When the new Plaza Branch opened to the public on April 16, 2005, it wasn’t quite finished. Most of the building was uncarpeted, and the Truman Forum Auditorium on the lower level, where many of the Library’s Signature Events take place, wasn’t complete until 2008.   

Still, opening day was a major day of celebration. With double the space of the previous facility, 50 public-use computers, 200 dedicated Library parking spots, and a streamlined children’s area, the public and staff were thrilled. 

Deputy Director for Library Services Joel Jones, then the new location's first branch manager, recalls patrons lining up to get in the doors during the first weekend, which he described as “chaos ... and it was good chaos.”   

That first celebration of the beautiful building included a performance by the Kansas City Children’s Choir and elected officials and Library staffers participating in a ribbon cutting.   

At 20 years old, the Plaza Branch was due for another party. On April 16, the public stopped by to hear stories of the location’s early days as well as exciting thoughts about its future. 

Since the 1960s, a branch had been at the intersection of Brookside Boulevard and Main Street and, over a 30-year period, had become the busiest in the system. 

But, Jones says, the building had serious structural problems. “There were bumps in the floor, literally, like six-inch bumps in the floor because it was rising up.” 

Former Library Director Dan Bradbury’s vision, says Jones, was to tear down the old Plaza Branch and build a new one, at no cost to taxpayers, by partnering with a private developer.   

In 1999, the Library negotiated an agreement to build a new and larger facility. In exchange, a developer would lease the land for 99 years and redevelop it with office and retail space. Funding for the Library and nearby parking garage included more than $14 million in tax increment financing or TIF.   

“We would get a warm shell of a library,” Jones says, “and significant money for interior finishes, and then develop around it.”   

Cost estimates for the office/library project went up during the five years of design and construction – from $62.3 million to $72 million. The Library scaled down plans and put the construction of an auditorium and meeting rooms on hold.   

That initial lack of soft flooring wasn’t a deterrent to use. But “it was loud,” Jones recalls. “Eventually we found some money and we put carpet in there.”   

Jones, who now works at the Central Library, says what still strikes him about the Plaza Branch are the windows overlooking the Country Club Plaza featuring spectacular views of the urban experience.   

“I would go stand in that northwest corner,” he says, “and you were above the stop light so you could look at the (Country Club) Plaza, which was great, but you were looking kind of behind and over the stop light that was out over the street. 

He remembers hearing Plaza patrons saying that they chose to rent or buy nearby so they could walk to the Library.   

“We talk about the economic impact of libraries,” he says. “That's an economic impact of the Library. People want to have a library in their neighborhood.”  

One more thing to celebrate. 

Photos courtesy of BNIM and Missouri Valley Special Collections/Kansas City Public Library.