THE GEOLOGY OF SIGNBOARD HILL AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE CROWN CENTER COMPLEX

A rock exposure along Main Street on the west side of Signboard Hill near Downtown Kansas City, Missouri was visited for over 50 Years by hundreds of geologists participating in field excursions, or conducting independent research. The Main Street exposure was created in 1913 to provide access to the newly constructed Union Station. The excavation on Main Street divided a north facing hill into two hills. Signboard Hill and Hospital Hill on the east side and Memorial Hill on the west side. The excellent exposure along Main street provided a natural laboratory where geologist could observe, analyze and debate the correlative relationships and the causes of the cyclical repetition in the Pennsylvanian strata of the Central Mid-continent United States. The east side of Signboard Hill was excavated in 1970-71 for construction of the 85 acre multi-million dollar Crown Center Complex, a shopping and retail center. The over 30 m (100 ft.) of strata exposed for a brief period provided additional information that complimented the section on Main Street.