I loved it's quirky presence too, but it was a poorly built dog.zonk wrote: that SUCKS....I loved that house.
Cresta Bella - the "L" Shaped House
Re: Cresta Bella - the "L" Shaped House
Re: Cresta Bella - the "L" Shaped House
I took a few snaps before sundown. I'll post more, but I have to get to practice. Never enough time to edit photos... Ever...
And here's a few weeks ago, October 29th to be exact.
And here's a few weeks ago, October 29th to be exact.
- KansasCityCraka
- Oak Tower
- Posts: 4795
- Joined: Sat Nov 13, 2004 2:01 pm
- AllThingsKC
- Mark Twain Tower
- Posts: 9365
- Joined: Tue Aug 17, 2004 10:57 am
- Location: Kansas City, Missouri (Downtown)
- Contact:
Re: Cresta Bella - the "L" Shaped House
Are you kidding me? Schugg and I were there earlier today taking photos...
And yes, it will be missed! I loved that house!
And yes, it will be missed! I loved that house!
KC is the way to be!
Re: Cresta Bella - the "L" Shaped House
hahaha what a kwinki dink.
and the beautiful house that they (cresta bella) will not be able to match that is right across the street. my favorite house on the westside. It was some kind of christian (cult like) church in the mid 80's and as a kid I spent many hours in this house doing art's & crafts and singing.
I am glad to see this back as a single family home.
and the beautiful house that they (cresta bella) will not be able to match that is right across the street. my favorite house on the westside. It was some kind of christian (cult like) church in the mid 80's and as a kid I spent many hours in this house doing art's & crafts and singing.
I am glad to see this back as a single family home.
- FangKC
- City Hall
- Posts: 18238
- Joined: Sat Jul 26, 2003 10:02 pm
- Location: Old Northeast -- Indian Mound
Re: Cresta Bella - the "L" Shaped House
Fang wants to ride around with Schugg and AllThingsKC taking photos. Sounds fun. Can we speak German or Japanese while doing it?
There is no fifth destination.
Re: Cresta Bella - the "L" Shaped House
I wanna go too! I speak German... But only in my sleep.FangKC wrote: Fang wants to ride around with Schugg and AllThingsKC taking photos. Sounds fun. Can we speak German or Japanese while doing it?
I posted this blog earlier this morning.
If you live in Kansas City you know that you've seen it... That architectual oddity overlooking downtown on the west side of I-35. Sitting on the northeast corner of 18th and Jefferson for the past 20 years, everyone that has ever laid eyes on the building have been filled with awe.
http://www.pitch.com/2006-10-26/news/the-high-life/
"The Strip tracked down Jim Tharp, the original owner of the unconventional abode. Tharp told this meat patty that in the early '80s, he was between business ventures and decided to put his idle hands to work building his own home in the eclectic hilltop neighborhood. He wanted a room with a view that wouldn't be obstructed if the church next door added a second level, so he knew that he had to build tall. He also knew that he wanted something he'd never seen before."
"Over the 18 years Tharp lived there, the highway head-turner created plenty of unique encounters. During the 1985 World Series, he says, the Goodyear blimp stopped 100 feet from his window on every pass, and he'd wave to each load of VIPs. A decade later, he says, he got a nod from the leader of the free world as a caravan carried Bill Clinton from a Kansas City speaking engagement to the airport via I-35.
"We raised the blinds and turned on all the lights, and I waved my arm," he says. He happened to know the congressman sharing the car with the commander in chief. "Then the phone rings, and President Clinton says, 'That's the craziest thing I ever saw.'"
As I took photos in October of 2007 a lady approched me to talk about the house. She said, "The little stilts on the front don't actually touch the ground, Tharp had it built that way, the city made him put them there, but he knew that his house wouldn't fall down."
So now we say goodbye to another landmark.
I still have more that I need to do... The ol' ball and chain wouldn't let me stay up and play...
- PumpkinStalker
- Bryant Building
- Posts: 3979
- Joined: Thu Nov 06, 2003 12:04 am
- Location: Waldo
Re: Cresta Bella - the "L" Shaped House
Looks like a big steel dinosaur just attacked the house! Grab the kids and RUN!!!!acepiloto wrote:
- AllThingsKC
- Mark Twain Tower
- Posts: 9365
- Joined: Tue Aug 17, 2004 10:57 am
- Location: Kansas City, Missouri (Downtown)
- Contact:
Re: Cresta Bella - the "L" Shaped House
PM me.acepiloto wrote: I wanna go too!
Thanks for posting more photos. They're beautiful (or not)... I guess it depends on how you look at it.
"They're nice photos of a sad situation."
KC is the way to be!
Re: Cresta Bella - the "L" Shaped House
Thank you, I enjoy doing it.AllThingsKC wrote: PM me.
Thanks for posting more photos. They're beautiful (or not)... I guess it depends on how you look at it.
"They're nice photos of a sad situation."
Re: Cresta Bella - the "L" Shaped House
That's what I thought! So I felt like it might turn out to be a good shot. I guess that it did.PumpkinStalker wrote: Looks like a big steel dinosaur just attacked the house! Grab the kids and RUN!!!!
- FangKC
- City Hall
- Posts: 18238
- Joined: Sat Jul 26, 2003 10:02 pm
- Location: Old Northeast -- Indian Mound
Re: Cresta Bella - the "L" Shaped House
Acepiloto's shot look like they are taken from the film "The Day After."
There is no fifth destination.
Re: Cresta Bella - the "L" Shaped House
I didn't think of it that way, but now I do.
Re: Cresta Bella - the "L" Shaped House
I added some more pics.
Re: Cresta Bella - the "L" Shaped House
nice pic's! do you live nearby?
Re: Cresta Bella - the "L" Shaped House
Thank you! Yup, I live on Quality Hill.
And BTW, AllThingsKC, you have PM.
And BTW, AllThingsKC, you have PM.
Last edited by acepiloto on Thu Dec 06, 2007 10:33 am, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Cresta Bella - the "L" Shaped House
This thoroughly pisses me off...isn't this the same group that wants to tear down half of the brick apartments over on Cleaver?
What a complete lack of respect for the city and for a wonderful house. I wish we had some kind of protection for buildings worth keeping. Another one for Kansas City Then and Now...
Oh, and the argument that it was in bad shape...that's the same line they always use when they want to tear something down that they know will piss people off.
What a complete lack of respect for the city and for a wonderful house. I wish we had some kind of protection for buildings worth keeping. Another one for Kansas City Then and Now...
Oh, and the argument that it was in bad shape...that's the same line they always use when they want to tear something down that they know will piss people off.
- Midtownkid
- Hotel President
- Posts: 3002
- Joined: Tue Oct 15, 2002 4:27 pm
- Location: Roanoke, KCMO
Re: Cresta Bella - the "L" Shaped House
I'm sorry, but I really didn't care about this house. It was more billboard/highway architecture than neighborhood/urban architecture. It looked cool from the highway, but when you drove or walked down its street, it really looked and felt awkward. It had an ugly blank base, and I think it was turned the totally wrong direction. The huge windows needed to face downtown too, that view was blocked by the thick wall...isn't that the $ shot? Not much of a loss in my opinion...although, it will be weird to drive down the traffic way and not see it.
-
- Parking Garage
- Posts: 8
- Joined: Tue Nov 06, 2007 7:22 pm
Re: Cresta Bella - the "L" Shaped House
Windows face south for a southern exposure -- fairly necessary in a temperate climate. I suspect the blank was was the support for the sturcture as well as serving as a staircase. My suspicion is that it was built sort of like a skyscraper where the load bearing component of the structure was in the stairwell. I suspect also that it really held only a fraction of the wieght that it could've supported. It was a great example of urban modernism applied in an area where it usually isn't applied (residential). It used the suburban tract plan in an area that is mainly urban, and also was overcrowed at the time (as it still is) with low quality shotgun style high density housing. I think the load bearing aspects and the modernist touches made it architecturally interesting and a nice landmark that will be sorely missed. What are they putting there now? Particleboard mcmansions?