Kansas City in Platte County, Missouri — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
The Country Club Plaza
Like Cinderella, Kansas City’s famous Country Club Plaza wasn’t always a glittering princess. In the late 1890s, the area, known as Brush Creek Valley, was still a marshland populated by beavers and foxes, and tread only by fur trappers, Native Americans and hardy settlers.
It’s amazing that anyone could ever see it as anything more than a swamp, but one man did. His name was J.C. Nichols. Born in Olathe, Kansas, in 1880, Nichols was blessed with the soul of an entrepreneur. He worked from the age of eight, and while still in college, he and a friend earned enough money to travel to Europe.
It was there that his vision of the Country Club Plaza began to take shape. Nichols’ bicycle tours took him through bustling marketplaces and towns filled with Old World charm, and he was especially entranced with the colorful tiled plazas of Spain. It was an inspiration that would one day lead to Nichols’ developing his famed Country Club Plaza.
When Plaza development finally began in 1922, the design included buildings with Spanish-style tiled roofs, ornate towers and courtyards. Nichols handpicked works of art to adorn the Plaza’s streets and sidewalks, including sculptures, fountains, wrought iron, and breathtaking tiled murals brought over from Europe.
The Plaza became known, and remains known, as the place for setting styles and trends. In fact, the permanent wave was introduced in a Plaza beauty salon. The Plaza holiday lights tradition began, in 1925, when a single strand of lights was first hung to adorn the buildings. Today’s celebration features more than 200,000 lights. At holiday time and throughout the year, the Plaza remains one of Kansas City’s most cherished destinations.
Erected by Kansas City International Airport. (Marker Number B4.)
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Entertainment • Industry & Commerce. A significant historical year for this entry is 1880.
Location. 39° 18.883′ N, 94° 42.325′ W. Marker is in Kansas City, Missouri, in Platte County. Marker is at Passenger Kiosk B4, in Economy Parking Lot B, at Kansas City International Airport, 601 Brasilia Avenue. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Kansas City MO 64153, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Mouse Tale (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Hale: The Firepole (about 400 feet away); Happy Trails (about 400 feet away); Home of BBQ (about 500 feet away); The Liberty Memorial (about 600 feet away); Atkins Gift (approx. 0.2 miles away); The American Royal (approx. 0.2 miles away); Tribal Heritage (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Kansas City.
More about this marker. The Economy Parking Lots' passenger kiosks each have unique historical markers and flashy artwork to help passengers remember where they parked.
Also see . . .
1. History of Country Club Plaza. Website homepage (Submitted on June 6, 2011, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.)
2. Who Was J.C. Nichols?. Kansas City Public Radion website entry:
The Mixed Legacy Of The Man Whose Name Could Be Taken Off Kansas City's Most Famous Fountain (Submitted on November 25, 2022, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York.)
3. Images of Country Club Plaza. (Submitted on June 6, 2011, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.)
Credits. This page was last revised on November 25, 2022. It was originally submitted on June 6, 2011, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania. This page has been viewed 561 times since then and 13 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on June 6, 2011, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.