Once an elegant and fashionably trendy locale, the Presidential Hotel played host to the 1928 Republican National Convention where Herbert Hoover was nominated for President, and acted as a hot spot for Kansas City Jazz in the '30s and '40s. The hotel was eventually abandoned in 1984, at which point it became a haven for vagabonds and pigeons, collecting animal waste and incurring significant smoke damage from indoor campfires.
 |
| The lobby was restored to its 1930s grandeur, a difficult task since the original fixtures and fittings had been sold, stolen, or damaged. Significant repairs saved the damaged and rotted entrance canopy (above). PHOTOS: MIKE SINCLAIR |
In 2002, the Kansas City Council overrode a long-term plan to demolish the hotel, and in 2004 a massive interior cleanup effort began. Faded black-and-white photos were reviewed and what remained of the hotel's interior architectural details were analyzed. Paint layers were peeled away to determine the hotel's original color scheme. Extensive molding and plaster work was eventually recast.
Another major renovation, led by JE Dunn Construction, involved transforming the original Presidential Suite from a two-story space into a single-story guest suite, thereby creating space for an entire new floor of guestrooms.
On the mechanical side, the hotel's elevators had to be resized to meet modern-day code requirements, and four feet of space had to be added to the top of the shaft for servicing. In addition, the basement had to be redesigned to make room for new ductwork and piping.
Today, the newly refurbished 16-story hotel offers 10,250 sf of meeting space, 200-plus boutique-style hotel rooms, including two presidential suites—one of which is the largest in the Midwest—fine dining and entertainment, while simultaneously lending a historic flair to downtown Kansas City.
Impressed with the overall restoration effort, BD+C Reconstruction Awards judge Robert L. Selby, FAIA, associate professor, School of Architecture, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, said, “It's a catalyst for other downtown restorations.”
Related Stories
Healthcare Facilities | Oct 9, 2023
Design solutions for mental health as a secondary diagnosis
Rachel Vedder, RA, LEED AP, Senior Architect, Design Collaborative, shares two design solutions for hospitals treating behavioral health patients.
Giants 400 | Oct 5, 2023
Top 115 Healthcare Construction Firms for 2023
Turner Construction, Brasfield & Gorrie, JE Dunn Construction, DPR Construction, and McCarthy Holdings top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest healthcare sector contractors and construction management (CM) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report. Note: This ranking includes revenue related to all healthcare buildings work, including hospitals, medical office buildings, and outpatient facilities.
Giants 400 | Oct 5, 2023
Top 90 Healthcare Engineering Firms for 2023
Jacobs, WSP, IMEG, BR+A, and Affiliated Engineers head BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest healthcare sector engineering and engineering/architecture (EA) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report. Note: This ranking includes revenue related to all healthcare buildings work, including hospitals, medical office buildings, and outpatient facilities.
Giants 400 | Oct 5, 2023
Top 175 Healthcare Architecture Firms for 2023
HDR, HKS, CannonDesign, Stantec, and SmithGroup top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest healthcare sector architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report. Note: This ranking includes revenue related to all healthcare buildings work, including hospitals, medical office buildings, and outpatient facilities.
Healthcare Facilities | Sep 13, 2023
Florida’s first freestanding academic medical behavioral health hospital breaks ground in Tampa Bay
Construction kicked off recently on TGH Behavioral Health Hospital, Florida’s first freestanding academic medical behavioral health hospital. The joint venture partnership between Tampa General (a 1,040-bed facility) and Lifepoint Behavioral Health will provide a full range of inpatient and outpatient care in specialized units for pediatrics, adolescents, adults, and geriatrics, and fills a glaring medical need in the area.
Healthcare Facilities | Sep 8, 2023
Modern healthcare interiors: Healing and care from the outside in
CO Architects shares design tips for healthcare interiors, from front desk to patient rooms.
Giants 400 | Aug 22, 2023
Top 115 Architecture Engineering Firms for 2023
Stantec, HDR, Page, HOK, and Arcadis North America top the rankings of the nation's largest architecture engineering (AE) firms for nonresidential building and multifamily housing work, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Aug 22, 2023
2023 Giants 400 Report: Ranking the nation's largest architecture, engineering, and construction firms
A record 552 AEC firms submitted data for BD+C's 2023 Giants 400 Report. The final report includes 137 rankings across 25 building sectors and specialty categories.
Giants 400 | Aug 22, 2023
Top 175 Architecture Firms for 2023
Gensler, HKS, Perkins&Will, Corgan, and Perkins Eastman top the rankings of the nation's largest architecture firms for nonresidential building and multifamily housing work, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Healthcare Facilities | Aug 18, 2023
Psychiatric hospital to feature biophilic elements, aim for net-zero energy
A new 521,000 sf, 350-bed behavioral health hospital in Lakewood, Wash., a Tacoma suburb, will serve forensic patients who enter care through the criminal court system, freeing other areas of campus to serve civil patients. The facility at Western State Hospital, to be designed by HOK, will promote a holistic approach to rehabilitation as part of the state’s vision for transforming behavioral health.
