Historic Garment District & Museum in Kansas City, Mo is located downtown at the Center Hall of what was once the Poindexter Building. The Garment District was in business from the 1920s to the 1970s. Kansas City, at one time, was the largest garment manufacturing centers in the world. They were particularly excellent when it came to making coats. A large percent of the coats that were worn by women were made in Kansas City. Yet, for as popular as they were at making garments, there has not been a lot of history written on their talent and craftsmanship in the business. Therefore, the Historic Garment District Museum of Kansas City has been actively looking for information on a book that can give any information on the garment industry as it was from 1875 to 1975.
When the garment industry was at its peak in the 1920s, the Garment District run from 6th Street to 10th Street and was the largest coats and suits producer in the world. Prior to 1970s when the industry faltered, they had over 8,000 employees. The information that is most being sought is what the business was like at its peak and what caused it to fail in the 1970s.
They have managed to gather enough data to have illustrations and photographs of the sewing and cutting rooms as well as some of the vintage patterns used. Ann Brownfield, a renowned fashion designer holds talks and semimars discussing the Kansas City's Garment District. She is also the talent behind starting the Garment District Museum, which is at 11th Street and 114 W. She opened the museum in 2002, and has many displays of memorabilia, photographs and artifacts from the time span of the Garment District.
