The Henry Wollman Bloch Fountain

Choreographed water-and-light fountain at the front of Union Station, named for KC business titan Henry Wollman Bloch (co-founder of H&R Block).¹²³ Built 2001 as part of the Union Station Crown Center redevelopment; 232 vertical jets perform a synchronized show throughout the day.¹²

History

The fountain was installed in 2001¹² as part of the Union Station Kansas City redevelopment that returned the historic station (union-station) to active civic use after decades of disrepair. It is named for Henry Wollman Bloch (1922-2019), co-founder of H&R Block,³ and was a gift to the city made in his name.¹² Whether Bloch personally funded the fountain, or others gave it in his honor, is not stated by either institutional source — both say only that it was “a gift to the city in the name of the co-founder of H&R Block, Inc.”

The fountain sits on West Pershing Road, between Union Station and the Liberty Memorial, near Crown Center — the broad apron off the station’s south facade.¹² That placement makes it one of the most-trafficked civic spaces in Kansas City, with the station to the north and the Liberty Memorial rising on the ridge to the south.¹²

Architecture + features

• 232 jets arranged in three concentric rings within an ellipse of black granite¹²
• A thin sheen of water across the flat granite acts as a mirror reflecting the monumental architecture on either side¹²
• A computer choreographs an ever-changing display; on each hour and half-hour a five-minute “high show” runs¹²
• Designed by WET Design — designers of the Bellagio fountains in Las Vegas — with BNIM¹²
• Renovated 2015-2016 as part of the Union Station expansion project, adding new lighting, new water jets and new choreographed presentations; rededicated June 30, 2016¹
• Walk-through design — visitors can walk among the jets when the program allows (low-spray sequences)
• Pavers around the fountain incorporate names of Union Station benefactors

Current status

Operating. The fountain runs from spring through fall, typically drained for winter. Performance schedules are posted at Union Station + on union-station.org.

Cultural significance

The Henry Wollman Bloch Fountain has become a beloved interactive feature for KC families — children regularly play in the walk-through jets during summer months. It anchors the Crown Center / Union Station corridor, one of KC’s most-trafficked tourist + civic spaces.

The naming honors Henry Bloch (and his late brother Richard Bloch), who built H&R Block from a Kansas City small accounting firm into a national tax-preparation institution headquartered in KC.³ The Bloch philanthropic legacy across KC is significant — UMKC’s Henry W. Bloch School of Management⁴ + the Nelson-Atkins’s Bloch Building addition⁵ both bear the family name.

Visiting

• Address: Union Station, 30 W Pershing Rd, Kansas City, MO 64108
• Best time to visit: Spring through fall; evening shows feature LED lighting
• Public access: Free; 24-hour outdoor public space
• Parking: Union Station has covered parking + Crown Center lots nearby

Sources

Footnotes

1. City of Fountains Foundation — “Henry Wollman Bloch Fountain.” https://cityoffountains.org/henry-wollman-bloch-fountain/ — asserts: the fountain was a gift to the city in the name of the co-founder of H&R Block, Inc.; located on West Pershing Road between Union Station and the Liberty Memorial, near Crown Center; 232 jets in three concentric rings within an ellipse of black granite; a thin sheen of water on the flat granite as a reflecting mirror; computer-choreographed display with a five-minute “high show” on each hour and half-hour; designed by WET Design (designers of the Bellagio fountains) with BNIM; installed 2001, renovated 2016, rededicated June 30, 2016; the 2015-2016 renovation was part of the Union Station expansion project and added new lighting, new water jets and new choreographed presentations; owner listed as KCMO Parks & Recreation Department. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹

2. Kansas City Parks and Recreation — “Henry Wollman Bloch Fountain.” https://kcparks.org/places/bloch-henry-wollman-fountain-2/ — asserts: artist/designer “WET Design & BNIM”; installed 2001; located at Pershing & Main Streets between Union Station and the Liberty Memorial; 232 jets in three concentric rings within an ellipse of black granite; reflecting sheen; computer-choreographed pattern; five-minute “high show” on the hour and half-hour; WET Design as the Bellagio fountains’ designers. (kcparks.org returns HTTP 403 to plain automated fetches; full text read directly via Firecrawl 2026-07-31.) ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰

3. Wikipedia — “Henry W. Bloch.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_W._Bloch — asserts: Henry Wollman Bloch, born Kansas City July 30, 1922, died Kansas City April 23, 2019; co-founder and later chairman emeritus of H&R Block; founded the company with his brother Richard Bloch in Kansas City in 1955; the business grew out of the United Business Company bookkeeping and tax-preparation firm the brothers started in 1945-46. ↩ ↩² ↩³

4. Henry W. Bloch School of Management, University of Missouri-Kansas City — “About Us” (school timeline). https://bloch.umkc.edu/about-us/ — asserts: UMKC established the School of Business Administration in 1953; the school was endowed by Henry W. Bloch and named the Henry W. Bloch School for Business and Public Administration in 1986; renamed the Henry W. Bloch School of Management in 2010, the year Bloch announced a $32 million gift for the Henry W. Bloch Executive Hall for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. ↩

5. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art — “Nelson-Atkins’ Bloch Building Celebrates 10th Anniversary” (2017). https://nelson-atkins.org/nelson-atkins-bloch-building-celebrates-10th-anniversary-2/ — asserts: the Steven Holl-designed Bloch Building addition opened in 2007 (groundbreaking April 2, 2001) and is named for Henry W. Bloch, a steering-committee member and board leader on the project. The article does not state a dollar figure for a Bloch gift. ↩