National Register of Historic Places

Keith, Charles S., House

Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri
Listed
March 30, 2000
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
00000308

About this property

The Charles S. Keith House, also known as the J. C. Nichols House, is a historic residence located at 1214 West 55th Street in Kansas City, Missouri. The 2+1⁄2-story Georgian Revival house sits on a three-acre tract in the Kansas City's Country Club District near Ward Parkway. The Charles S. Keith House was designed by Kansas City architectural firm Shepard, Farrar & Wiser in 1913, and construction was completed on the residence in 1914. Charles S. Keith was a lumber baron and president of the Central Coal & Coke Company. Keith sold the palatial estate to well known Kansas City real estate developer J.C. Nichols in 1920 after deciding the house was more than he needed. Nichols lived in the house until he died in 1950. After the sale of the house, Charles Keith later went on to gain additional public notoriety when he accepted the position of interim mayor of Kansas City in 1940 between Bryce B. Smith's resignation and the inauguration of John B. Gage. The house has twenty two rooms, plus six full bathrooms and numerous smaller storage spaces. Exterior features included the use of elaborate cut-stone trim work, multiple pergolas, and a large carriage house. The three acre grounds were designed by Kansas City landscape architecture firm Hare and Hare, and they originally included formal gardens, a lily pool and vegetable plot.

Location

1214 W. 55th ST.
Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri
39.03096, -94.60574

Categories

ARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Braley, Charles A., House
Industrial
0.1 mi
Simpson-Yeomans-Country Side Historic District (Boundary Increase)
Listed
0.2 mi
Corrigan, Bernard, House
Industrial
0.2 mi
Jones, R. Bryson, House
Industrial
0.3 mi
Ward, Seth E., Homestead
Industrial
0.3 mi

Nearby Battles

Battle of Westport Missouri
1864Civil War
0.3 mi
Battle of Westport – Westport Town Fighting
1864Civil War
0.7 mi
Battle of Westport
1864Civil War
0.8 mi
Battle of Westport (Kansas forces) 1864
1864Civil War
0.9 mi
Battle of Westport – Byram's Ford
1864Civil War
1.1 mi

Questions about this property

When was Keith, Charles S., House listed on the National Register?

Keith, Charles S., House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 30, 2000.

What type of historic resource is Keith, Charles S., House?

Keith, Charles S., House is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Keith, Charles S., House?

The period of significance for Keith, Charles S., House is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Keith, Charles S., House?

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