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 district ...

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the List of United States cities by populat ...

. 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 Unit ...

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 skylin ...

. The structure was the tallest building west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest Drainage system (geomorphology), drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson B ...

upon its completion after succeeding the Smith Tower 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 Cente ...

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 con ...

. 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 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 District

Kansas 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 Evergy