It’s that time of the year… The Plaza Lights and Crestwood Urban Hike is back!

by Asia Jones

When you join Urban Hikes KC on one of our Plaza Lights and Crestwood Urban Hikes, you’ll not only see a beautifully-lit area but you’ll also learn about its history from the impact of J.C Nichols and the start of the Plaza lighting ceremony. Between crossing over our Sister Cities International Bridge, walking up through the steep and windy sunset hill, and seeing vibrant murals, this urban hike is full of details that will help you see the Plaza as you’ve never seen it before.

Walk to Memorial Fountain

During this 4.5-mile hike, trekkers make a stop at the Memorial Fountain. It was originally built in Paris in 1910 and in 1951 it was brought to Kansas City and was named the J.C. Nichols fountain after the Country Club Plaza’s founder, though it was not installed until after his death that same year. The Kansas City Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners unanimously voted on June 30, 2022, to remove Nichols’ name from the fountain and the street honoring him due to his racist and anti-Semitic practices. The fountain will be known as Memorial Fountain until a new name is chosen. 
Read more in this KC Star article.

Plaza Theater & the Plaza Lights

The Country Club Plaza is probably best known for its 15-block holiday light display. Electricians begin stringing up the lights after Labor Day while the weather is warm and on Thanksgiving evening all of the lights are flipped on. 

This tradition has very humble beginnings in December 1925 when a single strand of indoor Christmas lights was hung along the entrance of the former Suydam building by Charles Pitrat. Just three years later, the Plaza Theater opened and on the Christmas of 1928, the new building featured the first-ever outdoor strand of continuous lights.

Giralda Tower

If you’ve driven or walked by the memorial fountain, you’ve likely also gazed at The Giralda! A half-scale replica of Giralda, the 2nd-century Moorish tower in Seville, Spain, was built after J.C. Nichols visited the country and was inspired. It was christened by then-Seville Mayor Felix Morena de la Cova in 1967, and Kansas City, Missouri and Seville, Spain became sister cities that same year.

During the Plaza Lights Urban Hike, our guides also address the racist, anti-semitic and divisive practices that developer J.C. Nichols used when building the Plaza and the communities around it.  The book “Some of My Best Friends are Black” by author Tanner Colby shares in detail the racially restrictive clauses Nichols put in place through deed restrictions on all the properties he sold which soon became the model throughout the city. While his efforts to segregate communities lasted for decades, the City of Kansas City, Mo has taken steps in recent years to address his legacy and impact on the city.  Our guides will discuss all of this and more when you join us for the Plaza Lights and Crestwood Urban Hike from November to December!