909 Walnut
909 Walnut is a 1930 Art Deco tower in downtown Kansas City, designed by the firm Hoit, Price and Barnes. The building gives strong street presence downtown with its Art Deco tower form.
Photo: User:Charvex , Public domain
City guide
architecture in Kansas City.
56 buildings worth a detour, each with what to look for. Open them on the map, or walk them with the iPhone app, which collects each one you photograph.
Landmarks
The buildings that define the city's architecture.
925 Grand
925 Grand is a 1921 Neoclassical building in downtown Kansas City, designed by Graham, Anderson, Probst & White together with Kivett and Myers. Its Neoclassical facade gives it a strong presence on the street, and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: User:Charvex , Public domain
Bernard Corrigan House
The Bernard Corrigan House was designed by Louis Curtiss, a notable regional architect, in the Prairie School style. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Photograph by Jack E. Boucher , Public domain
BMA Tower
BMA Tower is an International Style tower individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: User:Charvex , Public domain
Bryant Building
The Bryant Building is a 1930 Art Deco skyscraper in downtown Kansas City, designed by Graham, Anderson, Probst & White, a nationally prominent Chicago firm. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as an individual listing.
Photo: User:Charvex , Public domain
modern architecture
Hy-Vee Arena
Hy-Vee Arena is a modern-architecture arena building designed by Helmut Jahn, the internationally renowned architect, and is individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: unknown , CC BY-SA 2.5
Insurance Building-Consumers Cooperative Association Building
The Insurance Building-Consumers Cooperative Association Building is a downtown Kansas City structure built in the Chicago School style and individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Mwkruse , CC BY-SA 3.0
Kansas City Athenaeum
The Kansas City Athenaeum dates to 1914 and is built in the Neoclassical style. It is individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Mwkruse , CC BY-SA 3.0
Landmark
Kansas City City Hall
Kansas City City Hall is a downtown civic landmark designed by the firm Wight and Wight. Its tower is highly visible from the street, anchoring the downtown skyline.
Kansas City Club Building
The Kansas City Club Building is a downtown Gothic Revival building designed by the firm Smith, Rea & Lovitt and completed in 1922. It is individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Kansas City Masonic Temple
The Kansas City Masonic Temple is a downtown building combining Neoclassical and Beaux-Arts styles, individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Mwkruse , CC BY-SA 3.0
Kansas City Power and Light Building
The Kansas City Power and Light Building rose in downtown Kansas City in 1931, designed by the firm Hoit, Price and Barnes. Built in the Art Deco style, it is considered a textbook exemplar of the style and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: User:Charvex , Public domain
Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts
The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts opened in downtown Kansas City in 2011, designed by Moshe Safdie, an internationally significant architect. The building is known for its innovative shell-form design for its performance halls, giving it a sculptural presence that stands out among the city's cultural buildings.
Photo: Little Mountain 5 , CC BY-SA 3.0
Loretto Academy
Loretto Academy was designed by the regional architecture firm Barnett, Haynes & Barnett in the Colonial Revival style and is individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Mwkruse , CC BY-SA 3.0
Mainstreet Theater
The Mainstreet Theater opened in downtown Kansas City in 1921, designed by Rapp and Rapp, a noted theater architecture firm, in the Beaux-Arts style. As a historic movie palace, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Ed Roberts , CC BY 2.0
Landmark
One Kansas City Place
One Kansas City Place is the tallest building in Kansas City, standing downtown and designed by the architecture firm BNIM.
Photo: Iciclenet at en.wikipedia , Public domain
Pickwick Hotel, Office Building, Parking Garage and Bus Terminal
The Pickwick Hotel, Office Building, Parking Garage and Bus Terminal is a downtown Kansas City complex designed by Wight and Wight, a notable Kansas City architecture firm, in the Art Deco style. Combining a hotel, office building, parking garage, and bus terminal in one complex, it is an unusual mixed-use typology and is individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Mwkruse , CC BY-SA 3.0
modern architecture
Plaza Towers
Plaza Towers rises in the Plaza neighborhood in a modern architectural style and is individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Bartokie , CC BY-SA 4.0
Raphael Hotel
The Raphael Hotel stands in the Plaza neighborhood and is built in the Renaissance Revival style. It is individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Mwkruse , CC BY-SA 3.0
Sophian Plaza
Sophian Plaza is a Beaux-Arts building in the Plaza neighborhood, individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
T-Mobile Center
T-Mobile Center is a downtown Kansas City arena completed in 2007, designed by Populous, Ellerbe Becket, and 360 Architecture. Its futurist styling gives it a strong presence in the downtown skyline.
Photo: Michael Barera , CC BY-SA 4.0
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Ten Main Center
Ten Main Center is a downtown modern-architecture office tower designed by Charles Luckman Associates, a nationally known American architecture firm, and is individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: User:Charvex , Public domain
Uptown Theater
The Uptown Theater is a Renaissance Revival building individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with a prominent street-facing facade.
Photo: Sesamehoneytart , CC BY-SA 4.0
Notable buildings
Worth a stop when you're nearby.
Landmark
Folly Theater
The Folly Theater in downtown Kansas City was designed by Louis Curtiss, a significant regional architect. The historic theater's facade remains visible from the street and its story has long been part of downtown's history.
Photo: Official White House photograph by Pete Souza , Public domain
Gillis Orphans' Home
The Gillis Orphans' Home was completed in 1900 in a blend of Colonial Revival and Georgian Revival styles, its residential-institutional facade still visible from the street.
Photo: Bartokie , CC BY-SA 4.0
Kansas City Museum
The Kansas City Museum occupies a grand Beaux-Arts mansion completed in 1940 and designed by Henry F. Hoit, a notable Kansas City architect. Its scale and formal massing reflect the Beaux-Arts tradition applied to a private residence turned public institution.
Photo: User:Charvex , Public domain
Mineral Hall
Mineral Hall stands in the Plaza neighborhood of Kansas City, built in the Prairie School style.
Photo: unknown , CC BY-SA 2.5
Landmark
Mutual Musicians' Foundation Building
The Mutual Musicians' Foundation Building was designed by architect Rudolf Markgraf and is regarded as the birthplace of the Kansas City jazz scene. It carries National Historic Landmark status and is individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Sesamehoneytart , CC BY-SA 4.0
Landmark
New York Life Building
The New York Life Building in downtown Kansas City was completed in 1888 to a design by the nationally prominent New York firm McKim, Mead & White. Its presence marked a notable moment in the city's development: a major New York firm building a large commercial building in Kansas City.
Photo: User:Charvex , Public domain
Palace Clothing Company Building
The Palace Clothing Company Building stands in downtown Kansas City as an example of the Chicago School style, listed individually on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Mwkruse , CC BY-SA 3.0
Savoy Hotel and Grill
The Savoy Hotel and Grill in downtown Kansas City was designed by architect Henry Van Brunt and completed in 1888 in the Art Nouveau style. The historic hotel and grill has long been a retellable part of the city's downtown story.
Photo: Mwkruse , CC BY-SA 3.0
Scarritt Building and Arcade
The Scarritt Building and Arcade was built in downtown Kansas City in 1906 in the Chicago School style. It is individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Mwkruse , CC BY-SA 3.0
Union Station
Union Station is a monumental railway terminal in downtown Kansas City, completed in 1914 to the design of architect Jarvis Hunt, who was known for major train stations. Built in the Beaux-Arts style, it gave the city a civic gateway on the scale of the great American terminals of its era.
Photo: John LeCoque , Public domain
Western Auto Building
The Western Auto Building rises in downtown Kansas City in the Chicago School style, its commercial-style facade still visible from the street.
Photo: Caleb Zahnd from USA , CC BY 2.0
Hidden gems
Fine buildings that fewer people seek out.
Landmark
Argyle Building
The Argyle Building in downtown Kansas City was built in 1906 by architect Louis Curtiss.
Photo: BrandonMcCall , CC BY-SA 3.0
Landmark
Bertrand Rockwell House
The Bertrand Rockwell House in the Plaza neighborhood was designed by architect Mary Rockwell Hook, a notable regional female architect. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Landmark
Emily Rockwell Love House
The Emily Rockwell Love House in the Plaza neighborhood was designed by architect Mary Rockwell Hook and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Fire Department Headquarters; Fire Station No. 2
Fire Department Headquarters, also known as Fire Station No. 2, was built in 1905 in downtown Kansas City in the Beaux-Arts style and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Mwkruse , CC BY-SA 3.0
Firestone Tire and Rubber Company Service Station
The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company Service Station was built in 1930 in the Art Deco style and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Landmark
Floyd Jacobs House
The Floyd Jacobs House is a Plaza-area residence designed by Mary Rockwell Hook and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
George E. Nicholson House
The George E. Nicholson House was designed by the firm Wight and Wight in the Neoclassical style and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Mwkruse , CC BY-SA 3.0
Landmark
House at 5011 Sunset Drive
The House at 5011 Sunset Drive is a Plaza-area residence designed by Mary Rockwell Hook and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Landmark
House at 54 E. 53rd Terrace
The House at 54 E. 53rd Terrace is a Plaza-area residence designed by Mary Rockwell Hook and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Mwkruse , CC BY-SA 3.0
Inter-State Building
The Inter-State Building stands in downtown Kansas City, designed in the Chicago School style and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Mwkruse , CC BY-SA 3.0
Jensen-Salsbery Laboratories
Jensen-Salsbery Laboratories, in downtown Kansas City, is a Prairie School building and a National Register of Historic Places listed place.
Photo: Mwkruse , CC BY-SA 3.0
Judge Louis Gates House
The Judge Louis Gates House was designed by architect Clarence Shepard in 1923 in the Prairie School style. It carries a dual listing as a National Register of Historic Places contributing property and individual listing, and is also on the Register of Historic Kansas Places.
Landmark
Louis Curtiss Studio Building
The Louis Curtiss Studio Building in downtown Kansas City was built in 1908 as the studio of architect Louis Curtiss for his own use. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Mwkruse , CC BY-SA 3.0
Landmark
Mary Rockwell Hook House
The Mary Rockwell Hook House in the Plaza neighborhood was designed by architect Mary Rockwell Hook as her own home. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Norman Tromanhauser House
The Norman Tromanhauser House was designed by Louis Curtiss in the Prairie School style and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Mwkruse , CC BY-SA 3.0
Landmark
Pink House
The Pink House is a Plaza-area residence designed by Mary Rockwell Hook and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Landmark
Robert Ostertag House
The Robert Ostertag House is a Plaza-area residence designed by Mary Rockwell Hook and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Seth E. Ward Homestead
The Seth E. Ward Homestead is a Greek Revival house in Kansas City, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Americasroof at en.wikipedia , CC BY-SA 3.0
United States Post Office-Kansas City
The United States Post Office-Kansas City is a Neoclassical building in downtown Kansas City, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Mwkruse , CC BY-SA 3.0
Landmark
Valentine on Broadway Hotel
The Valentine on Broadway Hotel was designed by Nelle Peters and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Mwkruse , CC BY-SA 3.0
Westminster Congregational Church
Westminster Congregational Church is a Gothic Revival church listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Mwkruse , CC BY-SA 3.0
William Baker and Mary Knight House
The William Baker and Mary Knight House is a Queen Anne style residence listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Mwkruse , CC BY-SA 3.0
