The Workhouse castle, also called “Brant’s Castle,” after Major Alfred Brant, Superintendent of the Kansas City Jail, was originally built in 1897 to in-prison petty criminals. It may look like a royal castle, but it was the grand new city workhouse jail, built in the castellated style. Major Brant suggested a substantial city building could certainly look like a castle and why not if it costs no more. The designs were drawn by City Architect Hogg and thus a beautiful grand structure for small time offenders was erected at 21st and Vine Streets near downtown Kansas City. The new work house jail was built to replace the old jail that was across the street. The inmates quarried the limestone from an on-site quarry. At the Workhouse Castle, the prisoners were required to work. Female inmates sewed army uniforms while men labored for the public works department. In 1918 or 1924 according to different sources, the jail was closed and was reused for different city needs including a marine training camp and a city storage facility. In 1972, the structure was abandoned by the city and openings were bricked up and floors torn out. The castle is a ruin of the former building, with no roof or floors.