Mark Coffey/Sun Photo
IT’S GOOD TO BE A GANGSTA: Pointing out where Tom Pendergast ran the city in the 1920s, Tim Phillips leads the Kansas City Gangster Tour on Friday, Feb. 1.
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Kansas City Crooks
Gangster Tour shows city's underbelly during Pendergast Era of political control
By: Kelli Bamforth, Staff Writer
kellibamforth@sunpublications.com
Kansas City Gangster Tour guide Tim Phillips uses his gangster alter-ego “Johnny Holliday” when he points out the underbelly of Kansas City for tourists and residents alike.
“People are amazed to learn what a rich history we have here in Kansas City,” Phillips said. “It’s good for both visitors and people who have lived here all their lives.”
The tour concept came from Carey Limousine Service, but similar tours have been done in Chicago and New York City, Phillips said.
The tour leaves from Union Station, 30 W. Pershing Ave., and travels through the River Market, the government building district and the Country Club Plaza as Phillips points out the “hot gangster spots” in Kansas City from the days of the Pendergast Era.
From about 1920 to 1940, Tom Pendergast ruled the Jackson County Democratic Club from a small office at 1908 Main St., which is listed on the Kansas City Register of Historic Places. From the second floor, Pendergast controlled Kansas City elections through bribery and, sometimes, beatings.
As a result, voter turnout tended to be high and Pendergast’s candidate tended to win. His political friends would award government contracts to Pendergast’s Ready-Mixed Concrete Co.
A local urban legend alleged that Pendergast buried political enemies under Brush Creek’s concrete paving, but that proved a myth when the city tore up the concrete for a renewal project in the 1980s.
Phillips said his tour guide character evokes Henry Hill, the real-life mobster portrayed by actor Ray Liotta in “Goodfellas,” and Christopher Soprano from HBO’s award-winning television series “The Sopranos.”
“Ninety percent of it is the suit,” Phillips said. “Once you put the suit on, the character just comes out.”
Johnny Holliday is supported by his brother Tommy and girlfriend Velma, who are featured on a video that plays during the tour. Another actor plays Johnny when Phillips is not available, he said.
Another well-known story acknowledged during the tour is the Union Station Massacre. On July 17, 1933, an attempt by Charles Arthur “Pretty Boy” Floyd, Vernon Miller and Adam Richetti to free federal prisoner Frank Nash resulted in the deaths of four federal peace officers and Nash.
Union Station is marked with bullet holes from the shootout, though Phillips – er, Johnny Holliday – insists the three mobsters did not intend to free Nash but wanted to kill him.
“(The tour) has kind of evolved with me over the years,” Phillips said. “It’s really fascinating. You stand up here and say this stuff, and then you read it in a book, which confirms everything.
“Kansas City’s history goes deeper than I thought.”
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“People are amazed to learn what a rich history we have here in Kansas City,” Phillips said. “It’s good for both visitors and people who have lived here all their lives.”
The tour concept came from Carey Limousine Service, but similar tours have been done in Chicago and New York City, Phillips said.
The tour leaves from Union Station, 30 W. Pershing Ave., and travels through the River Market, the government building district and the Country Club Plaza as Phillips points out the “hot gangster spots” in Kansas City from the days of the Pendergast Era.
From about 1920 to 1940, Tom Pendergast ruled the Jackson County Democratic Club from a small office at 1908 Main St., which is listed on the Kansas City Register of Historic Places. From the second floor, Pendergast controlled Kansas City elections through bribery and, sometimes, beatings.
As a result, voter turnout tended to be high and Pendergast’s candidate tended to win. His political friends would award government contracts to Pendergast’s Ready-Mixed Concrete Co.
A local urban legend alleged that Pendergast buried political enemies under Brush Creek’s concrete paving, but that proved a myth when the city tore up the concrete for a renewal project in the 1980s.
Phillips said his tour guide character evokes Henry Hill, the real-life mobster portrayed by actor Ray Liotta in “Goodfellas,” and Christopher Soprano from HBO’s award-winning television series “The Sopranos.”
“Ninety percent of it is the suit,” Phillips said. “Once you put the suit on, the character just comes out.”
Johnny Holliday is supported by his brother Tommy and girlfriend Velma, who are featured on a video that plays during the tour. Another actor plays Johnny when Phillips is not available, he said.
Another well-known story acknowledged during the tour is the Union Station Massacre. On July 17, 1933, an attempt by Charles Arthur “Pretty Boy” Floyd, Vernon Miller and Adam Richetti to free federal prisoner Frank Nash resulted in the deaths of four federal peace officers and Nash.
Union Station is marked with bullet holes from the shootout, though Phillips – er, Johnny Holliday – insists the three mobsters did not intend to free Nash but wanted to kill him.
“(The tour) has kind of evolved with me over the years,” Phillips said. “It’s really fascinating. You stand up here and say this stuff, and then you read it in a book, which confirms everything.
“Kansas City’s history goes deeper than I thought.”