Country Club Plaza facts for kids
Kansas City's Country Club Plaza
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| Location | Kansas City, Missouri, United States |
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| Coordinates | 39°02′29″N 94°35′31″W / 39.041323°N 94.591813°W |
| Opening date | 1922 (established); 1923 (opened) |
| Developer | J.C. Nichols |
| Management | Taubman Centers |
| Owner | Macerich and Taubman Centers |
The Country Club Plaza, often called The Plaza, is a famous outdoor shopping area in Kansas City, Missouri. It opened in 1923. It was one of the first shopping centers ever designed for people arriving by car.
A man named J. C. Nichols planned The Plaza in 1922. Its design looks like the buildings in Seville, Spain. The Plaza has many fancy shops, restaurants, and fun places. It also has offices. It is known as one of the "World's Great Places."
The Plaza has 18 different buildings. These buildings offer about 784,000 square feet (72,800 square meters) of shops. They also have 219,000 square feet (20,300 square meters) of office space.
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Where is The Plaza?
This 55-acre (22-hectare) area is about 4 miles (6.4 km) south of Downtown Kansas City. It sits between 46th Street and Brush Creek. The Kansas state line is only one mile (1.6 km) to the west.
The areas around The Plaza have nice apartment buildings and large homes. These are part of the Country Club District. The Plaza's buildings fit in well with the homes and offices nearby.
Firsts for Shopping Centers
When The Plaza opened in 1923, it was special for many reasons:
- It was the first big shopping center made for cars. It had parking spaces for shoppers.
- It was the first suburban shopping area managed by one group. This group also chose which stores could open there.
- It was the first suburban center with a matching building style. All the buildings looked similar.
Another place called Market Square in Lake Forest, Illinois, opened earlier in 1916. It had some of these features. But it was much smaller and was in a town's main area, not a suburb.
History of The Plaza
The Country Club Plaza got its name from the Country Club District. This neighborhood was built by J.C. Nichols. It was near the Kansas City Country Club, which is now Loose Park. Nichols chose this spot carefully. He wanted people to have a direct way to get to The Plaza.
Nichols started buying land for The Plaza in 1907. This area was then called Brush Creek Valley. Many people thought his plan was silly at first. They called it 'Nichols' Folly' because the land seemed empty and not good for building.
Nichols hired an architect named Edward Buehler Delk. Delk designed the new shopping area. The Plaza opened in 1923 and was an instant success. It has been popular ever since. One of its oldest stores, Jack Henry Clothing, opened in 1931.
For its first 40 years, The Plaza had a mix of stores. There were fancy shops like Harzfeld's. There were also everyday stores like Sears and Woolworth's. It even had a bowling alley, a movie theater, and a grocery store. These helped meet the daily needs of people living nearby.
Around 1970, new shopping malls opened in the suburbs. To stay popular, The Plaza added luxury hotels and nicer restaurants. It also brought in high-end stores like Tiffany & Co. and Michael Kors.
In 1977, there was a big flood from Brush Creek. This caused a lot of damage to The Plaza. After the flood, the area was greatly improved. This helped it to become even better and more successful.
In 2013, a gas leak caused a large explosion at JJ's Restaurant on The Plaza. The building was destroyed, and nearby buildings were damaged. JJ's Restaurant later reopened in a new spot on The Plaza in 2014.
In 2018, Nordstrom announced it would move from another mall to a new space on The Country Club Plaza. This new store is expected to open in 2023.
Design and Features
The Country Club Plaza's design looks like old European cities, especially Seville, Spain. But it doesn't have a typical open town square. You can find more than 30 statues, paintings, and tile pictures there. There are also copies of famous buildings. One example is a half-sized Giralda Tower from Seville. This is the tallest building on The Plaza.
The Plaza was made for cars, but it's not like modern malls with huge parking lots. Parking is hidden in garages under the shops or on building rooftops.
The Plaza was also the first shopping center to use a special rent idea. Stores paid rent based on a percentage of their sales. This was a new idea when Nichols started it. Now, it's a common way for businesses to pay rent.
Several companies have their main offices in The Country Club Plaza area. These include American Century Investments and Russell Stover Candies.
Plaza Lights
In 1925, a string of 16 colored lights was put up over a doorway on The Country Club Plaza. This was to celebrate Christmas. Each year, more lights were added. This led to an official lighting ceremony that started in 1930.
On Thanksgiving night, thousands of people visit The Plaza. They watch local shows and see a special guest "flip the switch." This turns on all the lights to start the Christmas season. The "Season of Lights" is one of Kansas City's oldest traditions.
The lights turn on at 6:54 pm on Thanksgiving. They shine from 5:00 pm to 3:00 am every day until mid-January. The lighting ceremony is shown live on local TV.
See also
In Spanish: Country Club Plaza para niños
