Sherman W. Dreiseszun (May 23, 1922 – December 3, 2007) was a

banker A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

and

real estate developer Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of developed land or parcels to other ...

who built

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 ...

's two tallest buildings as well as several shopping malls throughout the

Midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

Early life

Dreiseszun was the son of

Polish Jewish The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Jews, Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the long pe ...

immigrants. He was born at 1734 Prospect Avenue in the

18th and Vine 18th and Vine is a Neighborhoods of Kansas City, Missouri, neighborhood of Kansas City, Missouri. It is internationally recognized as a historical point of origin of jazz music and a historic hub of African-American businesses. Along with Basin ...

Jazz District of

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

. He served in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

as a crewmember on

B-17 The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engined heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). A fast and high-flying bomber, the B-17 dropped more bombs than any other aircraft during ...

planes. In 1946, he and nephew Frank Morgan (four years his junior) formed a partnership Vic-Gene Manufacturing Inc. to sell women's wear to

-area stores.

Shopping malls and banking empire

In the 1960s, it branched into building shopping malls opening the French Market in

Overland Park, Kansas Overland Park ( ) is the largest city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States, and the List of cities in Kansas#Highest population listing, second-most populous city in the state of Kansas. It is one of four principal city, principal cities in ...

. In 1964, they took over a struggling effort to build the East Hills Mall in

St. Joseph, Missouri St. Joseph is a city in and county seat of Buchanan County, Missouri, Buchanan County, Missouri, United States. A small portion of the city extends north into Andrew County, Missouri, Andrew County. Located on the Missouri River, it is the princ ...

They operated under the name of MD Management. In 1967, they opened Metcalf South Shopping Center which was the first large indoor mall in the Kansas City area. They would also establish a banking network Mission Bank in

Mission, Kansas Mission is a city in Johnson County, Kansas, Johnson County, Kansas, United States, and part of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 9,954. History An Indian mission ...

, Metro North State Bank in Kansas City, Missouri, Valley View State Bank in Overland Park Industrial State Bank in

Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City (commonly known as KCK) is the third-most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As ...

and Security Bank of Kansas City as well as Merchants Bank in Kansas City. The banks would finance their expansion. Some of the projects would be done in conjunction with Copaken, White & Blitt.

Rebuilding the Kansas City skyline

In addition to building suburban shopping centers, they made their mark with the construction of Kansas City's two tallest buildings—the

Town Pavilion 1111 Main is a 38-story, skyscraper at 1111 Main Street on the northeast corner of 12th and Main Streets in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, around the corner from Oppenstein Brothers Memorial Park. The tower occupies the former site of several ...

in 1986 and One Kansas City Place in 1987. The buildings changed the landscape of downtown Kansas City where the

Kansas City Power and Light Building The Kansas City Power and Light Building (also called the KCP&L Building and the Power and Light Building) is a landmark skyscraper located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri. It was constructed by Kansas City Power and Light President and Ediso ...

had stood as the tallest since 1931. One Kansas City Place is twenty one feet taller than the

Gateway Arch The Gateway Arch is a monument in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Clad in stainless steel and built in the form of a weighted catenary Catenary arch, arch, it is the world's tallest arch and List of tallest buildings in Missouri, Missouri's ...

. In 1985 and 1991, he and Morgan were listed on the ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' list of richest Americans with more than $500 million in assets.

Collapse

Their empire took big hits in the early 1990s when their banks faltered in the

Savings and loan crisis The savings and loan crisis of the 1980s and 1990s (commonly dubbed the S&L crisis) was the failure of approximately a third of the savings and loan associations (S&Ls or thrifts) in the United States between 1986 and 1995. These thrifts were b ...

. They were charged with bid rigging for leasing its office space. Morgan died in 1993 proclaiming his innocence. The

FDIC The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is a State-owned enterprises of the United States, United States government corporation supplying deposit insurance to depositors in American commercial banks and savings banks. The FDIC was cr ...

prohibited Dreiseszun from being involved with the banks. In 1996, he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges and paid a $375,000 fine and would regain control of many of his banks via the Valley View Financial Group.

Personal life

In 1956, he married Irene Friedman; they had three children, Helene Dreiseszun Abrahams, Richard Dreiseszun, and Barbara Dreiseszun. He was president for life at Kehilath Israel Synagogue in Overland Park and was active with Jewish philanthropies.

Shopping malls

*Buckingham Square Mall (now The Gardens on Havana),

Aurora, Colorado Aurora (, ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city located in Arapahoe County, Colorado, Arapahoe, Adams County, Colorado, Adams, and Douglas County, Colorado, Douglas List of counties in Colorado, counti ...

* Crestview Hills Mall,

Crestview Hills, Kentucky Crestview Hills is a home rule-class city in Kenton County, Kentucky, in the United States. The population was 3,246 at the 2020 census. Crestview Hills is located in Northern KY. Interstate 275 travels through the city. Interstate 71/75 lie ...

* East Hills Mall in

Saint Joseph, Missouri St. Joseph is a city in and county seat of Buchanan County, Missouri, Buchanan County, Missouri, United States. A small portion of the city extends north into Andrew County, Missouri, Andrew County. Located on the Missouri River, it is the princ ...

(1965) *French Market,

* Metcalf South Shopping Center,

(1967-2014) *

Metro North Mall Metro North Mall was a mall located at 400 NW Barry Road, in Kansas City, Missouri, United States Metro North opened in 1976 and was the only enclosed mall located north of the Missouri River in the Kansas City metro area, as well as being th ...

(1976-2014) *

Oak Park Mall Oak Park Mall is a super-regional shopping mall located in Overland Park, Kansas, containing over 180 stores in a covered area of . It is the largest mall in the Kansas City Metro Area as well as the entire state of Kansas, and is split into two ...

(1975) * Southwyck Shopping Center,

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in Lucas County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the western end of Lake Erie along the Maumee River. Toledo is the List of cities in Ohio, fourth-most populous city in Ohio and List of United Sta ...

(1972-2008) Demolished in 2009 *West Main Mall,

Kalamazoo, Michigan Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 73,598. It is the principal city of the Kalamazoo–Portage metropolitan are ...

* Westminster Mall,

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

(1977-2011)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dreiseszun, Sherman 1922 births 2007 deaths Businesspeople from Kansas City, Missouri American businesspeople in real estate American bankers American people of Polish-Jewish descent United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II 20th-century American philanthropists 20th-century American businesspeople