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
''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...
. It was constructed by
Kansas City Power and Light in 1931 as a way to promote new jobs in
Downtown Kansas City
Downtown Kansas City is the central business district (CBD) of Kansas City, Missouri and the Kansas City metropolitan area. It is between the Missouri River in the north, to 31st Street in the south; and from the Kansas–Missouri state line east ...
. Since then, the
Art Deco
Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
building has been a prominent part of Kansas City's
skyline
A skyline is the outline or shape viewed near the horizon. It can be created by a city’s overall structure, or by human intervention in a rural setting, or in nature that is formed where the sky meets buildings or the land.
City skylines ...
. The structure was the tallest building west of the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
upon its completion after succeeding the
Smith Tower
Smith Tower is a skyscraper in the Pioneer Square neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. Completed in 1914, the 38-story, tower is the oldest skyscraper in the city and was among the tallest skyscrapers outside New York City at th ...
until the completion of the
Space Needle
The Space Needle is an observation tower in Seattle, Washington, United States. Considered to be an icon of the city, it has been designated a Seattle landmark. Located in the Lower Queen Anne neighborhood, it was built in the Seattle Center f ...
in 1962. The east façade of the building faces the
Power & Light District (which bears its name), and the building's iconic lantern appears on promotional materials and signage for the district and even Kansas City as a whole.
History
The building was designed by the Kansas City architecture firm of
Hoit, Price and Barnes, which also designed
Municipal Auditorium and
909 Walnut
909 Walnut (formerly Fidelity National Bank & Trust Building, Federal Office Building and 911 Walnut) is a twin-spired, 35-story, residential skyscraper in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri. It was Missouri's tallest apartment building until the c ...
. Rumor for years said the original plans included a twin building to be paired on the immediate west side of the building, but the second tower was never built due to the effects of the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
on local real estate prices. This was debunked in 2013 by local architect Dan Hicks who reviewed plans and interviewed Clarence Kivett, a well known architect working for Hoit, Price and Barnes at the time of the building design. The west side of the building has no windows because it was meant to be a
firewall
Firewall may refer to:
* Firewall (computing), a technological barrier designed to prevent unauthorized or unwanted communications between computer networks or hosts
* Firewall (construction), a barrier inside a building, designed to limit the spre ...
if there was a structure building built immediately next to it, plus the elevator shafts are along that side of the building. The Power and Light Building, at 34 stories, was
Missouri's tallest habitable structure from 1931 until the completion of One U.S. Bank Plaza in
St. Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
in 1976.
Kansas City Power & Light Co. left the building in 1991.
In 2010 Kansas City selected the area adjacent to the Power and Light Building as a potential location for a hotel and convention center, to fulfill a need for the city. However, the city only received two proposals from property developers for a convention hotel at the site. The city considered the two proposals it received in 2011 as lackluster and were considering reopening the bidding process for a different downtown location.
The building lost its last tenant, BNIM, a Kansas City-based architecture and planning firm, on September 2, 2014. The 36-story Power & Light building began a conversion into an apartment tower in October 2014. The project, led by NorthPoint Development of Riverside, which has now been completed includes 210 apartments in the historic tower, with an additional 81 units constructed wrapping around and built above a new 500 stall parking garage serving the building. The building lobby was converted into a premier event space holding up to 500 guests.
The conversion made it Missouri's tallest residential-only building.
Lighting
The Kansas City Power and Light Building is crowned by an ornate Art Deco lantern, which features prismatic glass panels concealing red-orange lights that glow each evening at sunset. Originally, each recessed setback of the building also held multicolor flickering flood lights that dazzled nighttime viewers with the impression of blazing flames.
[The Kansas City Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (1979), ''Kansas City,'' "N° 52: Kansas City Power and Light Building," Kansas City, Missouri: KCAIA, p. 71] Today, LED floodlights rotate through an abundance of colors and dazzle onlookers.
Gallery
KCPL Building at Night.jpg, Power & Light Building at night
1exterior KCPL Bldg Kansas City MO.jpg, Exterior detail
1interior KCPL Bldg Kansas City MO.jpg, Main floor office
2interior KCPL Bldg Kansas City MO.jpg, Light fixture,
main floor office
3interior KCPL Bldg Kansas City MO.jpg, Air vent,
main floor lobby
Power and Light Lobby.jpg, Power and Light lobby under renovation during its transformation into an residential apartment building
View from Power and Light.jpg, View of downtown Kansas City from Power and Light's new apartment units
References
External links
One U.S. Bank Plaza Google Earth Info Power and Light DistrictKansas City Power and Light Website
{{National Register of Historic Places
Art Deco skyscrapers
Skyscrapers in Kansas City, Missouri
Art Deco architecture in Missouri
Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Missouri
National Register of Historic Places in Kansas City, Missouri
Residential skyscrapers in Missouri
Office buildings completed in 1930
Downtown Kansas City
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