-12-12. Retrieved 2020-08-25.
9. "Gillis Opera House | KC History". kchistory.org. Retrieved 2020-08-25.