Apartment 7C
Owners past
JACK and KATHERINE LORIE RIEGER
Best known dates at The Sophian, 1952-78
Jack and Katherine were from storied families in Kansas City and its Jewish community.
Jack’s grandfather, Jacob, emigrated from Goritz, Austria/Hungary in 1877. Jacob founded J. Rieger & Co Distillery (1887) in West Bottoms, across from the Livestock Exchange. In 1900, Jacob turned over company to his son, Alexander (Jack’s dad). Alexander built the Rieger Hotel near the new Union Station in 1915. When Prohibition came, the distillery was closed (1919) and the hotel was sold (early 1920s). It has been revived since, by Ryan Maybee, Dave Pickerell, with good cheer from Andy Rieger, Jacob's great, great, great grandson.
After their glory days in distilling, the Rieger family moved to banking. Following his dad's and brother's footsteps, Jack built a career in banking, ultimately retiring as vice president of Mercantile Bank & Trust.
Katherine’s family were major KC figures. Her father, Dr Alvin Lorie, was a prominent proponent of developing a Jewish hospital, and became the first chief of staff for Menorah Hospital. Abraham Sophian would become the second chief of staff. Katherine’s uncle, Jacob Lorie, founded the Jewish Community Center, was president of B’nai Jehudah, and was one of the founding members of the Jewish Anti-Defamation League. He was also a member of the All Souls Unitarian Church, per his KC Times obituary.
Katherine was a major force in social welfare advocacy, was president of the Missouri Association for Social Welfare, and among other things lead a major study on the need for housing, especially for working women.
Jack’s older brother, Oscar Rieger, also lived in The Sophian, in the 1940’s (maybe in Apt 8F).
1923 original floor plan: "C" stack
FLOOR PLAN CHANGES OVER THE YEARS
Like the apartments of the “A” stack, the most significant changes in the “C” stack apartments are how the owners have handled the “service” side of the apartment and the second bedroom.
The photos shown below are both of the same apartment, “3C.” Rather than change of layout, these photos show different furnishings and art. Apartment "3C" has the second bedroom and sunroom joined, with large openings to the living room.
interiors Past | Apartment 3C
(2020)
Photos from realtor site.
interiors Past | Apartment 3C
(2013)
Owner DAVID JIMENEZ
Dates in residence at The Sophian 2010-13
Architectural Digest profiled David Jimenez’s apartment: “A Historic Beaux Arts Landmark in Kansas Becomes an Elegant Apartment,” by Patricia Shackelford, photography by Joshua McHugh. First published April 2013 issue. Re-posted in online Archive, February 7, 2017.
