English Tudor in Kansas City
Castle, Dr. Tiffany Flavel, Northeast, Pendleton Heights, English Tudor, Europe, East Bottoms, Missouri River
A castle… in Kansas City? Believe it or not, the city is home to multiple stone fortresses used for varying purposes. The Tiffany Castle, a residential stronghold, is nestled in Pendleton Heights, which proudly proclaims itself “Kansas City’s First Suburb.” At the turn of the 20th century, Pendleton Heights was one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in Kansas City. Home to big money-makers (a judge, a politician and a jeweler among the residents), I suppose it’s suiting that it’s also home to a castle.
But it wasn’t the aforementioned elite that erected a castle in the middle of the Midwest. It was the city’s first ophthalmologist, founder of a medical school as well as author, Dr. Flavel B. Tiffany, namesake of the landmark. His travels through Europe instilled in him an affinity for the magnificence of old castles, and so he created his own bit of Europe in the Northeast district – a mammoth 4,200 square-foot stone and concrete fort of solidity and grandeur.
Dr. Tiffany spared no expense on luxury; the castle features amenities like a rooftop garden, a full roundabout in the garage, making obsolete that pesky task of backing out and a full bottom-floor gym. The wooden flooring within is imported from varying countries.
Today, the Tiffany Castle sits for sale in the Northeast atop the bluff, above the Missouri River and the East Bottoms — just eight owners later and lovely as the day it was completed in 1909.