Kansas City’s historic Green Duck building is caught in a painful limbo. The city started tearing it down on Tuesday, July 14, after a May 31 fire left the Prospect Avenue landmark badly damaged. Crews then stopped the work the same day so a structural engineer could size up the foundation, even as a judge quietly tossed out a last-minute court bid to block the teardown when the filer did not show up in court.
Demolition Begins, Then Pauses
The city’s Neighborhood Services Department launched what it called an emergency demolition on July 14, then quickly hit pause so engineers could determine how to make the site safe, according to KCTV5. Crews had already begun pulling down damaged brick and clearing out interior debris before the halt. City officials have not said when, or if, demolition work will resume.
Fire Left The Building Unsafe
A large fire on May 31 tore through the two-story tavern and left it in such rough shape that firefighters had to stay outside and fight defensively as the roof and rear walls gave way, KMBC reported. Engineers later concluded the structure was at risk of collapse, and city records flagged it for emergency demolition. No injuries were reported in the blaze.
A Storied Past On Prospect
The Green Duck, at 2548 Prospect Ave., is more than an old bar to many Kansas Citians. For decades it served as a gathering spot and political hub for Black Kansas City. Civil-rights leader Leon Jordan once owned the tavern, and the building was added to the Kansas City Register of Historic Places in 2015, according to the Kansas City Star. Later owner James “Jimmy” Townsend restored the building and kept it as a neighborhood anchor until he was killed in 2015. Neighbors and preservation advocates warn that losing the structure would wipe out a highly visible piece of Prospect’s history.
What The Court Ruling Means
Delores LaBlance, who says she owns the property, filed an amended petition seeking $10 million in punitive damages and $500,000 in actual damages and asked a judge to halt the demolition. The judge dismissed the case without prejudice after she did not appear at a scheduled hearing, KCTV5 reports. Because the dismissal was procedural and without prejudice, LaBlance could refile, but the ruling itself does not stop the city’s emergency removal process.
Preservation Debate And Next Steps
City leaders and neighbors have been vocal about what this loss would mean. Mayor Quinton Lucas called the Green Duck “the edges of the growth of Black political power in Kansas City,” according to the Kansas City Star. Preservation groups have used the moment to renew calls for stronger protections and more funding so that other historic structures are not left to deteriorate to the point of emergency demolition, while city officials maintain that public safety and structural danger drove their decision.
For now, the wrecking ball is on hold. Structural engineers must finish their evaluation, and the city still has to decide how to secure and restore the site safely. It is not yet clear whether LaBlance will try again in court or whether any preservation or memorial plan will emerge for the lot where the Green Duck has stood for generations.
