100 Years of The Plaza | Nichols' Folly (Full Documentary)

After developer J.C. Nichols announced plans to open the Country Club Plaza in 1923, some skeptics scoffed at the notion, labeling it “Nichols’ Folly.”

Over the following decades, the Country Club Plaza became the defining landmark of Kansas City, offering an alternative downtown with increasingly luxurious shopping options and serving as a springboard for suburban sprawl. It gained fame as the nation’s first planned shopping center designed to accommodate the automobile for a nation on the move.

Nichols’ Folly will examine the long and dramatic story of the Country Club Plaza. It will assess its legacy. More so, it will ponder its future.

0:00 Introduction
01:24 The Early Years
06:19 Post World War II
09:02 Civil Rights / Riots of '68
10:37 The Golden Years and The Flood of '77
13:45 The Upscale '80s
17:25 Large Corporations Buy Plaza
22:03 Protests & Removal of J.C. Nichols Name
24:45 Conclusion

Appearances by:
1. Elizabeth Rosin
2. Quinton Lucas
3. William Worley
4. Jesse Clyde Nichols III
5. Ken Block
6. Vicki Noteis
7. Alvin Brooks
8. Curt Diebel
9. Emanuel Cleaver
10. Gwendolyn Grant
11. Sly James
12. Kate Marshall
13. Chris Goode

Kansas City PBS - KCPT, Kansas City