KCP&L Building by Night

Built as an architectural testament to light and energy, the Kansas City Power & Light building appropriately shines over the night skyline, thanks to a six-story lantern that tops the skyscraper. Completed in 1931 by firm Hoit, Price, and Barnes, the building’s 30 stories of limestone present a powerful example of Art Deco architecture. The building does not shine as brightly from all angles: the west side of the tower remains entirely bare of windows. The reason for this nakedness is largely unanswered, though it is thought to possibly suggest a firewall. Others say that the building was supposed to have a twin, but the money ran out. It’s not the building’s only unsolved mystery: some still insist it served as the inspiration for the iconic tower in the movie Ghostbusters. Once the epicenter of the company’s business and a trademark treasure of modern building design, the words “Power & Light” today more likely recall scenes of debauchery in the downtown entertainment district. But plans to repurpose the primarily unoccupied building include residential lofts, bringing a sense of ownership back to the crown jewel of the Kansas City skyline.