GM Leeds Manufacturing Plant History (Kansas City) 1928-1988  

My dad worked at the Leeds Assembly plant from October 1961 to 1988. He helped closed the plant and worked there until August 1988. He worked the assembly line, in the paint booth, and maintenance. He worked all three shifts at various times.

My 1970 Chevelle SS Forest Green with white stripes, L34 4spd w/black bench seat interior came from the Leeds plant in Nov. of '69. It was delivered to a dealer in Kittaning PA. northeast of Pittsburgh. First owner was a college student who couldn't afford the gas. I'm the 4th owner.

A lot of big industry was here in KC. GM (Leeds and now the Fairfax Plant), Ford KCAP (where I work), Harley (the factory closed down 7 yrs ago), TWA (gone since 2001)… There was a study years ago that found that for every UAW job that is created it impacts at least 17 people through the ripple effect in the local economy. Ps It would be neat to see some urban explorers document the insides of these old buildings around KC before they get torn down or reused…

I went to General Motors twice once with my dad and once on a field trip back in 1986.

I once owned a 1966 Pontiac Catalina that was built in Kansas City.

My pair of 1960s GM cars were built at the Leeds plant.

Wow, this was excellent. You did a lot of work to put this together and I truly enjoyed it.

As an auto worker myself, it kills me to see these places destroyed.

One thing we need to understand is that this car plant was a anker for all the other car plants in the U.S. Because of their willingness to hire people who suffered from learning disabilities etc...and form classes to aid workers. I believe from the late fifties to around the early seventies. When the rumors started that the Leads Plant would slowly close. Mostly due to the floods and other circumstances. They still helped those workers who still suffered from learning issues find jobs. So even after the plant completely stopped making cars in 1988. GM continue to help workers several years afterwards make a living.

My great granddad was a worker at the Fisher body plant. He participated in the sit down strikes. Very nice video :)

Excellent video.

You might be interested in my story, so I worked on locomotives for a couple years right there. The building we worked in literally was part of the leeds plant, it wasn't connected to the main part but was used as shipping and receiving I immagine. Cause it had 2 train tracks going into it, a small railyard we stored equipment and locomotives on and some other tracks. Helpful for a locomotive business. We'll, that building obviously is extremely old, I could tell working inside it. Here's the juicy part, when I was there the entire leeds plant was still there, but it had a fire the year before that I missed. However, I got to see the entire demolition of it and got tons of photos and videos of it if your interested. You can see the whole inside and everything and you can hear us joking in the background to lol. I also jumped the fence one night I was working late and took some bricks from the rubble as kindof an artifact. By the way that little rail bridge you filmed under for a minute is where we drove right under every day to work lol. Only after they tore the building down and reopened that gate back up. And I used to always hang around on it after work to watch trains and hang with some buddies. Good times!

My dad went to work at Chevrolet Atlanta/Lakewood in 1946/7 and transfered to GM parts in Doraville next door to the BOP plant. I went to work there (Lakewood) for about a year before the Navy in 1967 ish. It was an "interesting" place to work. Me and two friends applied for jobs there after we graduated from high school. The personnel director came out of his office and asked me "does your father know that you are here?" I said no and he said "that's what I figured". He hired all three of us. Chevrolet Atlanta was the location of the first ever UAW strike.

One of my coworkers was a tool and die maker at the GM fairfax plant in the 80s. He said the management at leeds was horrible, and when they shut down leeds they sent workers over to Fairfax and he said it was a mess.

Very interesting thanks

My familys 67 Chevelle 2 door Sport Coupe Marina Blue On Bright Blue rolled outta that same plant in may of 67 car was bought June 12th

Very interesting

Pretty interesting that the king of the muscle cars (aka the Chevelle SS 454) was built in Kansas City Missouri (aka Missouri's largest city).

I can't believe this factory stood 35 years abandoned. Seems all the old GM & Ford factories around where I live were either immediately torn down or converted to other uses.

My Chevy was 1 of the last to come out of Tarrytown...

Factories where shifted overseas, where Union Demands and obsolescence where not big issues

That protest reminded me: Remember when GM conspired with the Michigan legislature, to impose imminent domain to justify demolishing Poletown in Hamtramck. Poletown was a community of 50,000 poor Americans and immigrants. The last stand came in July 1981 when the police pulled the last protesters out of the last church, which was then demolished. A Jewish Cemetary still resides on GM’s Hamtramck property, despite the factory being shut down in 2019.

When they made cars people wanted and that weren't junk.

Lots of comments from people who have or knew someone, my grandfather was at the Flint plant in the 1930s&40s!!! The middle class is losing the battle against corporations!!!!

Does anyone know what the Local UAW number was?

Local 93

I REMEMBER IN 80-82 THE AFTER SCHOOL EVENING SCHOOL BUS WOULD DRIVE THROUGH LEEDS FROM VAN HORN AND THE GM PLANT WAS FULL OF EMPLOYEES….THE NEXT YEAR OR 1983….THE LEEDS PARKING LOT WAS EMPTY….IT WAS EMPTY EVERY SINCE!!!

Sadly it looks like another old GM plant that was modern when it opened, and while it had investments over the years, nothing in what it needed to stay competitive. Gm had far too many of these from plants in Flint to Clark Street on Detroit to Janesville and many others.

Just look.what the overly aggressive uaw demands did for the kc employees. They negotiates themselves right out of their jobs!

Another demise from union greed.