Site of the Kansas City Massacre of 1933 took place at the Union Station

Jeff visits the famous Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri where the infamous June 17, 1933 massacre took place when a federal prisoner was being escorted to an awaiting car in the parking lot.
#kansascity #historyhunters
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[@ScottAbgekurtz]

Growing up in Kansas City, my Grandfather lived in that era and if I recall correctly witnessed the massacre. As a child in the 70's, my Grandfather took me to Union Station one day and showed me all of the bullet holes in the facade of Union Station. Every time I return to Kansas City, to visit my Mother if I'm in the area I'll stop by Union Station to relive the day my Grandfather took me there almost 50 years ago. Union Station was closed in the early 80's and fell into a state of disrepair, it was very nearly torn down. Ultimately the citizens of Kansas City rescued Union Station and it was restored to its former glory. It's a wonderful symbol and loved by everyone in Kansas City. I do hope you've done a video of the Liberty Memorial and the National WW1 Museum.

[@jerryfountain7921]

Thanks Jeff & Sarah for another History Hunters lesson. Sad history is history and it can't be erased, only learned from. Hopefully you both had a great Thanksgiving and looking forward to our Savior's birthday on Christmas 🎄!

[@michaelgmoore5708]

That was a great episode. Merry Christmas to Jeff & Sarah!

[@ScoopDogg]

Great video you two, thankyou. I would love to know what happens when a bullet is fired at a similar stone to the one they think was to do with PBFloyd, my first thoughts are would they be jacketed or lead rounds fired, my thinking is there any photos showing the building prior to the tragedy to see if the hole was in the stone before the shooting. thanks anyway always look forward to your videos. found some videos one here kzbin.info/www/bejne/eHW9l6uqaJuAfJY kzbin.info/www/bejne/fZi1lWaJa7-UhLs

[@WayneKline]

Well done Jeff, another great video. A nice way to end my Sunday. Thank you very much. Belated Happy Thanksgiving to you, Sarah and your families.

[@debraleesparks]

Back in the 60’s, when I was a little girl.. my mom would take my sister and I to our Grandmas house in Saint Louis on the train. Well when we got to the Union Station we would use the bathroom there to wash up and change our dresses..,I remember that they had to pay 10 cents to use the toilet! I’m from the Yosemite area of California, and that is the biggest building I’ve ever been in.. and I’m 70. Love Grandma Debbie

[@Jackietreehorn-z5e]

Love your vids...can you come to Iowa and do a story on the Sullivan Brothers? All 5 died in WW2 on a ship. Others died in shark infested water.

[@raygreen257]

well 3 died on the ship two made it off one was badly wounded died the next day the oldest kept swimming around looking for his bothers later a shark got him

[@markpedroza7294]

The massacre is mentioned in the movies The F.B.I Story (1959) and Dillinger (1973)

[@davidniehaus202]

Jeff would you fulfill my request by visiting the grave of John philip sousa please and you are a sweet kind guy on youtube 🎄🎄

[@gregdavis19]

Very good video. I agree, KC’s Union Station is massive and beautiful. Thanks for telling the story.

[@inchhighpi9514]

Such a beautiful building. This is when America took pride in everything that was built. Sad that many buildings are being torn down and history is being lost. Hope this never happens here. As far as the history lesson you brought to us, I for one thank you. I have learned so much from you both 👍💯

[@patience1678]

It's Tartarian

[@okiedean1112]

Hey Jeff an Sarah, Thanks again for making the past come alive for us. I've heard the Charley Floyd headstone has been changed 3 times from souvenir hunters chipping away pieces over the years from a friend that talked to relatives he said to me. I don't know how true this be?

[@Jeff-fx1zy]

The cemetery at Akins, Sequoyah Co. Oklahoma doesn't exactly have state of the art security. It's quiet, isolated, and dark at night. Perfect for thieves. Oh btw, Charlie Floyd hated that name.

[@stevemccoy8138]

Very interesting, I've been to KC many times but never got to see the train station. The Stockyards was my destination in my youth, many loads of cattle delivered. My family has a history with KC, grandparents had a grocery store on Troost Ave ,probably about the same time as the shoot out. Great story, Thanks 😊

[@jbenziggy]

Yep, lots of cattle and people moved through that city! Since we've talking cattle, have you ever felt like cattle being moved through an airport? LOL

[@stevemccoy8138]

​@@jbenziggyIndeed I have, they pack you into most flights. I was once offered a job while on a flight, I resembled the Marlboro Man. 😅

[@ScratchGlass9]

History Hunters. Great show again. Happy Thanksgiving to you and family ! Cheers from Detroit 🇺🇲

[@AB-ye7bw]

Excellent story! I had a friend who had since passed that was an extra in the Dale Robertson film.

[@irishgip71]

Question?? What is the most historic state you’ve been? Seems like your partial to California (because you live here) and Kansas. Still watching but love it so far.

[@naturelove831]

This video is in Missouri

[@debraleesparks]

I went to school with a girl who’s mom was Pretty Boy Floyd niece. Her mom showed me her old photographs of him hiding out at their farm! He was blamed for stuff he didn’t do. Those old photos are really interesting. Love Grandma Debbie

[@bobs1728]

Interesting. Charles Arthur Floyd was sitting at a kitchen table in a rooming house in Kansas City with the lady landlord. Her daughter came and sat at the table, looked at Floyd, and said, "Were'd you come from, Pretty Boy?"

[@GREGWATSON-lc8cc]

Floyd denied this. By denying it,cost him big reputation.

[@brianwesley28]

Then she has to be a distant relative of mine. Dad died last year, but insisted that Pretty Boy Floyd was a relative.

[@brianwesley28]

Check out Woodie Guthrie's song Pretty Boy Flody sometime. He also held the narrative that a lot of the crimes weren't actually done by Pretty Boy Floyd, apparently.

[@wondersteven]

My grandparents are buried in Holy Sepulchre in Omaha. I traveled many times from Omaha to KC for fun. Mostly to enjoy the Country Club Plaza there. Last time I was there was in the 80's and the station was going through some renovations but I remember eating in a restaurant I believe was in the lower part of the building and having one of the best steaks I ever had.

[@oiskaio]

If it was after the mid-90s it was likely Pierpont's

[@rosaszymanski4601]

I look forward to watching your videos every Sunday morning☕️ thank you!

[@jbenziggy]

That's what we always love to hear! Thank you so much, Rosa!

[@ScoopDogg]

Forgot to say, hope all my cousins over the pond had a great Thanksgiving, from little old me in the UK who cant get enough AMERICAN hISTORY (YES YOU DO HAVE A GREAT HISTORY) : )

[@jbenziggy]

Happy holidays! Thank you for the good wishes! Same to you guys too!

[@jimbullard441]

Very interesting. I've only been thru KC one time and never been to that site. As always, well told!

[@jbenziggy]

Thank you, Jim! Hope you had a great Thanksgiving!

[@caroletomlinson5480]

I recall parking alignment as shown here in 1933 (must have changed after 1970s). They once had busy shoe shiners in that great hall, and I sat in waiting area before those benches were removed when the trains stopped arriving.😢. Also ate filet mignon once at Fred Harvey’s and served drinks at Ralph Gaines’ steak house while jazz band played. Rode the trains, too, and greeted and bid adieu Grandmother many times. Never heard of the massacre until later. It’s a beautiful building full of rich memories.

[@jbenziggy]

Your words paint a very nostalgic picture of that location. I think some of the best architecture and music and car styles and fashions were in the 1940s. Even when you look at old pictures of Disneyland, you see everyone walking around in suits and ties and the women dressed to the nines.

[@austinroberts4008]

I remember sitting in the room full of benches waiting for my aunt grace to arrive from independence Kansas in the early 60s. It was the only place I ever saw nuns . It was a huge room , and the benches were hard wood !

[@trishaporte]

I don’t recall the number of military personnel that traveled through Union Station en route to other destinations in 1945 (after the war), but there were over 600k travelers who passed through those doors. After WWll travelers declined. I can recall all of the bench seats that graced the main hall, people bustling from one loading dock to another. Shops on nearly every inside corner where you could get snacks, souvenirs, etc to take with you on your long journey. Great video!

[@jbenziggy]

Thank you so much, my friend!

[@trishaporte]

@@jbenziggy There is a small cemetery off of 40hwy in Independence, can’t recall the cross street, but it’s the one closest to Dixons. Maybe 1/2 mile N to your left. I used to go there and eat my lunch. It’s a well cared for cemetery that has a rich history. Apparently many of the newcomers to KC would over camp there before buying supplies and hooking up with a wagon train headed west. I talked to some of the descendants who were caring for the cemetery, but have not researched it.

[@ScottAbgekurtz]

@jbenziggy Another place I highly recommend you visit is Alcove Springs, Kansas, where the Donner Party camped after they left Independence and Westport, Mo. Sarah Keyes, the first persons to die from the Donner Party is buried there. Still to this day the wagon wheel ruts can be seen.

[@dano8203]

I’ve seen these stories played out in movies but never done out this way, thank you for your research!

[@timothymoore3218]

Excellent! Thank you so much for covering this event and of course, beautiful Union Station!

[@dstu322]

It kind of looks more like a hit since they shot Nash too.

[@nathanielalgernon975]

yeah, maybe afraid he'd talk to get reduced sentence, maybe Floyd ordered it. Why did they wait until he was in the car where it was likely he'd be hit by bullets and tougher for him to flee?

[@jeffhensley9988]

Another amazing episode, Jeff. Just out of curiosity, where do you acquire most of your historical background information? Also, out of curiosity, what was all the "Spiderman" activity that was happening the day you were there? Thank you Jeff, for another Historical look back. Yes, tragic, but Historic nonetheless. God Bless you and Sarah.

[@MsDaisy173]

Leavenworth is a Federal Prison not a State Prison. Kansas State Penitentiary is in Lansing 7 miles south of The Federal Prison. The United States Disciplinary Barracks is located in Fort Leavenworth an active military post and is for incarcerated persons in the military.

[@Man11235]

Kansas City is growing a lot and is turning into a beautiful city. Would be really be booming if the economy was better.

[@BRIDGETTWC]

Thank you so much❤ love History Hunters!

[@alanatolstad4824]

Here's another W-O-W to add to your collection of them.

[@mikewhite2aadvocacy172]

Very interesting. Hope you and your family had a great Thanksgiving Day.

[@jbenziggy]

Thank you! We slaved in the kitchen and had bent backs but the food and family conversation was great! Hope you had a great day too!

[@thelivingbranch]

took train rides with my mom from the station in 60s

[@janetceniza8091]

her husband speaking age 80 = 11:40 pm from Mactan Island, Cebu PH. It is still Sunday the 26th as we are 16 hours ahead of the West Coast. I had been in bed since 8:30 pm but happen to wake up and decide to go out and get a glass of milk. I usually get up at 4 am see what is on the PC and have coffee. We walk our 3 dogs about 5:30 am before the sun gets too warm. Going to be in our home here until 11 Mar 24. Another reminder of criminals of the past = too bad, today a bank robbery would only be a misdemeanor.

[@Overstand100]

We could never build that now. Look at the ornate detail on everything. Look at the columns. They're massive, but the population was a fraction of what it is now. Who Built It!

[@jbenziggy]

The greatest generation!

[@johnmcgowanireland695]

Thanks Jeff! I'll be watching those movies now.

[@victoriaobrien2324]

My mother was born in Kansas in 1933

[@59gaperry]

Fascinating video, Jeff. Great work!

[@johnygarcia7636]

👍👍👍 crazy story in kc

[@bartgoins1782]

Another great history lesson, Jeff. Thank you.

[@mistervacation23]

Very good ! I bet you could do a great video on some of the iconic buildings of Los Angeles, theaters and so forth

[@jbenziggy]

Great suggestion!

[@debraday9898]

Jeff I look forward to your show every Sunday morning. U only deserve the very best. I always let the commercials run for u. Happy Holidays.

[@jbenziggy]

I appreciate that! Thank you and happy holidays to you too!

[@donnawoepke8861]

Wow, I have never heard this story. Thank you

[@juliogonzales5441]

Bad..history

[@joelhurley2678]

Jeff, I used to volunteer at the train station, it is very beautiful. Great video and thank you so much for sharing. I enjoyed the history. I used to look at that bullet hole myself when I used to go volunteer there at the train station.

[@johnnyquest3707]

Good one! Thanks for the old photos and especially the overview digram showing the location of all involved. it puts everything in context. One theory was something about a LEO in the car accidentally firing his gun shooting someone, maybe Nash. I can’t remember exactly.

[@skimmer8774]

The hole in the stone wall was caused by a UFO.😊

[@jbenziggy]

Ha ha ha

[@TooTallRob6.8]

👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@jack2breeze]

There are two rock bands from the 80s called Pretty Boy Floyd. One American the other Canadian.

[@dam00k]

The last year people could buy a Thompson sub machine gun at the local hardware store or mail order it through Sears. $225 for a vertical fore grip model with a drum magazine, a Model A from the same year cost between $450-500 so it’s kind of easy to see how most non-criminal folks would have difficulty justifying buying one at the height of the Great Depression.

[@MaryAnglin]

Interesting video, thank you. I lived in KC for four years but never visited Union Station.

[@mov1ngforward]

That's a beautiful structure. The history of our country has proven to be violent, people shouldn't be shocked. Today we're just seeing everything at once because...people...

[@sw5713]

Site of Chiefs superbowl celebration shooting also.

[@jbenziggy]

That’s true but I was there shooting this video like eight months before that Chiefs shooting.

[@libertyrevolutionary1776]

That was a gang fight as well.

[@LarrySelleck]

I grew up in Kansas City. In the sixties I took the train out of Union Station several times with my mom to visit my grandparents in southeast oklahoma. After I was married my wife and I had several anniversary dinners at the all you can eat seafood restaurant in Union Station. After dinner we would explore the building. One time we made our way upstairs to an open window where we climbed out onto a portion of the roof above the train tracks and took in the view of Kansas City. Later I took my son and then my granddaughter to many different attractions, science city, the titanic exhibit, model train exhibit, just to name a few. Seems like every trip included checking out the bullet holes and mentioning the massacre. Great memories, thank you for the history lesson, I know the story well.

[@happyretireeshc]

I know about the mafia routes. My grandfather worked with Ness in Cleveland and Youngstown

[@hpillsbury06]

I met a funeral director in Missouri who had photos of the Pretty Boy funeral. Very amazing.

[@joedunbarjr]

Jeff, you do have a way about you. The sultry tone and smooth delivery of your narration is unique for KZbin channels. Love your content and as a history fan I apricate the interesting events you come up with. I subscribe to about 30 channels but after watching your offerings a thumbs up is almost always automatic. (I am stingy with those) Thank you for the time and obvious effort you put into each video.

[@jbenziggy]

Wow, Joe, that’s a wonderful compliment and I thank you for it. It’s nice to have such a great fan. Thanks for helping to make History Hunters the success that it is!

[@BarbaraSalisbury-st7bu]

Beautiful building and another very interesting video. Thank you.

[@UHMOutreachCollege]

Used to love these; the background music drains me. Thanks though for your prior less musical videos.

[@warmonger1362]

How poorly planned was that. If you're trying to free someone, why would you machinegun everyone and run away. My father always said if they were smart, they wouldn't be criminals.

[@paulrevere5197]

Didn't know this story, thanks. Always wanted to visit however, heard 'they've got some crazy little women there and I'm gonna get me one'...:)

[@dsinavich5141]

Hi. A very interesting story. Sad but true . Off to prison you go . Thanks for vlogging and researching it. Take care. Deborah 🇨🇦

[@privatepilot4064]

Awesome coverage Jeff! Thanks again and always look forward to watching each week! This is one of very few channels I give a thumbs up before I watch the video!

[@iryanjones]

I didn't know this is still a train hub. I picked up a friend a couple months ago. We toured Union Station when she came home. It is a beautiful building. I wear a brace on my left leg and couldn't walk to far. I did tell her about the violent history of the place

[@johnnyquest9358]

I had an uncle that commented on how hot the train ride was across Kansas when he came home from WW2, He said soldiers would jump in rivers to cool off when the train stopped. Crazy the things you remember.

[@jbenziggy]

I remember a lot of things from my youth that my parents had forgotten about! LOL

[@RedProg]

I have heard from some that they are bullets holes and other who they are not. Having seen the impacts in the marble I am sticking with ...bullet holes. I noticed spalling. Want to thank you for another Sunday adventure. 👍

[@charlesnye1736]

Thanks for doing this one. I´ve always been facinated by the gangster era. Still a mystery if Floyd was even there.

[@dominicseanmccann6300]

Some beautiful architecture there; the station, not the jails...

[@EGSBiographies-om1wb]

I read about this in a recent book about the beginnings of the F.B.I. Another vid worth my time watching.

[@greyghostjay]

Botched rescue. Pretty sad that all those officers had to die. Plus the man they were trying to save or steal back. Very compelling story.

[@rickkeifer5928]

Thanks for another great video Jeff.My uncle being a officer back in those days had a run in with pretty boy thank goodness my uncle is came out unscaved.

[@Hippy-l1e]

What a great channel you have! Stumbled across it while watching other documentaries and will be a regular viewer!

[@jbenziggy]

Welcome aboard! we are so happy that you found us and that you enjoy our content. We have over 400 videos stored up to watch. Lol.

[@KB6YAF]

Happy Thanksgiving Jeff and Sarah. Thanks once again for making my Sunday morning just a bit better with your excellent video. ........Russell D.

[@jbenziggy]

Our pleasure! Hope you had a great Thanksgiving weekend!

[@j1st633]

Very cool information.

[@jbenziggy]

Thanks for watching!

[@davidgoodman6924]

They came to set Nash free, yet ended up shooting and killing him. With friends like them, who needs enemies! Great video!

[@frankmarullo228]

Thank you Jeff and Sarah. Being Italian from New York . I have heard about this massacre before THANK YOU FRANK FROM MONTANA.. PS. Have you ever been to Grand Central station ? Its big.......

[@jbenziggy]

Never been to grand central station in NYC! Only been to NYC once in my life and that was probably enough. lol

[@unnecessaryroughness4681]

I enjoy the history you continue to bring to your fans. This is another interesting piece of history I'm going to do research on. Thanks Jeff!

[@jokeroneninesevenzero]

Louis Stacci looks like Kramer from Seinfeld.

[@AMO1921]

You can still see the bullet wholes in the wall behind the marker sign before the main entrance.

[@jameskim62]

NICE STORY !!!!!!!!!!!!!! ON THE WALL , DRILL HOLE MARK ??????

[@nickpaz2421]

Another great video. If you are ever in L.A. go to union station downtown L.A. It’s a beautiful station with a lot of history.

[@161papa]

Well done. You videos are always interesting and enjoyable.

[@Frazzzld]

I had never heard of this one. I find it interesting that the man they came to free ended up amongst the dead. And I'm with you, that definitely looked like a bullet hole.

[@kenfrank2730]

Our family enjoys your videos - paypal contribution made. How about doing a video on Chicago's Saint Valentine's Day Massacre of 1929?

[@jbenziggy]

Thanks for your donation!

[@merelhoekstra7330]

A beautiful old building but a scary strange story…

[@rhondaz356]

Jeff, as always, this was so interesting, and very well researched.👏🏻It must feel strange standing in those locations.

[@jbenziggy]

Yes it was. Same place, different era. One scene is a scene of carnage, the other a peaceful parking lot. Life is strange. I felt for those poor men, only trying to do their jobs, and being taken from their wives and families!

[@rhondaz356]

@@jbenziggy AMEN to that...💫

[@Xpyburnt_ndz]

Another AWESOME HH vid!!! Thnx for my weekly fix Jeff! ~Chris

[@jbenziggy]

Any time! Thanks!!!

[@jacquelinebloom4339]

Another great video full of history.

[@Skunkape74]

Good stuff...Thanks for sharing... Happy Holidays!!!!

[@jbenziggy]

Happy holidays to you too!

[@chrisbyard29]

Jeff And Sarah another awesome video. We go to Union Station every time we visit KC even when to the Spiderman exhibit this summer. As much as I walked around I did not know about this thank you for sharing.

[@jbenziggy]

Thanks for sharing!!

[@musiknbooks]

I've never heard the details of this moment in history....interesting...thank ya'll so much!

[@jbenziggy]

I appreciate the nice compliment. I don’t think many people know about it today. Unless of course you stop and read the sign. Lol.

[@Nick-1992-SRB]

Great video there Jeff these events from the past are super thrilling especially for me as I'm from Australia can you one day do a episode on the 1946 Moonlight Murders that unsolved case from Texarkana I've actually got the 1976 movie call THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN on VHS it's loosely based on that event.

[@mugsysemergencylightsandsi4553]

There’s more than one bullet hole in the wall at union station I worked in union station when I was 15 at rocky mountain chocolate factory there’s also a ghost they call him the grey man because he appears to be all grey and at night they see him in the grand hall he’s even been caught on camera standing on the upper floor he was looking towards pierpont’s restaurant

[@rkr7372]

The grey ghost damn very few 😮people know that I spent part of my summers with my grandpa who had a plumbing business on Chelsea Ave before the xxx theater was there, he moved to the Ks side in 1970 or 71, that was a great part of town at onetime.

[@noelfoley7359]

Unfortunately, back in the news yesterday, 2/14/2024.

[@jbenziggy]

I know. Very sad. Send like I was just there!

[@garymckee8857]

I thought Western Auto was a defunct company, the building with the huge Western Auto sign was it their headquarters at one time? Thanks 👍

[@ScottAbgekurtz]

Yes their HQ was in Kansas City. Yes the company has been gone many years. There’re condos in the building now, the city left the sign up because it’s an icon of the skyline.

[@toddgoza3522]

Show the bullet holes they still there my dad showed me when I was a kid

[@redmccoy8633]

One of many good episodes . Keep em coming. Thanx. 😊 Enjoy History.

[@jbenziggy]

Thanks, will do!

[@swansfan6944]

That was very informative and interesting, thanks Jeff. ❤️Jodie 🇦🇺

[@jbenziggy]

Glad you enjoyed it, Jodie! Thanks!

[@canaryphaeochannel]

Thanks for the nice video Jeff!

[@NicolewithouttheH]

I grew up in Kansas City and was always told it was the other doors they came out of (to the left of the clock) There are chunks of stone missing around that doorway from the bullets.

[@jbenziggy]

Well the photos tell a different story.

[@stevemellin5806]

A crazy time to live.......hold on a minute .this is a crazy time to live..... Have a great week

[@jbenziggy]

Tell me about it

[@davidkulczyk678]

poor pretty boy, he had nothing to do with the massacre