Fireworks on the Plaza?
- TheBetterHalf
- Jul 14
- 2 min read
Boom went the dynamite, or C-4 or whatever demolition teams use these days to implode a building. This past Sunday afternoon at 4 PM, one of the Plaza’s destination hotels, Embassy Suites, tumbled down.
Unfortunately neither Cutest nor I were there to witness the explosive occasion. I was enjoying one of my frequent siestas while Cute was keeping her youthful figure* by doing miles in the condo’s workout room. I was bereft that I missed a good explosion!
But solely* in the interest of keeping our readers informed, early the next morning I rushed to the former hotel’s site and surveyed the ruins. Indeed much concrete, steel, wrought iron and chalky sheet rock lay in a pile, approximately four stories high.
However one elevator shaft refused to totally crumble from the explosive onslaught. Battered and cracked, sporting car sized holes in its former walls, plus listing hard left, this rebel shaft refused to join the pile of debris that lay at its base. No doubt the shaft’s fate will be determined by a wrecking ball or more explosives in the near future.
Men wielding brooms, shovels, leaf blowers and water hoses scrubbed away the dust and flotsam that littered the nearby newly landscaped hillside that borders Broadway Boulevard. Sputtering down 43rd street, a commercial sprinkling truck sprayed the roadway and adjoining sidewalks with cleansing moisture.
When I take note of the extinction of a long-standing community structure, my mind imagines what events it might have witnessed. Family reunions, weddings, rest stops for weary travelers, business deals both large and small, prom nights and maybe an occasional one-night stand.
St. Luke’s Hospital has long been the property’s landlord. Since no one stepped forward with a viable future plan, the location will now become a parking lot. In the ‘60s, Joni Mitchell sang about tearing down paradise and turning it into a parking lot. The song fits.
If you happen to be in the neighborhood of the former Embassy Suites to pay your respects, no better place to commemorate is THE LEVEE! Yes, that Levee, serving beer and popcorn since 1965. Raise a glass or two and reflect…responsibly of course.
To see the explosion in real time just in case you've somehow missed it -- get past the promotions and stop after you watch the demolition: https://fox4kc.com/video/watch-embassy-suites-demolished-after-50-years-on-country-club-plaza/11964601
Or go here if you'd like to see more than my stills: https://youtube.com/shorts/BJY_rvp9dbg?si=b4jfpJpSPcVsIdPJ
*Editor’s note: Ha!
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