Park Lane Apartment Hotel (Courtyard by Marriott Kansas City Country Club Plaza)

Park Lane Apartment Hotel was completed in 1926 and became one of the first multi-family housing structures near Kansas City's Country Club Plaza, a suburban shopping area that opened in 1923. The property was part of real estate investor J.C. Nichols' vision to convert marshy farmland into a one-of-a-kind shopping and residential district that would spur suburban development and increase the value of his real estate investments. While the Plaza is often credited as the first shopping center in the United States that was built to accommodate automobiles, Nichols recognized that the success of this commercial real estate also depended upon residential development. Park Lane was advertised as a "distinctive south-side residential hotel" and filled a growing need for larger, multi-unit residences with its ninety apartments. Nichols conceived Park Lane as a property that would cater to higher-income individuals and families thereby bringing more people with disposable incomes to his planned neighborhood and shopping district. Demonstrating both continuity and change over time, the former apartment hotel was converted to a Marriott property in 2006, marketing its location near the Plaza

As commercial business was growing downtown, suburban development was expanding south. Known for his transformation of land to suburban neighborhoods, Jesse Clyde “J. C.” Nichols (1880-1950) imagined and designed the Country Club Plaza, which opened in 1923. This part of town was once a marshy area of land which Brush Creek ran through. It did not have electricity or utilities and was surrounded by pollution from a pig farm and brick factories. Nichols was not afraid of the challenge and continued to purchase parcels of land over the years. The development of the Country Club District brought wide streets, shopping, everyday necessities, and entertainment, which attracted automobile-driving travelers and residents. This also created a need for multi-family residences bigger than the typical three-story brownstone that offered up to twelve units. Park Lane Apartment Hotel filled the need.

Completed in 1926 and costing an estimated $850,000, Park Lane Apartment Hotel is a six-story, Mission-style building designed by George B. Post and Sons of New York and constructed by Kansas City’s Collins Brothers. The design matched the Spanish Revival style of the Country Club Plaza and is directly connected to its establishment and success. Advertised as a ‘distinctive south-side residential hotel’, Park Lane was constructed with ninety rooms and catered to upper-middle-class and high-income residents. 

George B. Post and Sons were hired in 1925 by J. C. Nichols to design the Park Lane Apartment Hotel following the opening of the Country Club Plaza. The structural engineer and architect George B. Post (1837-1913) was highly recognized for designing skyscrapers and hotels, including the New York Stock Exchange and Pulitzer Building. After his death in 1913, his sons continued and maintained the success of the firm, taking on large projects and opening multiple offices around the country, including Kansas City in 1921. The design of Park Lane is attributed to office manager Alonzo Gentry, although the actual plans list Gregory Vigeant, a representative of Post and Sons. Gentry later opened his own firm, going on to create many well-known buildings, including the Municipal Auditorium, the Villa Serena Apartment Hotel on the south side of the Plaza District, now known as the Raphael Hotel. 

The Country Club Plaza continues to be a successful shopping center while Park Lane Apartment Hotel now fills a different need for the city as it was converted into the Courtyard Marriott hotel in 2006. 

Missouri SP Park Lane Apartments, National Archives Catalog. Accessed November 18th 2021. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63819423.

A Rich History and Culture, Historic Kansas City. Accessed November 18th 2021. https://www.historickansascity.org/kansas-city/.