Four Gates Farm

This historic estate is centered around a home designed by Mary Rockwell Hook, one of Kansas City's foremost female architects during the early twentieth century. Hook designed the home for her affluent friend Marvin Gates, and construction finished in 1927. The home included several unique features, such as special lighting and an elevated portion of the living room suitable for hosting small theatre productions along with modern conveniences. The farm was set in a rural location in the 1920s, and even though the property became part of the city limits of Kansas City in 1961, the home and property retain much of its rural appeal.

Constructed in 1927, Four Gates Farm in Kansas City offers an example of architect Mary Rockwell Hook's work and the grand rural estates of wealthy residents constructed before the start of the Great Depression. Four Gates served as the last Kansas City residence designed by Hook. She designed it for her longtime friend Marvin Gates and his family, affluent residents of Kansas City. Gate's wife had active ties to the world of amateur theatre, so the living room included an elevated section and lighting suitable for putting on theatre productions. 

The Gates family purchased a farm approximately fifteen miles east of the Kansas City residential area at that time. In 1925, Gates commissioned Hook and her business partner Douglas MacWilliam Remington to design their family home. Hook and Remington maintained a business partnership from 1924 to 1929, and Hook and Remington completed Four Gates Farm in 1927. Many of the home's features personify Hook's architectural style: a hillside site, a mixture of brick and stone materials, multi-light windows, arched door and window openings, balconies, and porches. However, the resulting design also includes differences from Hook's other Kansas City projects. For instance, the historic home arose in a rural setting amidst pre-existing structures such as a barn, water tower, and farmhouse-style servants' quarters.

The home also included features that served Marvin Gates' wife's attachment to amateur theatre. Indeed, in addition to acting, she served as the Director of the Junior League Children's Theater, and the home's design included an elevated portion of the living room, which served as an ipso facto stage, lighting equipment, and storage cabinets suitable for storing costumes.  

In 1961, the farm property was incorporated within the limits of Kansas City, Missouri, although its location east of Raytown places it fare removed from the city's downtown area. As a result, its rural appearance remains intact. 

Fleming, Beverly A. "Registration Form: Four Gates Farm." National Register of Historic Places. mostateparks.com. 1991. https://mostateparks.com/sites/mostateparks/files/FourGatesFarm.pdf.