Oak Tower

[KC_JAYHAWK]

Do know who the owner is? I would think they could apply for historic tax credits to restore the facade?

[TheLastGentleman]

I think they could easily get the historic credits. The building is certainly old enough and notable enough. No idea who the owner is though

[chaglang]

The stucco panels may have compromised the historic integrity. Not certain about that, but it’s a distinct possibility.

[FangKC]

I think TheLastGentleman means historic tax credits to help pay to restore the original terra cotta, and remove the stucco cladding.

KC Partners Oak Tower is the registered corporate owner, but it's a holding company. Good luck finding out who actually owns it. The Missouri corporate registry stops at the registered agent, Prentice Hall, which is a legal firm.

I would think the original terra cotta would be more durable a siding than the stucco on panels attached to reinforced steel bracing that is rusting out.

The Professional Building is covered with it, and it held up over the decades. It was never covered up with a modernized facade. When they restored the building, they cleaned the terra cotta, and replaced any tiles that were damaged or missing.

Adding the stucco cladding to Oak Tower might have been more about making the building look modern than it costing too much to clean and repair the original terra cotta. It was a thing at once time to do that. We would have to talk to the original decision-makers, or find any memos discussing it to know for certain.

[FangKC]

The stucco panels may have compromised the historic integrity. Not certain about that, but it’s a distinct possibility.

Compromised buildings are restored all the time using historic tax credits.

[chaglang]

The stucco panels may have compromised the historic integrity. Not certain about that, but it’s a distinct possibility.

Compromised buildings are restored all the time using historic tax credits.

Yes, but the amount of what's been compromised matters. I've seen buildings denied NR listing for far less than what's been done to Oak Tower.

[TheLastGentleman]

Yes, but the amount of what's been compromised matters. I've seen buildings denied NR listing for far less than what's been done to Oak Tower.

Which buildings are you thinking of?

[moderne]

[TheLastGentleman]

Fascinating stuff! Thank you so much for sharing!!!

[rxlexi]

Agree, really interesting read, thanks for posting!

[TheLastGentleman]

The 1928 design with the twin building looks like it may have been based loosely off the other Bell Telephone Building in St. Louis, which was built in 1926. Bell certainly had a corporate style!

[wahoowa]

monopolies are great for architecture!

[TheLastGentleman]

Ground floor scaffolding

[moderne]

Can't be terracotta falling off!

[TheLastGentleman]

Visited SHSMO and got a bunch of their Oak Tower documents scanned from their Hoit Price and Barnes archive. Tried to put it all in chronological order.

https://collections.shsmo.org/manuscrip ... /k0004.pdf

[FangKC]

LG, thanks for going to the effort of getting those images scanned.

[Rabble]

Is it possible that downtown's finest skyscraper is currently an eyesore waiting to be uncovered? Oak Tower's future would greatly benefit by a new ballpark 1-2 blocks east. Yes, thanks for the pictures.

[TheLastGentleman]

Is it possible that downtown's finest skyscraper is currently an eyesore waiting to be uncovered? Oak Tower's future would greatly benefit by a new ballpark 1-2 blocks east. Yes, thanks for the pictures.

Yes, no doubt the building can be restored. It just a matter of finances and ownership at this point. No doubt that a ballpark would add some energy there, and maybe even give it some neighbors!

Whoever ends up involved in a hypothetical restoration would get a massive amount of publicity, both local and national. This is probably one of, if not the largest building cover-up ever done, and reversing that would be unprecedented.

[moderne]

Was there anything in the documents about the design for the expansion? I have never seen an image of the exterior lighting, except an old tinted postcard. The pattern of light and shadow on the pierced Gothic fretwork on the upper setbacks is dazzling. I wonder when the lighting was discontinued. It was not illuminated when I have childhood memories of seeing it from the freeway in the late sixties. It was the most evocative and romantic silhouette on the skyline, but I think at that age I confused "Gothic" with "Gotham."

[TheLastGentleman]

Was there anything in the documents about the design for the expansion?

There were documents that were correspondence between the architects and contractors. At some point I'll try to sort through the pictures I took of them and post the most interesting ones.