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Hospital Hill is a historic district just south of downtown Kansas City, Missouri — roughly between 22nd and 25th Streets, from Gillham Road to Troost Avenue — that has been the city’s medical district since public hospitals were first built on the high ground there in 1870. It is the site of Kansas City’s segregated General Hospital system, including General Hospital No. 2, the Black public hospital whose all-Black staff and 1930 building made it nationally significant in African American medical history. Today Hospital Hill anchors the UMKC Health Sciences District — University Health (Truman Medical Center), Children’s Mercy Hospital, and UMKC’s health-science schools — and lends its name to the Hospital Hill Run, the metro’s oldest road race.

Overview

Hospital Hill is a neighborhood and historic district immediately south of downtown Kansas City, with boundaries running roughly 22nd Street to 25th Street and Gillham Road to Troost Avenue, adjacent to Crown Center.1 Its name reflects both the topography and a concentration of public hospitals on the site dating to 1870.12 Today it is the heart of the UMKC Health Sciences District, a cooperative partnership (formed 2017) of about 13,000 employees, students, and faculty that includes University Health (Truman Medical Center), Children’s Mercy Hospital, the UMKC schools of medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, and nursing, and the City of Kansas City Health Department.13

The General Hospital lineage

The medical complex traces to a City Hospital built on the site in 1870, which became General Hospital; a new 600-bed General Hospital No. 1 opened in 1908.2 After integration, the institution became the teaching hospital for the new UMKC School of Medicine, and the current University Health facility opened at the site in 1976 (renamed from Truman Medical Center to University Health Truman Medical Center in 2021).2

General Hospital No. 2 (the segregated Black hospital)

Under Kansas City’s segregation-era system, the city operated two public general hospitals: General Hospital No. 1 served white patients, while the older building became the “colored division,” General Hospital No. 2, serving Black patients from 1908.45 Led by advocacy from Dr. Thomas C. Unthank, the hospital built a Black physician and nursing presence, and by 1924 had an all-Black staff and administration — described as perhaps unique nationally.4 A new General Hospital No. 2 building opened March 2, 1930 at 600 East 22nd Street (cost ~$300,000), which The Call hailed as “the best money could buy”; it was the only newly constructed public hospital in the nation with an all-Black staff and patient population, and — amid Pendergast-machine patronage — accounted for the large majority of professional Black municipal employees.65 The City Council voted to consolidate the two hospitals in 1957, and the segregated system ended in 1959 when Black patients and staff moved into the former No. 1.4 Neither original General Hospital building survives, but the district retains the name “Hospital Hill.”5

Modern redevelopment

Hospital Hill has seen a major construction boom anchored by its medical institutions — including a $70 million University Health 2 building, a Children’s Mercy research tower, and a planned mixed-income apartment community (“The Ascent at Hospital Hill”).37 The adjacent Beacon Hill neighborhood to the southeast is the larger residential redevelopment area, and coverage of the two sometimes overlaps.8

Hospital Hill Run

The district lends its name to the Hospital Hill Run, Kansas City’s oldest road race, first held in 1974.910 It was founded by Dr. E. Grey Dimond (founding dean of the UMKC School of Medicine), Dr. Ralph Hall, and Jim Burnley; the first race drew 99 runners paying a $1 entry over a 6.8-mile course starting and finishing at Crown Center.9 The race marked its 50th anniversary in 2023 and is operated by the Kansas City Sports Commission & WIN for KC; it remains a fixture of the metro’s running scene (see kansas-city-running-clubs).119

Sources

See also

  • crown-center
  • kansas-city-running-clubs
  • civil-rights-era-kc
  • st-lukes-hospital-of-kc — the other major historic KC hospital anchor; Episcopal-founded (c. 1882), located at 4401 Wornall Road adjacent to the Country Club Plaza, complementing Hospital Hill’s public-hospital lineage with the Plaza-area private-hospital tradition

Footnotes

  1. Wikipedia — “Hospital Hill.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hospital_Hill — asserts: neighborhood south of downtown; boundaries 22nd–25th St, Gillham to Troost; name reflects geography + public hospitals since 1870; hosts University Health TMC, Children’s Mercy, UMKC health schools. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  2. Wikipedia — “University Health Truman Medical Center.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_Health_Truman_Medical_Center — asserts: origins 1870 City Hospital → General Hospital; 600-bed General Hospital No. 1 (1908); UMKC teaching hospital; current facility 1976; renamed University Health 2021. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  3. Flatland KC — “Hospital Hill construction boom continues with $70M University Health 2 project.” https://flatlandkc.org/news-issues/hospital-hill-construction-boom-continues-with-70m-university-health-2-project/ — asserts: UMKC Health Sciences District (formed 2017; ~13,000 people); University Health 2; Children’s Mercy research tower. ↩ ↩2

  4. The Pendergast Years (KC Public Library) — “As Good as Money Could Buy: Kansas City’s Black Public Hospital.” https://pendergastkc.org/articles/good-money-could-buy-kansas-citys-black-public-hospital — asserts: General Hospital No. 2 (Black division) from 1908; Dr. Thomas Unthank; all-Black staff/administration by 1924; underground connection; consolidation decided 1957, integration 1959. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  5. African American Heritage Trail of Kansas City — General Hospital No. 2. https://aahtkc.org/generalhospitalno2 — asserts: segregated dual-hospital history; neither original building survives; “Hospital Hill” name retained. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  6. KCUR — “When Kansas City’s political machine built the nation’s only new African-American hospital” (Jan 10, 2019). https://www.kcur.org/community/2019-01-10/when-kansas-citys-political-machine-built-the-nations-only-new-african-american-hospital — asserts: new General Hospital No. 2 building opened Mar 2, 1930 (600 E 22nd St, ~$300,000); all-Black staff of 292; Pendergast patronage. ↩

  7. KCTV5 — “Mixed-income apartment community planned for Hospital Hill” (May 7, 2026). https://www.kctv5.com/2026/05/07/mixed-income-apartment-community-planned-hospital-hill/ — asserts: “The Ascent at Hospital Hill” 144-unit project; surrounding ~$5B investment; Children’s Mercy + UMKC expansions. ↩

  8. Beacon Hill Kansas City. https://www.beaconhillkansascity.com/ — asserts: adjacent Beacon Hill residential redevelopment. ↩

  9. Kansas City Sports Commission — Hospital Hill Run. https://www.sportkc.org/hospital-hill-run — asserts: KC’s oldest road race, first held 1974; founders Dimond/Hall/Burnley; first race 99 runners / $1 / 6.8-mi from Crown Center. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  10. Yahoo Sports / Kansas City Star — “Kansas City’s oldest race, the Hospital Hill Run.” https://sports.yahoo.com/kansas-city-oldest-race-hospital-183916144.html — asserts: 1974 founding; oldest KC race. ↩

  11. Running USA — “50th anniversary: Hospital Hill Run celebrates milestone.” https://www.runningusa.org/industry-news/50th-anniversary-hospital-hill-run-celebrates-milestone-with-half-marathon-prize-money/ — asserts: 50th anniversary (2023); operated by the KC Sports Commission & WIN for KC. ↩

See also

Categories
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