New York Life Building, Kansas City

The New York Life Building, a 12-story high-rise standing at 54.86 meters (180 feet), is a landmark in the Library District of downtown Kansas City. Completed in 1890, this brick and brownstone tower is recognized as Kansas City's first skyscraper and was notably the first building in the city equipped with elevators. Commissioned by the New York Life Insurance Company, its design was also used for the Omaha National Bank Building in Omaha, completed a year earlier. The New York Life Building is a centerpiece of the Library District and Baltimore Avenue Historic District, surrounded by other historic structures such as the Kansas City Club and the Central Library.

Designed in 1885 by Frederick Elmer Hill of the New York City architectural firm McKim, Mead & White, the building exemplifies the Italian Renaissance Revival style. The New York Life Building's architectural features include an H-shaped footprint, with ten-story wings flanking a twelve-story tower, and a monumental bald eagle sculpture above the main entrance, created by Louis Saint Gaudens and cast in over two tons of bronze.

The building's Italian granite atrium floor and towering presence marked a shift in Kansas City's development, pushing the city's growth southward from its original River Market area along the Missouri River. Before its construction, the tallest buildings in the city were only three or four stories high, making the New York Life Building a transformative addition to the skyline.

In 1970, the New York Life Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places. However, it was abandoned in 1988, and a restoration in 1996 modernized the building with updated energy, communications, and environmental features. In 2010, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-Saint Joseph purchased the building, renaming it the Catholic Center. It now serves as the diocese's administrative office, housing approximately 180 employees.