Christmas spirit shines in Country Club Plaza’s famous lights

Let’s test your knowledge of local history. Kansas City’s Plaza Lights tradition was created by:

a) A banker

b) A janitor

c) A mobster

d) A stay-at-home mother

For bonus points, can you name the creator?

a) Zebediah Christmas

b) Mark “Jellyroll” Masterson

c) Frida Kahlo

d) Charles Pitrat

The tradition dates to 1925 when an employee of Nichols Co., which owned the Country Club Plaza, strung 16 colored lights across the doorway of the Plaza’s first building, the Suydam (now the Millcreek) at 116 W. 47th St. So it says in “The Plaza: Kansas City’s World Famous Shopping District” (1990) by David S. Hudson, Bob Barrett and Dory DeAngelo.

As the Plaza grew, so did the tradition. By 1930, the Plaza played host to the city’s first lighting ceremony.

And it was all thanks to … well, keep reading.

The first lights went up with one person and a ladder.

Today? While the exact number of lights isn’t known, let’s just say it takes a lot longer to put them up.

Of course, none of this would have been possible if Jesse Clyde (J.C.) Nichols had not traveled to Seville, Spain, and envisioned the Plaza in the first place.

That, as it turned out, was quite a feat.

Before the turn of the 20th century, the Brush Creek Valley wasn’t much more than a watering hole for Indians, trappers and soldiers. But several decades later Nichols changed that forever, transforming the swampy tract into the country’s first shopping center specifically designed with the car in mind.

In his last summer of college, Nichols and a friend worked their way to Europe on a cattle boat. There they saw the colorful marketplaces of Spain and the warmth and old-world charm of Europe. Later, as a successful real estate developer, Nichols remembered those influences as he bought land at 51st Street and Grand Avenue.

The land he planned to use didn’t inspire confidence. Covered with ramshackle housing and stagnant water, it had a brick yard on one end and a dump and a hog farm on the other. Undaunted, Nichols began snapping up land until he had purchased 55 acres at a price of more than $1 million.

Nichols drew up formal plans for the Plaza in 1922. He chose a Spanish theme that included courtyards and stucco buildings with red tile roofs and ornate towers.

When the construction of the Plaza was announced, many of the city’s leaders snickered, calling it “Nichols’ Folly.”

Nobody’s laughing now. Since 1930 the only time the Plaza lights were not turned on was in 1973, when then-President Richard Nixon called for curtailing the use of Christmas lights to reduce dependence on foreign oil.

Nichols’ towered buildings are now the stars of the Plaza lighting ceremony, which draws thousands of revelers each year.

You can only wonder what Charles Pitrat, head of maintenance for the Nichols Co., would have thought of that.

This story was originally published November 2, 2014 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Christmas spirit shines in Country Club Plaza’s famous lights."