In the days before I-70, travelers headed to downtown Kansas City along Alt. U.S. 40 would make a left turn directly in front of the elegant Greenlease showroom which always featured a new Cadillac “dream car” in the front picture window.

Robert C. Greenlease spent the first twelve years of his life on a horse farm in central Missouri. The family moved to Kansas City in 1894, when his father took a job working for Robert’s uncle at the Weber Engine Company. As a teenager, Robert went to work there as well. At Weber he met Paul Karchner, a plant superintendent. Together, they designed a motor car they called the Kansas City Hummer. In 1902, they opened the Hummer Motor Car Company at 217 E 15th Street to build their $3,300 five-passenger open car powered by a three-cylinder, water-cooled engine. The first sale was to a Kansas senator. But the length of time and high cost required to hand-craft each vehicle resulted in little profit. The company folded in 1904 after building only three automobiles.

Robert then opened the Central Automobile and Livery Company which rented cars and drivers to people eager to take drives along the city’s new boulevards. With seven motor cars for hire, he netted up to $100 a day. His fleet was launched with a 1905 Cadillac purchased from Fred Patee, Kansas City’s first Cadillac dealer. In 1907, Greenlease became a sales agent for the E.R. Thomas Motor Company, of Buffalo, New York. However the $4,000 Thomas Flyers did not sell well, and a representative of the company suggested Greenlease contact Cadillac Motor Car Company founder Henry Leland. In 1908, Greenlease was awarded a Cadillac franchise and in his first year sold 70 Cadillacs. (By comparison, in 1909, the Ford sales branch in Kansas City sold a total of only 50 Model Ts.)

Greenlease Motor Car Company quickly outgrew its 1612 Grand Avenue home. In 1916, plans were announced to construct a new facility at Gillham Road and McGee Trafficway, just south of 29th Street, a location easily accessible from both downtown and the new suburban neighborhoods being constructed to the south. For inspiration, Greenlease and architect Lewis Haverkamp toured modern automobile showrooms, service centers, and distribution facilities around the country. The result was a four-story, all-under-one-roof building that reflected the latest industry standards. The elegant, triangular shape showroom could display up to 12 cars. An elevator in the service area was large enough to transport vehicles upstairs to a full body and paint shop. Cadillac crests were even carved into interior columns and the terra-cotta walls of the upper exterior. A replica of one of those columns is on display at Kansas City Automotive Museum.

Robert Greenlease served as president of the Kansas City Motor Car Dealers Association in 1917. He served as president of the Kansas City Automobile Show in 1918-19. He was also active in early efforts to pave Missouri roads. By 1950, the Greenlease auto empire employed over 500 workers and Robert Greenlease was personally worth an estimated $24 million. He was one of the largest individual holders of GM stock and, at one time, he even loaned General Motors a million dollars to fund an expansion.

Robert Greenlease died in 1969 at the age of 87. In 2006, the old Greenlease Cadillac Building at 2929 McGee was renovated into condominiums.

[ Our grateful appreciation to the Missouri Valley Special Collections for photographs, Kansas City Public Library ]

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In 1918, Greenlease opened this palace worthy of the brand at 2929 McGee Trafficway.

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In addition to his Kansas City dealership, Greenlease was also the regional distributor of Cadillac motor cars. His initial nine-county sales territory expanded through partnerships to include western Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, the Texas Panhandle, Nebraska, Colorado, and the Dakotas. Of the 17 Cadillac distributorships nationwide, Greenlease controlled five.

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Robert Greenlease’s fortune was well known when Bobby Greenlease Jr. was kidnapped in 1953 and a then-record $600,000 ransom was paid. The kidnapping received national news coverage. When Bobby’s body was discovered, the whole country mourned.

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Robert C. Greenlease was an important figure on Kansas City’s automotive scene for more than 60 years. In 1967 Greenlease Cadillac was celebrated by General Motors as the most senior of all its 14,000 operating dealerships.

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High quality was a Cadillac signature instilled by founder Henry Leland’s demand for machined tolerances within 1/1000th of an inch, making Cadillac the “Standard of the World.” Cadillac pushed innovation: electric lights, V-8 engines, synchromesh transmissions, and the game-changing electric starter introduced in 1912 which meant… no more cranking.