Even before the first nail is driven, it all starts with a concept on the drawing board.
Veteran Kansas City architect Homer Williams thinks the Kansas City area has a larger patchwork of residential styles than many other urban centers because the heart of America's geographical location provided a way to borrow ideas from other regions.
"We're at the crossroads of the country and I think that effected how people lived," he said.
Williams lives architectural history daily. He owns one of only two Frank Lloyd Wright houses in Kansas City.
In addition to the Country Club Plaza, J.C. Nichols built thousands of homes in the metro in a wide variety of styles, but he was criticized for imposing restrictive covenants.
In the 20s and 30s one of Kansas City's leading home builders was Napoleon Dible, famous for hundreds of English Tudor-style homes. But Dible wasn't British, so we asked architectural historian Scott Lane about Dible's inspiration.
"It kind of came about through the picturesque movement," Lane said. "There was a time in the 20s and 30s, it was right after the city beautiful movement, when those kinds of cottage houses became really fanciful and popular."
In the late 50s architect Don Drummond built what are now called atomic ranches — homes with flat roofs, car ports, slab foundations. Lane says they weren't exactly welcomed with open arms.
"We really were known as a city that didn't like contemporary design and domestic architecture, and that's all changed now of course," he said. "They're hotter than pancakes on Saturday."
Residential architecture here and in other cities is somewhat of an endangered trade. Williams said he is not a fan of what are being called "McMansions."
"The developers quickly learned that the more houses you could put on a tract, the more money they made," he said. "People didn't even consider hiring an architect because it was just way too expensive. I used to say 'if you pay me what you pay a plumber to do the project, I'll do it for you.'"
Where we head in the future is anyone's guess. There's growing interest in features like solar panels and making homes more efficient.
There's an old chestnut in design circles: "form follows function." Visionary architect Lloyd Wright said: "Form and function are one."
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Uniquely Kansas City is a partnership between KSHB 41 News and retired Kansas City journalist Bill Grady, highlighting the historical stories that makes the Kansas City area truly unique through audio and digital storytelling. Is there a piece of Kansas City history you'd like us to share? Send us an email at desk@kshb.com.
