So striking was the third and final Livestock Exchange Building, completed in 1910, that it became a destination in its own right. Contemporary press coverage emphasized not only its scale but its civic significance, noting that visitors far outside the livestock trade came to admire what was then the largest office building in Kansas City and the world’s largest livestock exchange. A wide array of postcards, many of which can be seen on this page, featuring the Exchange circulated nationally, underscoring its status as a civic icon as well as a workplace. The building quickly became a symbol of modern Kansas City itself, as much a point of pride for the city’s citizens as a headquarters for commission men and bankers.

Read the expanded history of the Livestock Exchange Building and the Kansas City Stockyards here.