Ward Parkway and Broadway Street
Kansas City, Missouri
COUNTRY CLUB PLAZA is often acknowledged as the nation's first large-scale, auto-centric shopping center. The complex was built on a 55-acre site, located 2.8 miles south of downtown Kansas City, Missouri. It was envisaged as a commercial core for the Country Club District development, which was built by Kansas City's Jessie Clyde ("J.C.") Nichols between 1906 and 1950.
When completed, the Country Club District was reputedly the nation's largest planned community constructed by a single entity. The master plan for COUNTRY CLUB PLAZA was created by Edward Buehler Delk. Boulevards and parks were layed out by George E. Kessler and most structures designed by Edward W. Tanner. A Spanish Colonial Revival motif was used for buildings that was heavily influenced by the architecture of Seville, Spain.
The prospective retail facility, being constructed on land previously devoted to a hog farm and garbage dump, was dubbed "Nichol's Folly." However, soon after its March 1923 dedication, the venue had proved to be an astounding success.
The first structure, housing Chandler's Landscaping & Floral Company, predated the actual shopping center by 6 years. The second was the first specifically built for the complex. It was originally known as the Country Club Plaza Building and then Suydam ["Soo-dam"] Building. Today, it is referred to as the Mill Creek Building).
This was joined by the Triangle Building. By November 1923, twelve stores and services were in operation. These included Hunter Brothers Drugs, Lu Frances Baby Shop, Barker-Hurley Motor Company (a Ford dealership), Flora Michaelis Gifts and a (1,600 square foot) Piggly Wiggly grocery.
The Wolferman's Building, Tower Building and Balcony Building followed in rapid succession. These added tenants to the retail roster, such as The Avon dress shop and a (9,000 square foot) Wolferman's grocery. Several second floor office suites were also leased. The Plaza Theater showed its first feature on October 9, 1928. This grand movie house was soon joined by the J.C. Nichols Building and Plaza Esplanade Building.
In the following decade, new stores opened their doors, such as a Safeway grocery (1932), Kroger grocery (1934) and S.S. Kresge 5 & 10 (1937). The Plaza Medical Building, completed in November 1937, brought Jack Henry men's wear, Lerner's Vogue Shop, Richardson's Shoes and an F. W. Woolworth 5 & 10. Several medical offices occupied the second floor.
Mr. Nichols spared no expense in gracing courts and green space with statuary and fountains. By the 1940s, COUNTRY CLUB PLAZA was revered as America's greatest outdoor art gallery.
Sears joined the tenant roster, with a 5-level (168,000 square foot) store, on November 20, 1947. This store included a freestanding Garden Shop and Auto Center and was the chain's first suburban shopping center location.
KC-based Emery, Bird, Thayer opened a (30,000 square foot) On the Plaza store on March 2, 1950. Harzfeld's, another local specialty retailer, dedicated their (30,000 square foot) On The Plaza unit on April 10, 1954. Emery, Bird, Thayer eventually expanded their PLAZA location. The renewed (72,000 square foot) store was dedicated on October 15, 1962.
Mr. Nichols spared no expense in gracing courts and green space with statuary and fountains. By the 1940s, COUNTRY CLUB PLAZA was revered as America's greatest outdoor art gallery.
Sears joined the tenant roster, with a 5-level (168,000 square foot) store, on November 20, 1947. This store included a freestanding Garden Shop and Auto Center and was the chain's first suburban shopping center location.
KC-based Emery, Bird, Thayer opened a (30,000 square foot) On the Plaza store on March 2, 1950. Harzfeld's, another local specialty retailer, dedicated their (30,000 square foot) On The Plaza unit on April 10, 1954. Emery, Bird, Thayer eventually expanded their PLAZA location. The renewed (72,000 square foot) store was dedicated on October 15, 1962.
Halls (of Hallmark Greeting Cards) opened a (64,000 square foot) store on October 4, 1965. It featured 2 retail levels and 3 floors dedicated to parking, including a rooftop deck. Halls On The Plaza was -by far- the most ornate and expensively-built store in the entire shopping facility. It featured inlaid Lapis floors and Baccarat crystal chandeliers.
Major shopping venues in the vicinity of COUNTRY CLUB PLAZA included WARD PARKWAY CENTER (1962) {4.6 miles southwest, in Kansas City, Missouri}, BANNISTER MALL (1980) {6.6 miles southeast, also in Kansas City, Missouri} and METCALF SOUTH CENTER (1967) {7 miles southwest, in Overland Park, Kansas}.
Emery, Bird, Thayer was shuttered on August 8, 1968. Its space re-opened as Macy's Plaza, a branch of Macy's Kansas City, on September 12, 1968. Sears shut down their PLAZA store in January 1975. The building was repurposed as the Seville Square mini-mall, which opened for business on February 1, 1977. This facility included 4 levels and forty-two tenant spaces. These were filled by high-end boutiques, a restaurant and the Mid-America Cinemas Seville Square 4 multiplex (which occupied the basement floor).
In September 1977, tragedy struck. The adjacent Brush Creek overflowed its banks and inundated COUNTRY CLUB PLAZA with several feet of water. Five people drowned, basements flooded and several stores were destroyed.
A rebuilding effort resulted in a push to make THE PLAZA strictly an upscale shopping venue. Gucci opened a boutique in 1978, followed by Polo / Ralph Lauren, in 1982. Saks Fifth Avenue On The Plaza (assuming a shuttered F.W. Woolworth) was dedicated on August 28, 1982.
Laura Ashley opened its doors in 1983, followed by Bonwit Teller (in a vacated Harzfeld's space), in 1984. Most of the toney tenants did well. However, Bonwit Teller was shuttered in 1990. Saks persevered until its demise, in February 2005.
Meanwhile, Raleigh, North Carolina-based Highwoods Properties had acquired the retail hub in July 1998. By this time, THE PLAZA was the most exclusive shopping venue in either of the Kansas Cities. The complex, now encompassing fourteen blocks, featured forty statues, twelve towers and 180 stores and services.
The Seville Square mini-mall was shuttered in the late 1990s. The building was gutted, with its ground floor divided into retail and restaurant space. The 3 upper floors became part of a state-of-the-art, 14-screen multiplex. Additional auditoriums were installed in an adjacent structure, connected to the main complex via skybridge. The new Cinemax Palace At The Plaza 14 showed its first features on May 2, 1999.
The Plaza Theater, in business since 1928, had operated under the Wesco-Fox Midwest and Dickinson Theatres banners. The facility had been reconfigured as a twin cinema and then as a tri-plex; this known as the Plaza 3 Theatres. The venue shut down in April 1999, with a (21,200 square foot) section opening, as a Restoration Hardware, in the fall of 1999.
Redevelopment and expansion of THE PLAZA continued into the new century. Valencia Place, a 10-story office tower with 80,000 square feet of retail, was completed in January 2000. This was followed by Granada Shops, a refit of the first floor of a parking garage. This project, adding 20,000 square feet of selling space, was completed in 2002.
The circa-1965 Halls On The Plaza store closed for good on August 3, 2014. The building was gutted and a new facade installed. Its (29,000 square foot) first floor was divided into eight tenant spaces and a partial parking deck. The building was renamed Plaza 211. Its first tenant, a relocated Apple Store, opened in August 2016.
In January of that year, THE PLAZA had changed hands. It was acquired by Country Club Plaza KC Partners, a joint venture of Michigan's Taubman Centers and California's Macerich Company. At the time of the transaction, the complex encompassed 804,000 square feet of retail and 468,000 square feet of office suites.
Major shopping venues in the vicinity of COUNTRY CLUB PLAZA included WARD PARKWAY CENTER (1962) {4.6 miles southwest, in Kansas City, Missouri}, BANNISTER MALL (1980) {6.6 miles southeast, also in Kansas City, Missouri} and METCALF SOUTH CENTER (1967) {7 miles southwest, in Overland Park, Kansas}.
Emery, Bird, Thayer was shuttered on August 8, 1968. Its space re-opened as Macy's Plaza, a branch of Macy's Kansas City, on September 12, 1968. Sears shut down their PLAZA store in January 1975. The building was repurposed as the Seville Square mini-mall, which opened for business on February 1, 1977. This facility included 4 levels and forty-two tenant spaces. These were filled by high-end boutiques, a restaurant and the Mid-America Cinemas Seville Square 4 multiplex (which occupied the basement floor).
In September 1977, tragedy struck. The adjacent Brush Creek overflowed its banks and inundated COUNTRY CLUB PLAZA with several feet of water. Five people drowned, basements flooded and several stores were destroyed.
A rebuilding effort resulted in a push to make THE PLAZA strictly an upscale shopping venue. Gucci opened a boutique in 1978, followed by Polo / Ralph Lauren, in 1982. Saks Fifth Avenue On The Plaza (assuming a shuttered F.W. Woolworth) was dedicated on August 28, 1982.
Laura Ashley opened its doors in 1983, followed by Bonwit Teller (in a vacated Harzfeld's space), in 1984. Most of the toney tenants did well. However, Bonwit Teller was shuttered in 1990. Saks persevered until its demise, in February 2005.
Meanwhile, Raleigh, North Carolina-based Highwoods Properties had acquired the retail hub in July 1998. By this time, THE PLAZA was the most exclusive shopping venue in either of the Kansas Cities. The complex, now encompassing fourteen blocks, featured forty statues, twelve towers and 180 stores and services.
The Seville Square mini-mall was shuttered in the late 1990s. The building was gutted, with its ground floor divided into retail and restaurant space. The 3 upper floors became part of a state-of-the-art, 14-screen multiplex. Additional auditoriums were installed in an adjacent structure, connected to the main complex via skybridge. The new Cinemax Palace At The Plaza 14 showed its first features on May 2, 1999.
The Plaza Theater, in business since 1928, had operated under the Wesco-Fox Midwest and Dickinson Theatres banners. The facility had been reconfigured as a twin cinema and then as a tri-plex; this known as the Plaza 3 Theatres. The venue shut down in April 1999, with a (21,200 square foot) section opening, as a Restoration Hardware, in the fall of 1999.
Redevelopment and expansion of THE PLAZA continued into the new century. Valencia Place, a 10-story office tower with 80,000 square feet of retail, was completed in January 2000. This was followed by Granada Shops, a refit of the first floor of a parking garage. This project, adding 20,000 square feet of selling space, was completed in 2002.
The circa-1965 Halls On The Plaza store closed for good on August 3, 2014. The building was gutted and a new facade installed. Its (29,000 square foot) first floor was divided into eight tenant spaces and a partial parking deck. The building was renamed Plaza 211. Its first tenant, a relocated Apple Store, opened in August 2016.
In January of that year, THE PLAZA had changed hands. It was acquired by Country Club Plaza KC Partners, a joint venture of Michigan's Taubman Centers and California's Macerich Company. At the time of the transaction, the complex encompassed 804,000 square feet of retail and 468,000 square feet of office suites.
Seattle's Nordstrom, Incorporated announced plans for a PLAZA store in mid-2018. This would replace a 1998-vintage unit at OAK PARK MALL, in Overland Park, Kansas. The City Plan Commission gave their approval in December. A building housing Capital Grill, Bank of America and auditoriums of the adjacent Cinemark multiplex was demolished to make way for the new Nordstrom. The cafe and bank branch relocated within THE PLAZA.
The 2-level (116,000 square foot) Nordstrom was originally slated to open for business in September 2021. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this store dedication was moved up to sometime in 2023. In a startling turn of events, Nordstrom backed out of the deal in April 2022. The OAK PARK MALL store would remain in operation.
Country Club Plaza achieved its 100th anniversary in 2023. A Centennial Celebration was held between May 23rd and June 4th, which included live music, food, beverages, photo ops, free gifts and other events.
Sources:
The Kansas City Star
The Kansas City Star
"J.C. Nichols & the Shaping of Kansas City: Innovation in Planned & Residential Communities" / William S. Worley
The State Historical Society of Missouri / J.C. Nichols Company Scapbook
preservenet.cornell.edu/publications/Longstreth Branch Store.doc
www.cinematreasures.org
www.halls.com
http://www.kansascityhistory.org
www.buildings.com
www.countryclubplaza.com
The State Historical Society of Missouri / J.C. Nichols Company Scapbook
preservenet.cornell.edu/publications/Longstreth Branch Store.doc
www.cinematreasures.org
www.halls.com
http://www.kansascityhistory.org
www.buildings.com
www.countryclubplaza.com
www.bizjournals.com
https://www.kcur.org
