OFFICIAL - The Continental Apartments (former Mark Twain Tower)

Issues concerning Downtown as described by the Downtown Council. River to 31st Street, I-35 to Bruce R. Watkins.
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KCPowercat
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Re: OFFICIAL - The Continental Apartments (former Mark Twain Tower)

Post by KCPowercat »

Amazing. Thank you
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teclis
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Re: OFFICIAL - The Continental Apartments (former Mark Twain Tower)

Post by teclis »

Yes, thanks for the pictures.

Boy do these bring back some memories. I use to go here all the time when it had a Gold's Gym...loved playing racquetball there.
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Re: OFFICIAL - The Continental Apartments (former Mark Twain Tower)

Post by alejandro46 »

Wow, what a massive building. Thank you for posting the great pictures.
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Re: OFFICIAL - The Continental Apartments (former Mark Twain Tower)

Post by TheLastGentleman »

Stumbled across these floor plans from its early years, from this site: https://www.hudsonholdings.com/mark-twain

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And an architectural drawing of the ballroom

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And some old photos, though they're very low res

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Re: Mark Twain Tower going residential?

Post by TheLastGentleman »

teclis wrote: Tue Jan 14, 2020 6:05 pmBoy do these bring back some memories. I use to go here all the time when it had a Gold's Gym...loved playing racquetball there.
What years was the Gold's Gym there? What facilities did it have?
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Re: Mark Twain Tower going residential?

Post by FangKC »

It's encouraging to finally see this building getting redeveloped.

I can't remember. Are the ballrooms going to be an rental event space?
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teclis
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Re: Mark Twain Tower going residential?

Post by teclis »

TheLastGentleman wrote: Tue Jan 14, 2020 10:25 pm
teclis wrote: Tue Jan 14, 2020 6:05 pmBoy do these bring back some memories. I use to go here all the time when it had a Gold's Gym...loved playing racquetball there.
What years was the Gold's Gym there? What facilities did it have?
I first started going there in 1997 and I believe it closed maybe around 1998. I'm not sure what all was there. I know the gym had a number of racquetball courts, a fitness area including free weights and cardio machines, and a track. I want to say that there was also a court to play basketball on and I believed the pool was still being used too.

I mainly used it for racquetball and was pretty disappointed because I had to drive from the River Market to Independence to play after it closed. I also remember how much of a pain it was to cancel my membership. As I recall, I was only able to cancel it because I moved to Denver in '99 and there was no Golds Gym in town.

I'm so glad to see the building finally getting a makeover as it really does have a great history.
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Re: Mark Twain Tower going residential?

Post by smh »

Thanks for sharing these photos! Any chance we will see that signage structure reused? I've always wished something was on it!
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Re: Mark Twain Tower going residential?

Post by TheLastGentleman »

FangKC wrote: Tue Jan 14, 2020 10:34 pm It's encouraging to finally see this building getting redeveloped.

I can't remember. Are the ballrooms going to be an rental event space?
Yes, at least the one I got to see will be an event space
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Re: Mark Twain Tower going residential?

Post by TheLastGentleman »

smh wrote: Wed Jan 15, 2020 10:22 am Thanks for sharing these photos! Any chance we will see that signage structure reused? I've always wished something was on it!
From what I understand, the signage structure will remain but there are no plans to actually add signage. Not a fan of that choice, but it probably has to do with the expense of removing it
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Re: Mark Twain Tower going residential?

Post by crazywarriorman »

You beat me to it. I just walked by this building yesterday and had plans to call and ask for a tour! Great photos, as always.

Are there any renderings yet?
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Re: Mark Twain Tower going residential?

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smh wrote: Wed Jan 15, 2020 10:22 am Thanks for sharing these photos! Any chance we will see that signage structure reused? I've always wished something was on it!
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Re: Mark Twain Tower going residential?

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Re: Mark Twain Tower going residential?

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Re: Mark Twain Tower going residential?

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Re: Mark Twain Tower going residential?

Post by FangKC »

Postcard when it was the Hotel Kansas Citian.

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Re: Mark Twain Tower going residential?

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Last edited by FangKC on Thu Jan 16, 2020 5:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Mark Twain Tower going residential?

Post by KCPowercat »

It catches my eye sometimes and I'm amazed how big that building really is
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Re: Mark Twain Tower going residential?

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Re: Mark Twain Tower going residential?

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