The History

Bauer Machine Works, Co. is organized.

Bauer Machine Works, Co. is incorporated.

The two story brick building known as The Bauer Machine Works is constructed. The Bauer becomes renowned for their manufacture of gasoline engines. A.F. Bauer is the President and Treasurer of The Bauer from 1903-1916.

The Bauer Machine Works gasoline engines are first mentioned in farming and manufacturing catalogs.

The third floor of The Bauer (the current Bauer Event Space) is added to the original structure.

This year marks the last year of The Bauer Machine Works, Co. as a purely industrial space and manufacturer of gasoline engines.

The Bauer makes its debut as a building for the arts. The Yale Theatre Supply, Co. will call The Bauer home for only a short time.

Continuing a theme of arts-related business, The Bauer opens its doors to the Standard Film Company, the U.S. Army Motion Picture Services and the K.C. Film Board of Trade, among other theatre and film distribution facilities.

In the early 1930s, The Bauer officially becomes part of Old Film Row.

From the late 1940s to today, The Bauer maintains its arts mission including theatre supply companies, printing and publishing houses and graphic arts. In 1947, Walt Disney’s studio was located right across the street!

During these decades, The Bauer continued to be used as a multi-purpose space for both the arts and industrial business. Some years the building was left vacant.

The Bauer houses a printing press company and graphic arts business.

The vision for the Crossroads Arts District begins to form. The Bauer establishes itself as a cornerstone of that vision in 2003.

The Bauer peaks as an arts space this year with the opening of The Arts Incubator of Kansas City comprised of artists, dealers, and galleries.

One of the current owners of The Bauer owned an entertainment and special effects company at The Bauer called Good Friends Entertainment: Motion Pictures Special Effects.

The Bauer, as it has transitioned throughout the decades, remains true to its historical frame as a space for art and industry. Artist studios, retail, beauty, design, an event space, technology and woodworking are the heart of The Bauer today.