Country Club Plaza
Encyclopedia
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, USA. It was the first shopping center in the world designed to accommodate shoppers arriving by automobile. The 55 acre (223,000 m²) site is about four miles (6.44 km) south of downtown
Downtown Kansas City
Downtown Kansas City is the central business district of Kansas City, Missouri and the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. It is located between the Missouri River in the north, to 31st Street in the south; and from the Kansas–Missouri state line east to Troost Avenue as defined by officials of the...
, between 45th and 51st streets to the north and south and between Broadway and Madison Street to the east and west. The Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
state line is one mile (1.6 km) to the west. Established in 1922 by J. C. Nichols and designed architecturally after Seville, Spain, the Plaza comprises high-end retail establishments, restaurants, and entertainment venues, as well as offices.http://www.countryclubplaza.com/About-Us/History The neighborhoods surrounding the Plaza consist of apartment buildings and upscale houses, especially those of the Country Club District
Country Club District
The Country Club District is the name of a group of neighborhoods comprising a historic upscale residential district in Kansas City, Missouri, and Johnson County, Kansas, USA, developed by noted real estate developer J.C. Nichols. The district was developed in stages between 1906 and 1950...
built along Ward Parkway
Ward Parkway
Ward Parkway is a boulevard in Kansas City, Missouri near the Kansas-Missouri state line. Ward Parkway begins at Brookside Boulevard on the eastern edge of the Country Club Plaza and continues westward along Brush Creek as U.S. Route 56 until it turns southward across the creek just before the...
on the Plaza's southern and southwestern side. The Country Club Plaza is named in the Project for Public Spaces
Project for Public Spaces
Project for Public Spaces is a nonprofit organization based in New York dedicated to creating and sustaining public places that build communities. Planning and design rooted in the community form the cornerstone of PPS’s work. Building on the techniques of William H...
' list 60 of the World's Great Places.
History
The Country Club Plaza was named for the associated Country Club DistrictCountry Club District
The Country Club District is the name of a group of neighborhoods comprising a historic upscale residential district in Kansas City, Missouri, and Johnson County, Kansas, USA, developed by noted real estate developer J.C. Nichols. The district was developed in stages between 1906 and 1950...
, the neighborhood developed by J.C. Nichols which surrounded the Kansas City Country Club
Kansas City Country Club
The Kansas City Country Club, founded in 1896, is a country club in Mission Hills, Kansas, USA, an affluent suburb of Kansas City, Missouri. It is the club for which the Country Club District and the Country Club Plaza of Kansas City are named...
(now Loose Park
Loose Park
Loose Park is the third largest park in Kansas City. It is located at 51st Street and Wornall Road. The park is home to a lake, a shelter house, Civil War markers, tennis courts, a water park, picnic areas and a Rose Garden...
). It is situated at the northern terminus of Ward Parkway
Ward Parkway
Ward Parkway is a boulevard in Kansas City, Missouri near the Kansas-Missouri state line. Ward Parkway begins at Brookside Boulevard on the eastern edge of the Country Club Plaza and continues westward along Brush Creek as U.S. Route 56 until it turns southward across the creek just before the...
, a boulevard known for its wide, manicured median lined with fountains and statuary that traverses the Country Club District. J.C. Nichols selected the location carefully to provide residents with a direct route to the Plaza along Ward Parkway.
Edward Buehler Delk
Edward Buehler Delk was a prominent architect who designed many landmark buildings in the Midwest and Southwest regions of The United States.Delk was born in 22 Sep 1885 Schoharie, New York. He graduated from University of Pennsylvania in 1907...
to design the new shopping center. The Plaza opened in 1923 to immediate success, and it has lasted with little interruption since that year. New Urbanist
New urbanism
New Urbanism is an urban design movement, which promotes walkable neighborhoods that contain a range of housing and job types. It arose in the United States in the early 1980s, and has gradually continued to reform many aspects of real estate development, urban planning, and municipal land-use...
land developer Andres Duany
Andrés Duany
Andrés Duany is an American architect and urban planner.Duany was born in New York City but grew up in Cuba until 1960. He attended The Choate School and received his undergraduate degree in architecture and urban planning from Princeton University...
noted in Community Builder: The Life & Legacy of J.C. Nichols that the Country Club Plaza has had the longest life of any planned shopping center in the history of the world. One of the oldest stores on the plaza is the Jack Henry Clothing company, which was founded in 1931.
For its first four decades, the Plaza combined some higher-end shops, such as Harzfeld's
Harzfeld's
Harzfeld's was a Kansas City, Missouri-based department store chain specializing in women's and children's high-end apparel.-History:The company was founded in 1891, as "Parisian Cloak Company" by Siegmund Harzfeld and partner Ferdinand Siegel. Harzfeld served as president until succeeded by...
, with a mix of more mainstream retailers such as Sears and Woolworth's
F. W. Woolworth Company
The F. W. Woolworth Company was a retail company that was one of the original American five-and-dime stores. The first successful Woolworth store was opened on July 18, 1879 by Frank Winfield Woolworth in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, as "Woolworth's Great Five Cent Store"...
, as well such quotidian enterprises as a bowling alley, movie theater, and a grocery store to serve the daily needs of residents of the district. From around 1970, competition from newer suburban shopping malls led management to reposition the Plaza with luxury hotels such as the Ritz-Carlton
Ritz-Carlton
The Ritz-Carlton is a brand of luxury hotels and resorts with 75 properties located in major cities and resorts in 24 countries worldwide...
Hotel, boutiques, higher end chain restaurants, and upscale retailers including Tiffany & Co.
Tiffany & Co.
Tiffany & Co. is an American jewelry and silverware company. As part of its branding, the company is strongly associated with its Tiffany Blue , which is a registered trademark.- History :...
, Gucci
Gucci
The House of Gucci, better known simply as Gucci , is an Italian fashion and leather goods label, part of the Gucci Group, which is owned by French company PPR...
, FAO Schwarz, Saks Fifth Avenue
Saks Fifth Avenue
Saks Fifth Avenue is a luxury American specialty store owned and operated by Saks Fifth Avenue Enterprises , a subsidiary of Saks Incorporated. It competes in the high-end specialty store market in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, i.e. 'the 3 B's' Bergdorf, Barneys, Bloomingdale's and Lord & Taylor...
, Macy's
Macy's
Macy's is a U.S. chain of mid-to-high range department stores. In addition to its flagship Herald Square location in New York City, the company operates over 800 stores in the United States...
, Coach Inc., Bonwit Teller
Bonwit Teller
Bonwit Teller was a department store in New York City founded by Paul Bonwit in 1895 at Sixth Avenue and 18th Street. In 1897 Edmund D. Teller was admitted to the partnership and the store moved to 23rd Street, East of Sixth Avenue...
, The Sharper Image
The Sharper Image
The Sharper Image is an American product brand, formerly associated with a defunct retail company, now licensed for use on consumer electronics and gift products....
and Halls
Halls (department store)
Halls is the department store division of Kansas City, Missouri-based Hallmark Cards, consisting of two specialty department store locations — one adjoining Hallmark corporate headquarters and downtown Kansas City in the city's Crown Center commercial complex, the other in the city's high-end...
.http://www.countryclubplaza.com/About-Us/About-the-Plaza On September 12, 1977, a major flood of Brush Creek caused severe damage to the Plaza and resulted in a number of deaths. The flood prompted a vast renovation and revitalization of the area that has allowed it not only to survive but to thrive.
In 1998, the J.C. Nichols Company merged with Raleigh, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
-based real estate investment trust Highwoods Properties, who now runs the Country Club Plaza.http://www.highwoods.com/HIWMain/
Competing claims
The Country Club Plaza is generally credited as the first regional shopping centerShopping mall
A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...
designed for automobile use. Other shopping centers, however, have been the subject of competing claims often based on different definitions. Roland Park Shopping Center (1907) in Baltimore, a small six-store strip, has been credited as the "world's first shopping center" by Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
. Suburban Square
Suburban Square
Suburban Square is a shopping center located in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, United States, in the Philadelphia area. The center opened in 1928, and is notable as one of the earliest shopping centers in the United States...
(1928) in the Philadelphia area was previously credited by Guinness as first, though clearly predated by Country Club Plaza. Market Square
Market Square (Lake Forest, Illinois)
Market Square is a shopping center located in Lake Forest, Illinois, United States, in the Chicago metropolitan area. Opened in 1916, it is notable as one of the earliest planned shopping centers, and is often cited as the first planned shopping center in the United States.Although Country Club...
(1916) in Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
was a planned central retail district in an already developed area. And Highland Park Village
Highland Park Village
Highland Park Village is an upscale shopping mall located at the southwest corner of Mockingbird Lane and Preston Road in Highland Park, Texas and was the first self-contained shopping center in America. The Highland Park Village was declared a National Historic Landmark in 2000.-History:Mr....
(1931) in Texas is generally credited as the first "self-contained" shopping center, i.e., where the stores were turned inward instead of along planned cross streets.
Layout and use
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
Path of Gold streetlights. Other works of art celebrate the classics, nature, and historical American themes such as westward expansion
Manifest Destiny
Manifest Destiny was the 19th century American belief that the United States was destined to expand across the continent. It was used by Democrat-Republicans in the 1840s to justify the war with Mexico; the concept was denounced by Whigs, and fell into disuse after the mid-19th century.Advocates of...
.
Although the Plaza was designed and built to accommodate visitors arriving by automobile, it is unlike modern shopping malls with sprawling parking lots: parking is discreetly concealed in multilevel parking garages beneath and behind the shops, or hidden on the rooftops of buildings. Thus the Plaza does not suffer from the sprawl that afflicts modern shopping centers, and this design makes it friendly to pedestrians.
The Plaza was also the first shopping center to use the percentage lease, where rents are based on a percentage of the gross receipts of tenants. This concept was novel at the time when J.C. Nichols
Jesse Clyde Nichols
Jesse Clyde Nichols , better known as J. C. Nichols, was a prominent developer of commercial and residential real estate in Kansas City. He was born in Olathe, Kansas, attended the University of Kansas and Harvard University...
invented it, but it is now a standard practice in commercial leases. The fountain with four equestrian statues, designed by Henri-Léon Gréber
Henri-Léon Gréber
Henri Léon Greber was a French sculptor. His son was the architect Jacques Gréber. Active in the United States of America, he produced a fountain sculpture of 4 equestrian statues for Harbor Hill and the copy of The Kiss in the Philadelphia Rodin Museum.-See also:*Monument...
, was purchased from a Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
Gold Coast Estate, Harbor Hill
Harbor Hill
Harbor Hill was a spectacular Long Island mansion built from 1899-1902 in Roslyn, New York, commissioned by Clarence Hungerford Mackay. It was designed by McKim, Mead, and White, with Stanford White supervising the project...
.
Several companies are based in the Country Club Plaza area, including American Century Investments
American Century Investments
American Century Investments is a privately-controlled and independent investment management firm that has focused on delivering superior investment performance and building client relationships for more than 50 years. Its headquarters are located at 4500 Main in Kansas City, Missouri, near the...
, Russell Stover Candies
Russell Stover Candies
Russell Stover Candies, Inc. is a supplier of candy, chocolate, and confections in the United States. They are headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri.- Ice cream years :...
, Inergy and Gates Bar-B-Q. The Kansas City Board of Trade
Kansas City Board of Trade
The Kansas City Board of Trade , is an American commodity futures and options exchange regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission...
is also located in the district.
Plaza Lights
In 1925, a traditionTradition
A tradition is a ritual, belief or object passed down within a society, still maintained in the present, with origins in the past. Common examples include holidays or impractical but socially meaningful clothes , but the idea has also been applied to social norms such as greetings...
began with a single strand of 16 colored lights
Christmas lighting technology
Christmas lighting technology has been subject to considerable development and variation since the replacement of candles by electric lights.-Incandescent Christmas Lights:Incandescent light bulbs have been commonly used in Christmas lights until recently...
placed above a doorway in the Country Club Plaza to celebrate Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
.http://kansascity.about.com/od/annualevents/p/PlazaLights.htm Through the years, the number of lights have increased annually. The first official "Plaza Lighting Ceremony
Ceremony
A ceremony is an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion. The word may be of Etruscan origin.-Ceremonial occasions:A ceremony may mark a rite of passage in a human life, marking the significance of, for example:* birth...
" took place in 1930. On Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. In Canada, Thanksgiving falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the...
night, tens of thousands of people visit the Country Club to enjoy the local entertainment
Entertainment
Entertainment consists of any activity which provides a diversion or permits people to amuse themselves in their leisure time. Entertainment is generally passive, such as watching opera or a movie. Active forms of amusement, such as sports, are more often considered to be recreation...
/performance
Performance
A performance, in performing arts, generally comprises an event in which a performer or group of performers behave in a particular way for another group of people, the audience. Choral music and ballet are examples. Usually the performers participate in rehearsals beforehand. Afterwards audience...
s (including celebrities
Celebrity
A celebrity, also referred to as a celeb in popular culture, is a person who has a prominent profile and commands a great degree of public fascination and influence in day-to-day media...
) and to watch the electric light
Electric light
Electric lights are a convenient and economic form of artificial lighting which provide increased comfort, safety and efficiency. Most electric lighting is powered by centrally-generated electric power, but lighting may also be powered by mobile or standby electric generators or battery systems...
s (including fireworks
Fireworks
Fireworks are a class of explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. The most common use of a firework is as part of a fireworks display. A fireworks event is a display of the effects produced by firework devices...
) to initiate the Christmas season.http://www.nbcactionnews.com/dpp/sports/football/chiefs/chiefs-top-running-backs-will-flip-the-switch-thanksgiving-night-at-the-plaza-lighting-ceremonyhttp://www.kcpl.com/community/commun_plazalights.html A special guest or celebrity "flips the switch" each year.http://www.kansascity.com/2010/11/23/2465546/lights-fireworks-and-music-kc.html In its 81st year (as of 2010), the Country Club Plaza’s "Season of Lights" is a Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
winter trademark
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
and one of the city's longest/oldest traditions.http://www.kansascity.com/2010/11/25/2471885/thousands-on-the-plaza-for-annual.html According to sources, it's considered the most spectacular holiday lighting display in the nation
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.http://www.visitkc.com/things-to-do/attractions/plaza-season-lights/index.aspx More than 80 miles of Christmas lights accentuate every dome
Dome
A dome is a structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. Dome structures made of various materials have a long architectural lineage extending into prehistory....
, tower
Tower
A tower is a tall structure, usually taller than it is wide, often by a significant margin. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires....
and window of the Plaza’s Spanish-influenced
Spanish architecture
Spanish architecture refers to architecture carried out in any area in what is now modern-day Spain, and by Spanish architects worldwide. The term includes buildings within the current geographical limits of Spain before this name was given to those territories...
entertainment district
Entertainment district
An entertainment district is used to describe an area that offers several forms of entertainment or many entertainment venues.Specific entertainment districts include:* Calgary Entertainment District, Canada* Granville Entertainment District, Canada...
, featuring more than 150 shops and restaurants.http://www.experiencekc.com/shopping.htmlhttp://www.kansascityic.com/ The lights currently shine nightly from 5 p.m. until 3 a.m. into mid-January of the following year (ie. January 17 in 2011).http://www.kctv5.com/news/21585817/detail.html The 1-2 hour ceremony is free and broadcasts live
Live television
Live television refers to a television production broadcast in real-time, as events happen, in the present. From the early days of television until about 1958, live television was used heavily, except for filmed shows such as I Love Lucy and Gunsmoke. Video tape did not exist until 1957...
on local television
KCTV
KCTV channel 5 is the CBS-affiliated television station for the Kansas City Metropolitan Area that is licensed to the Missouri side. Owned by the Meredith Corporation, the station is sister to MyNetworkTV affiliate KSMO-TV and the two share facilities on Shawnee Mission Parkway KCTV channel 5 is...
.http://kansascity.about.com/od/annualevents/p/PlazaLights.htm A century-old tradition of holiday lights and seasonal attractions also extends into neighboring
Neighbourhood
A neighbourhood or neighborhood is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town or suburb. Neighbourhoods are often social communities with considerable face-to-face interaction among members. "Researchers have not agreed on an exact definition...
Crown Center.http://www.visitkc.com/things-to-do/attractions/crown-center-tree/index.aspx
The song "Christmas In Kansas City", sung by Brad Millison and recorded in 1985, got considerable airplay
Airplay
* Airplay is the amount of time a song is played on the radio.It may also refer to:* AirPlay, an audio & video streaming technology from Apple Inc.* Airplay , Foster & Graydon music project from 1980* Citroën C1, Citroën C1 Airplay...
on KC radio (KUDL) during the holiday season. It expresses the sights-and-sounds of the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City during Christmastime.http://buychristmasgiftsonline.org/brad-millison-christmas-in-kansas-city.html
Plaza Art Fair
In 2011, The Country Club Plaza celebrated it's 80th annual Plaza Art Fair featuring over 240 artists on display from September 23rd through September 25th.Building Controversy
A 2010 proposal by the law firm of Polsinelli-Shughart to construct an eight-story building was abandoned in April 2011 following strong community resistance objecting to changing the low rise character of the Plaza and the fact that it would be a modern tower as opposed to keeping the Spanish architecture character. It would have been located at 47th & Broadway.See also
- List of neighborhoods in Kansas City, Missouri
- List of shopping malls in the United States
- List of largest shopping malls in the United States
External links
- Country Club Plaza - Official Website
- Nichols' Folly
- Great Public Spaces | Project for Public Spaces (PPS) - Country Club Plaza
- Ward Parkway: a Grand American Avenue
- Planning for Permanence -- the speeches of J.C. Nichols