Urban Explorers: Pickwick Plaza

Our Urban Explorers Pickwick Tour is back for the final round of the tour.  The renovation is complete and Historic Kansas City would like to invite our members back for a tour of the completed spaces.  This tour is open to members only and tickets are $20 each. Not a member? You can join online on our membership page. If you are unsure about the status of your membership, please send us an email at hkcf@historickansascity.org.

To get a sense of what the Pickwick Plaza Hotel once was, you might take a look at "In Cold Blood," the movie where Robert Blake played the infamous murderer Perry Smith. One of the earliest scenes was shot in the lobby.  From the national register listing, "The firm owned by Thomas and Edward Wight was responsible for numerous buildings in the early 20th century in Kansas City. Wight and Wight became a leading firm in the city through its work in the Neo-Classical tradition. The Wight brothers had received training in Europe and were thus exposed to the magnificent, classical architecture of the Victorian period. 

Situated near the seat of government, the Pickwick Hotel could bill itself as being the place to stay when conducting official business in Kansas City. The Pickwick Office Building seemed as overflow space for county and federal government offices over the years. The Immigration and Naturalization Service. FCC, ICC. FDA and Navy all called the Pickwick home while the new federal building was constructed across the street in the late 1930's. As development continued in the surrounding downtown area, the bustle shifted southwest, away from the river towards the developing residential and service zones, leaving the Pickwick Complex on the edge of the core. 

Operating throughout World War II and early postwar years, the Pickwick Complex participated in the growth of Kansas City, housing both workers and travelers; while the bus station operated by Greyhound served the transportation needs of the urban population. The Bus Terminal, billed as one of, if not the, largest terminal west of the Mississippi River, accommodated 4,433 scheduled departures monthly in the early 1950's. In addition to the original buildings, an 11 floor penthouse was constructed atop the hotel. It was used by radio stations KMBC and WHB, which broadcast from that location until late 1968.

By the 1960's, the flight of the population to the suburbs and the ongoing shift from public to private transportation ensured that downtown Kansas City would suffer from the same decline as other inner cities. Many downtown buildings were demolished or substantially renovated throughout the 1950-70's, leaving relatively few pre-war buildings to represent what had been a dominant commercial architectural theme for the city: classical proportion and bulk blended with subtle Art Deco detailing. Luckily, the Pickwick Complex maintained its facade and much of its interior finishing throughout this period."

Come see this historic property renovated to its former glorious self!