Christian Church Hospital

          One lesser-known cause was the building of the Christian Church Hospital just west of Troost Park.  Long donated $200,000 towards building the hospital, which opened in April of 1916.  Another $150,000 was raised by local church members to an endowment fund, the income to insure that one-third of the beds would be used by charity patients, a stipulation of Long’s gift.  The hospital was a part of a grand plan hatched by Long to make Kansas City the national headquarters for the Christian Church.

          About five years earlier, Long had purchased a tract of land between Hardesty and Brighton, from 17th to 20th and directed noted architect Henry Hoit to draw up plans for a number of church buildings for the site.  This area is now the Saint Paul School of Theology.

          In 1926, Christian Church Hospital was commissioned as an official Veterans Hospital, housing disabled World War I veterans.  After being operated as a neurological clinic, the facility later became the Robinson Memorial Hospital, named for Neurologist Dr. Wilse Robinson.  Today the building is undergoing a complete rehabilitation and will be used for senior housing.

          The postcard was published by the Elite Postcard publishing Company of Kansas City, Missouri.

          The fighting of the World War ended on November 11, 1918.  After the guns on the European battlefields were silenced, and the huge celebrations that followed had died down, concerned citizens in the United States reflected on this cataclysmic event and the losses sustained.  What could be done to remember and honor those who had served?  Just two weeks after the Armistice, a meeting of Kansas City leaders brought forth the idea for the creation of a lasting monument and memorial.

          R. A. Long became the founding president of the Liberty Memorial Association and its leading spokesman.  He said, “From its inception it was intended that this Memorial should represent on the part of all people, a living expression for all time of the gratitude of a grateful people to those who offered and who gave their lives in defense of liberty and our country.”

          A community-based fund-raising drive in 1919, led by Long, J. C. Nichols, and other Association members, raised over $2 million in less than two weeks through public subscription in Kansas City and around the nation.  This staggering accomplishment reflected the passion of public opinion about the Great War.  Following the drive, a national architectural competition led to the selection of an architect.  A 1921 site dedication and a 1923 ground-breaking followed, and in 1926 the Liberty Memorial opened to the public amidst great national interest and acclaim.