Bryce B. Smith (1878 – May 22, 1962) was the

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

from 1930 to 1940 at the height of power of the

Thomas Pendergast Thomas Joseph Pendergast (July 22, 1872 – January 26, 1945), also known as T. J. Pendergast, was an American political boss who controlled Kansas City and Jackson County, Missouri, from 1925 to 1939. Pendergast only briefly held elected ...

political machine.

Biography

Smith was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. His family moved to Kansas City in the 1880s and founded what would become General Baking Corporation. He served on the

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

from 1920 to 1924. He served as the 16th Grand Master of The Order of DeMolay from 1948 to 1949. He was the second mayor under Kansas City's new

city manager A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city in the council–manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are referred to as the chief executive officer (CEO) or chief administ ...

form of government with

Henry F. McElroy Henry F. McElroy (August 17, 1865 – September 15, 1939) was an American governmnent official. He was the first city manager of Kansas City, Missouri, a position he held during the era of political boss Tom Pendergast. Life and work Henry Franc ...

as City Manager. Although declaring his independence of the Pendergast machine, he was to end up being associated with it. Many of the landmarks of Kansas City were built during his term during what was called the "Ten Year Plan": City Buildings: *

Kansas City City Hall Kansas City City Hall is the official seat of government for the city of Kansas City, Missouri, United States. Located in downtown, it is a 29-story skyscraper with an observation deck. Completed in 1937, the building has a Beaux-Arts and Art ...

which is one of the tallest city halls in the world * Municipal Auditorium *Establishment of University of Kansas City Other Landmark Buildings: *

Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is an art gallery, art museum in Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas City, Missouri, known for its encyclopedic collection of art from nearly every continent and culture, and especially for its extensive collection of A ...

*Jackson County Courthouse *

Kansas City Power and Light Kansas City Power and Light Company was an electric utility company serving the Kansas City metropolitan area. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Great Plains Energy of which it was the biggest component. The company traces its roots to Novem ...

Building Much of the construction was done with Pendergast Ready Mixed Concrete. Lax to non-existent enforcement of alcohol laws was to see the rise of

Kansas City Jazz Kansas City jazz is a style of jazz that developed in Kansas City, Missouri during the 1920s and 1930s, which marked the transition from the structured big band style to the much more improvisational style of bebop. The hard- swinging, bluesy ...

as well as prominent crime events. These include the Kansas City Massacre and a shootout that left four dead at the polls on

Election Day Election day or polling day is the day on which general elections are held. In many countries, general elections are always held on a Saturday or Sunday, to enable as many voters as possible to participate; while in other countries elections ...

in 1934. After Pendergast was sentenced to

Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary The Federal Correctional Institution, Leavenworth is a medium-security federal prison for male inmates in northeast Kansas. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. It also includes ...

for

income tax evasion Tax evasion or tax fraud is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to reduc ...

in 1939, it was discovered that the city was $20 million in debt. Smith made an effort to clean out the Pendergast machine operatives but ultimately resigned on January 5, 1940.

References

Kansas City Public Library biographyBryce Smith resources at Kansas City Public Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Bryce B. 1878 births 1962 deaths 20th-century mayors of places in Missouri Politicians from Indianapolis Mayors of Kansas City, Missouri