The Plaza: "Nichols' Folly"

"Raised by Hercules, Julius Caesar fortified me, with high walls and towers, I was conquered for the king of heaven by Garcí Pérez de Vargas."

Spoiler alert: That quote is not about Kansas City.  Instead it is a popular verse--blending both mythology and history--used to describe Seville, Spain one of Kansas City's sister cities.   It may or may not be well known around town, but Kansas City has 13 "sister cities" (a sister city, we learned, is a formal relationship with municipalities in other countries aimed at fostering long term, local diplomacy).  This relationship with Seville is visually apparent in the topic of the Kansas City Explorer's three part blog on one of the most popular areas in KC: The Country Club Plaza.  Today we'll look at ...
the Plaza's history, architecture, shopping and overall feel.  In the next post, we'll dive into some great local burgers and a bit of the Plaza night life.  Finally, we'll do a little fine-dinning; but in true KC Explorer fashion, we'll make sure to find the best deal in town.  

The vision for the Plaza began in the early 1900s when J.C. Nichols, a young property developer who had grown up in Olathe, had a vision for a residential area just south of downtown KC, with a shopping center acting as a main attraction for the area.  After developing a few residential areas and accumulating enough land for his shopping district, Nichols announced his intended construction of the Country Club Plaza, which was immediately deemed "Nichols' Folly" by local city leaders.  It wasn't long until Nichols proved them wrong. 

His project was unique in a number of ways.  Nichols had devised the first shopping center ever to incorporate the use of automobiles in its infrastructure, which led to the Plaza's ability to evolve with the changing society.  He also envisioned an area that incorporated both shops and offices.  The most unique design behind the Plaza however, was its incorporation of architectural themes Nichols borrowed from his visits to European cities.  Nichols designed the center using Spanish-styled courtyards, red tiled roofs with stucco walls, iron fencing, fountains and a variety of murals and sculptures.  This theme exists on the streets of the Plaza even today and the surrounding community--as we'll see later--has come to identify the integrity of the Plaza's design as an important historic preservation issue. 

This isn't Nichols, but it could have been...

Nichols handpicked the artwork to fit his theme

It doesn't matter where you are on the Plaza, it could be a restaurant, high end clothing store, a local bar; all have a uniquely European aesthetic to their buildings.  Windows are trimmed in mosaic tile, the roofs are made of red tiled shingles, the streets are paved with stone, court yards are placed in between buildings and fountains can be found on many of the streets.

The Kansas City Explorer visited the Plaza on winter's last legs, so we didn't get the full effect of the various fountains--most were turned off to prevent freezing.  However, since Kansas City is the City of Fountains, we'll have to revisit the Plaza when warmer weather approaches.  In fact, a full blog post may be dedicated to the most famous fountains in the City and some trivia about each.  Like the picture above: Do you know who the statue in this fountain depicts? 

The Plaza is also known for some of the City's best shopping.  Stores range from typical places like American Eagle, Express and Pottery Barn to more high end stores.  Unfortunately, shopping is not the KC Explorer's forte... we may have to find a guess blog host (or hostess) to go a bit more in depth on that one.

Interestingly, there has been some recent controversy regarding the Plaza and the integrity of its design.  A local mega-law firm in the City recently proposed a new, high rise office building to occupy a significant amount of Plaza skyline.  The community, unsurprisingly, was not pleased.  After organized community groups protested the new buildings--and the subsequent attempts by the law firm to redesign--the City Plan Commission voted down the new building despite objections by local groups saying the project would create a significant number of jobs for the area.  Take a look at the various plans for the law firm building.

Here's the initial plan that involved razing a typical Plaza building:

Plan A

Here's the plan the law firm came up with when they realized they had made some people pretty upset:

Plan B

And here was the last ditch effort to appease the masses:

Plan C

So what do you think?  Does Plan A, Plan B or Plan C fit with the Plaza community?  Should the City Plan Commission have rejected the project when it would have brought so many jobs to the area?  Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

AND COMING UP NEXT TIME:  The Plaza may be a great place for shopping and for fountains, but do you know where you can get a fantastic burger, made with all local ingredients, served with some local brews?  Tune in next time, and even learn how to pour the brew upside down...