Paperclip City: KCQ Investigates Kansas City's Municipal Seals

Kansas City MO

29 January, 2022

2:29 AM

Description

Press release from the Kansas City Public Library: January 28, 2022 A reader recently came across a Twitter post showing the evolution of Kansas City's municipal seal over time. Two of the three emblems seemed self-explanatory, but one, a red and blue geometric design didn't seem to have much to do with Kansas City at all. The reader recalled encountering the design on old city documents, and on bits of infrastructure around town. The reader asked What's Your KCQ?, a collaboration between The Star and the Kansas City Public Library, to investigate the evolution of Kansas City's seal. First, the curious looking symbol was not the first to represent Kansas City. In 1855, the city council defined the seal as "a circular stamp in the center of which shall be an illuminated shield embellished with stars and stripes, and around it engraved the words Seal of the City of Kansas, Jackson County, Missouri." Later, the City of Kansas renamed itself Kansas City when a new charter was passed in 1889, and altered the seal to reflect the change. In 1944, a city auditor noticed that no action had been taken by the council to make the altered seal official. He recommended that a new ordinance describing the change be drawn up and put to a vote. But still, no action was taken, and the unofficial seal stayed in use What finally spurred the city to act, was a surge of phone automobile license stickers. Councilmembers realized that an official municipal seal on the stickers would elevate act of counterfeiting from a misdemeanor to a felony. The city made the seal official in 1952. In 1958, after the city had grown into counties north of the Missouri River, the words "Jackson County" were removed. By the 1960s, the era of urban renewal was in full swing, and city leaders had municipal reinvention on their brains. Kansas City Mayor Ilus W. Davis called for a redesign of the seal in 1965. The Municipal Art Commission suggested that the project would be the perfect assignment for the Kansas City Art Institute's design department. KCAI sent eight drawings which all touched on Kansas City's heart of America identity. However, Davis wanted the confluence of the Kansas and Missouri rivers worked into the design and was not pleased with what he saw. Rather than ask KCAI for more ideas, the city hired a New York City design firm. Those efforts, too, were rejected. Finally, in 1969, after four years of study and proposals, Davis and the Municipal Art Commission returned to one of the original KCAI designs, but not one of the eight considered in 1967. The design was simpler in its concept, and like many of the others, was inspired by the heart of America theme. Design instructor John Baker created the icon, comprised of four interlocking hearts viewed from any angle. Reaction to the design was mixed. One council member described it as too "far out." Others thought it looked like two interlocking racetracks. Some failed to see the hearts. Before the seal was approved, Councilman G. Lawrence Blankinship handed the design to a City Hall elevator operator and offered a cash prize if its meaning could be identified at first glance. The operator could not muster a guess. Still others saw what would permanently label the design in the minds of many — paperclips. Many Kansas Citians went so far as to quip that no finer emblem of government bureaucracy could be found. The council was divided, but Baker's design official became the city seal by a vote of 7 to 5 in 1970, and the new seal began popping up around the city. Despite popular resistance and the fact that the design didn't represent the confluence of the rivers, Davis remarked in 1969, "The seal has sort of grown on me." And for some Kansas Citians, the seal had the same effect. This press release was produced by the Kansas City Public Library. The views expressed here are the author's own.