2345 Grand Boulevard (IBM Plaza)

The glass-paneled, modern-international building at 2345 Grand Boulevard has had many a name – and twice that amount of owners – in its near 40-year lifespan. An original partnership between the Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Company and IBM led to the rise of this ‘scraper; both companies inhabited the building. It’s interchangeably been called the IBM building, the Mutual Benefit Life Insurance building, the IBM Plaza – and today, is simply known as its address, the 2345 Grand building.

It was completed and in-business in 1975, the sleek design the hallmark of 2345’s renowned architect, Mies van der Rohe, hired by the first owners. The building deed changed hands several times, from the Shorenstein Company to Hines to the present owner, Franklin Street Properties, and today is the home of the state of Missouri’s Federal Immigration Court and Lathrop & Gage, a prominent Kansas City law firm.