The Kansas City Workhouse was built just south of the railroad on Vine street. It was used as a facility to house criminals as they worked off their sentences. The living conditions were pretty bad and overcrowding led to problems as well.
It was used as a workhouse until 1918. At that point the city repurposed it as office buildings. It was used in this capicity untill the 1970’s at which point it was abandoned. The floors were ripped out shortly after, leaving the shell of a castle in the heart of the city.