Kivett and Myers

Kivett & Myers was a Kansas City, Missouri architecture firm that pioneered the design of modern professional sports stadiums.

Clarence Kivett (born Clarence Kivovitch) graduated from the University of Kansas in 1928 and his first big design project was the art deco design of Katz Drug (which was taken over by Osco Drug) at Main Street and Westport in 1934 in Kansas City (which was owned by his uncles Mike and Ike Katz).

He was joined by Ralph Myers in 1940. They were to go on to design the Missouri State Office Building at 13th and Holmes, Temple B'nai Jehudah at 69th and Holmes, Spencer Chemistry and Biological Sciences Building at the University of Missouri–Kansas City and Fairmount Hotel in the Country Club Plaza.

The two most prominent commissions came in the late 1960s and early 1970s with terminals and control tower at Kansas City International Airport (a design layout with in "C" shape so that all gates were within a few feet of the road) and most importantly the Truman Sports Complex for Kansas City Chiefs and Kansas City Royals.

The initial design in 1967 called for the baseball and football stadiums to be built side by side sharing the same parking infrastructure as well as a rolling roof that was to slide from one stadium to the other. The concepts of separate stadiums for baseball and football was revolutionary at the time when stadiums were designed as gigantic multipurpose venues. The rolling roof was initially too expensive and too impractical in Kansas City however it was to be applied at several stadiums elsewhere in the decades that followed.

In 1974 the Kansas City architecture firm HNTB acquired the firm and went on to build several professional stadiums. Several of the firm's architects also went to the St. Louis, Missouri architecture firm of HOK Sport + Venue + Event which opened its sports stadium division in Kansas City. Together the two firms have designed most of today's modern stadiums and ballparks.

External links

* [http://www.kclibrary.org/localhistory/media.cfm?mediaID=34801 KC Public Library History]
* [http://kansascity.bizjournals.com/kansascity/stories/2003/06/23/focus1.html Kansas City Biz Journal profile]