3212 gillham plaza is my dream building.
granted i have not seen the inside of said building (word on the street is that it's full of junk)...
but the outside is amazing.
amazing i say. i'll say it again. amazing.
it's my favorite terracotta decorated building in kcmo. i might walk over there soon and take some photos. the pics i have are scanned from slides from an old kcai slide show tile presentation.
as far as i know, it was a cosmetic factory back in the day. i believe the company was Luzier.
it's GIGANTIC. it could accommodate ample living space, studio space, retail/gallery space.
it has its own parking lot. costco is in its back yard. literally.
i want it. oh how i love cloud talk.
EDIT (after further investigation):
a found an original photo of the factory on the luzier cosmetic website.
company info:
Thomas Luzier revolutionized skin care for women when he began developing facial cremes in the early 1900's. For two decades, the Kansas City chemist used his wife's beauty salon clients as willing test models to perfect his formulas. He founded the company in 1923 as Luzier Special Formula Laboratories.
Following World War I, Luzier foresaw that GI's returning from Europe - where the use of cosmetics was more widespread - would pave the way for extensive use of cosmetics among American women. He added color and facial powders to his line and watched as his sales exploded nationwide. He incorporated the business in 1929 and moved it to a newly built manufacturing, distribution and office facility in downtown Kansas City, where it would operate continuously for the next 79 years.
granted i have not seen the inside of said building (word on the street is that it's full of junk)...
but the outside is amazing.
amazing i say. i'll say it again. amazing.
it's my favorite terracotta decorated building in kcmo. i might walk over there soon and take some photos. the pics i have are scanned from slides from an old kcai slide show tile presentation.
as far as i know, it was a cosmetic factory back in the day. i believe the company was Luzier.
it's GIGANTIC. it could accommodate ample living space, studio space, retail/gallery space.it has its own parking lot. costco is in its back yard. literally.
i want it. oh how i love cloud talk.
EDIT (after further investigation):
a found an original photo of the factory on the luzier cosmetic website.
company info:Thomas Luzier revolutionized skin care for women when he began developing facial cremes in the early 1900's. For two decades, the Kansas City chemist used his wife's beauty salon clients as willing test models to perfect his formulas. He founded the company in 1923 as Luzier Special Formula Laboratories.
Following World War I, Luzier foresaw that GI's returning from Europe - where the use of cosmetics was more widespread - would pave the way for extensive use of cosmetics among American women. He added color and facial powders to his line and watched as his sales exploded nationwide. He incorporated the business in 1929 and moved it to a newly built manufacturing, distribution and office facility in downtown Kansas City, where it would operate continuously for the next 79 years.
i will continue to research....
definitely expect more posts regarding my dream building.
1 comment:
Hi,
Thought you might be interested in knowing the architect of this building was a woman named Nelle Peters. She designed this and many other buildings in KC, including the Belnord Court apartments on Warwick Road, The Spanish Court apartments on the 2700 block of Troost Avenue, one on West 37th Street in Kansas City, The Ambassador Hotel, the James Russell Lowell Apts on the Plaza. Some of her designs have been torn down but I think these are all still standing.
I work for the State Historical Society of Missouri and we are in the process of putting up a biography of her as part of our Famous Missourians site. It's not there yet but will be soon. You can also go to the Western Historical Manuscript Collection at UMKC to see more of her drawings, etc.
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