The Sheraton Kansas City Hotel at Crown Center is a , 45-story hotel located in the

Crown Center Crown Center is a shopping center and neighborhood located near Downtown Kansas City, Missouri between Gillham Road and Main Street to the east and west, and between OK/E 22nd St and E 27th St to the north and south. The shopping center ...

complex in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

. It was Missouri's tallest building from 1980 to 1986. It is now the state's sixth-tallest building and Kansas City's third-tallest building.

History

Opening

The hotel opened on July 1, 1980, as the Hyatt Regency Kansas City. It is part of the

complex, built by

Hallmark Cards Hallmark Cards, Inc. is a Privately held company, privately held, family-owned American company based in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 1910 by Joyce Hall, Hallmark is one of the oldest and largest manufacturers of greeting cards in the United ...

, adjacent to their headquarters, and southeast of the Downtown loop, where most of Kansas City's tallest buildings are located.

Skywalk collapse

On July 17, 1981, 114 people were killed in the Hyatt Regency when the fourth-floor walkway in the atrium collapsed on the second-floor walkway during a

tea dance __NOTOC__ A tea dance, also called a ''thé dansant'' (French for "dancing tea"), was a dance held in the summer or autumn from 4 to 7 p.m. In the England , English countryside, a garden party sometimes preceded the dance.''Party-giving on E ...

attended by more than 1,600 guests. An investigation revealed that tie rods supporting the walkway did not meet Kansas City building codes.

Rebranding and renovations

The hotel went through a $5 million reconstruction following the collapse, replacing the skywalks with one large second floor balcony supported by massive pillars, with local authorities saying in 1983 that the building was now "possibly the safest in the country." The hotel was renamed the Hyatt Regency Crown Center in 1987. Starwood took over the hotel November 30, 2011, renaming it the Sheraton Kansas City Hotel at Crown Center the following day and announcing $30 million in renovations and a $5,000 donation to The Skywalk Memorial Foundation.

Facilities

The hotel has of function space, a ballroom and a dedicated exhibit hall with . It has 733 guestrooms, including 42 suites. The hotel was formerly topped by a revolving rooftop restaurant, Skies, which closed in 2011 along with the hotel's Peppercorn Duck Club when the hotel became a part of Starwood. The former Skies restaurant reopened as the Sheraton Club Lounge, a private club.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Sheraton hotels Hotels in Kansas City, Missouri Skyscrapers in Kansas City, Missouri Buildings and structures with revolving restaurants Hotel buildings completed in 1980 Hotels established in 1980 Skyscraper hotels in Missouri Downtown Kansas City