CAN THIS HOUSE BE SAVED? 6505 State Line Rd, Kansas City, Missouri
Yesterday, the fabulous Kelly of Old House Dreams posted a wondrous, thrilling house:
A 1935 Streamline Moderne creation built for insurance executive Walter E. Bixby Sr., to a design by architect Edward W. Tanner.
The to-die-for staircase.
The chandelier is not original.
This all makes me swoon. Are the spheres on the railing glass or Lucite?
The original terrazzo floor.
And, there is glass block! Of course!
Kem Weber designed the interiors, and he lavished attention on the project. This was the desk he designed for the owner.
Astonishingly, the desk is extant!
The Weber-designed dining room set is also extant!
Weber’s drawing for the rumpus room.
The room as completed. Wow! WOW!
Weber’s drawing for the breakfast room.
The room as built.
Is this the only remaining built-in?
The house is one of the finest in Kansas City. Upon its completion the Kansas City Star hailed it as a triumph.
In 1949, Bixby sold the house and removed its furnishings. These were then given to family members, friends, or sold.
In 1990, the house was used as a set for the film Mr. and Mrs. Bridge, starring Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward.
Four years ago the house the house was in excellent condition as seen in this video.
Today, the house has been partially gutted and is, inconceivably, being suggested as a tear down.
This is a house deserving a world-class, meticulous restoration. There is ample documentation available, and many of the original furnishings are extant. If they cannot be purchased, perhaps they could be copied.
Daily, forgettable house are built. But spectacular houses such as this were rare in the 1930s, and essentially non-existent today.
Kansas City abounds with wealth and culture. How is it even possible that this house is in any danger?
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The video says it is a registered historic property. Which I would assume means that it could not be torn down.
Pretty spectacular property in my opinion. I wouldn’t have changed a thing from what I could see in the sales video.
John, being on the National Register offers zero protection.
I am curious what happened in the past 4 years to have ended up gutted like that. Sad. Those original floors and furnishings are amazing!
I must be thinking of some other designation. This house is near where I live and is on 9 acres overlooking a lake. The owner wants to sell it but it has some kind of designation that it cannot be torn down and no one will buy it as the cost to renovate would be ridiculous. It must have been a spectacular house in its day, but it is totally falling apart now. It is heartbreaking to see the condition it is now in. I gather that the owners plan is to just wait things out until it falls down as he is between a rock and a hard place as it is now.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/for-sale-the-faded-grandeur-of-the-winderbourne-mansion/2016/04/18/2138eeda-0568-11e6-a12f-ea5aed7958dc_story.html
Doesn’t have any warmth to me, it looks too much like an office building.
According to one of the articles published at the time of building those glass spheres on the staircase are Baccarat crystal.
The most recent listings pictures on Zillow now as a foreclosure, show they are now gone as well.
“Are the spheres on the railing glass or Lucite?”
According to the article linked from the blog post, they are Baccarat. (!)
I read several articles saying they are Steuben and the glass inserts in the double entry doors to the stair hall are Lalique.
Just DON’T let KC’s Tamara Day (“Bargain Mansions”) at it: she’d turn it into something forgettable.
Restored (to the original) it looks like something Fred&Ginger would dance in!
Amen, my friend. Every time I hear her say “restoration” in her HGTV promos I die a little bit inside.
Oooh, I saw this on Old House Dreams!! I just kept thinking, ” Oh, gosh what would I do in this room????and that room, and then I went to the link to see the original room decor and furnishings and I just melted. I, too, am curious as to why the interior was stripped down. Art deco/ Modernism is not my favorite style but this could be so cool…if you had very DEEP pockets!
Seriously. What the hell happened to it??? Did it burn/have water damage or something? Why would all that flooring or even just basic things like the kitchen be torn out? I don’t get it…
Even if it’s not really my style, it definitely very much is it’s own style and I respect that.
October 7th, 2021. Does anyone know the current status of this MAGNIFICENT house? Is it going to be demolished? It would be a HORRIFIC loss!!!
Around Dec. 22nd, 2021, I spoke to one of the interior designers who told me the house sold about 8 months ago and that they are going over budgets and plans to restore the house with no alterations to the outside. It WILL NOT BE DEMOLISHED and it will remain a single family home. She also said that the city WILL NEVER ALLOW it to be demolished! That’s the best news ever!!! She did sadly mention that the gorgeous double, black lacquered doors with 6 Lalique glass inserts which led into the magnificent circular stair hall are missing. The BEST HOUSE EVER, has been SAVED!!!
Who was the designer if you don’t mind me asking?
The architect was Edward Tanner and the interiors, including furnishings and accessories were by Kem Weber.
Sorry, I don’t recall the designers name I spoke with in December 2021.
Although I don’t recall the designers name I spoke with in December 2021, the woman I spoke to was with INTERIORS BY LIV DESIGNS (913) 617-6027.
The Robert White Willits Family lived here in the 60’s and 70’s. They were nice people.
In foreclosure. Just listed yesterday for $1,649,000.
Sold AGAIN…3/20/’23
Are there any Kansas Citians that can tell me what is presently happening with the house? Any current exterior pics?
I just drove by it today and it has a for sale sign in the yard . It’s in bad shape. Windows boarded up and really deteriorated since I last saw it a couple months ago.
Thank you, Dawn. And how upsetting.
Can anyone tell me the current status of this GREAT, ARCHITECTURAL MASTERPIECE?
There is some work being done by Wulff remodeling (per sign out front on state line). New windows going in and dumpster in the driveway.
Hey Jim, thanks for the update!
You’re welcome, Paul!
Just spoke to a Wulff construction rep., who is handling the COMPLETE renovation of the house and he told me the new owner LOVES the house and has plenty of funds to renovate it completely, including the pool area. So it sounds like it’s in good hands, this time, thank goodness!!! He wasn’t sure if the original floorplan would be reconfigured or not. I asked about the double black lacquered doors with the 8 Lalique inserts had been found and unfortunately, he said “no.” But he did tell me that the hideous Lucite chandelier (not original to the house) has been removed permanently!
The complete renovation will take 1 year PLUS to complete.
Interesting to note that the previous person that bought it was a young guy in his 20’s from N.Y.C. who was arrested shortly after buying it, hence the reason it had fallen into foreclosure! Well, once again. the MAGNIFICENT HOUSE has dodged the wrecking ball…WHEWWW!!!
Has anyone driven by the house lately, or taken any recent pics of it that you would like to post? Does anyone have any information as to the current status of the house?
9/20/25… I might be able to be of some assistance. I’m with Cathy’s Wallpapering And we are currently installing wallpaper in the main laundry room. We first saw the house about 5 months ago when it was still pretty gutted, but currently most of the rooms throughout the house are nearing completion and ready for paint. I saw a comment above about the lucite chandelier and unless the person was referring to a different chandelier, I can confirm that it is still there and it doesn’t look like it’s going to be removed. This chandelier is a tubular shape and looks to be about 4 ft in height and is shaped like a swirling cigar shaped tube, I don’t know if that is the original chandelier but I was told it was. When this place gets totally finished it’s going to be amazing I can say that for sure. I hope this news is of interest to you.
Thank you for the update and good news, Craig! The stair chandelier isn’t original.
HOW COULD THEY??? WHY, WHY, WHY??? If the house is considered a national landmark, WHY was some BOZO allowed to put their own personal stamp on what was TOTAL PERFECTION, by adding hideously, FUSSY pipe railing around all of the upstairs and lower level terraces, just to TOTALLY RUIN and DESTROY the ORIGINAL, CLEAN LINE. ELEGANCE of a once, MAGNIFICENT HOUSE??????And if that’s not bad enough, to add the GORGEOUS, 8 panel, Lalique, black lacquered. ELEGANT, double stair hall doors to the front, as entry doors? It’s SHAMEFUL to be so callous, by allowing such VALUEABLE and UNIQUELY, designed, works of art to be exposed sooo brazenly to the HARSH ELEMENTS OF K.C. WEATHER. and to rot by the WEST SUNS, DIRECT EXPOSURE… which directly shines on them all day long! IT’S TOTALLY MIND BLOWING THAT SOME BOZO DESIGNER COULD TALK THE OWNER INTO SUCH DRASTIC CHANGES, JUST SO THEY COULD PUT THEIR OWN, PERSONAL “STAMP” ON WHAT ORIGINALLY WAS…SHEER PERFECTION!!!! I can only imagine what has happened to the once elegant and unique interior!!! And to top all of that off…the house is now referred to as “the ship”, what a TOTAL INSULT AND DISGRACEFUL JOKE!!!!!!!!!! SOOOO, SOOOO SAD!!!!!!!! I’D COMPARE THE HIDEOUS CHANGES TO PAINTING A MUSTACHE ON THE MONA LISA!!!!!!!! WHY, WHY, WHY????????
Let me just add to my previous comments, that I’ve been passionately OBSESSED with that house, my entire life, or at least since I was 19 years old, in 1966, when I walked into the J.C. Nichols real estate office on the C.C.Plaza, and asked if I could see the original floor plans for the magnificent house located at 6505 State Line Rd. With total luck, being at the right place at the right time. a very kind gentleman, gave me the orignal blueprints to the house, took me to a large conference table. pulled out a chair for me, and said…”here you go, have at it, and enjoy!” I spent at least 2-3 hours pondering over the original plans to my dream house, and from that moment on, considered it to be the greatest domestic example of Stream line modernism ever!!!
The ONLY changes, I would have made, would be #1….to make the first floor guest room and bath (to the left of the entry doors) into a music room/bar. Being a pianist myself, I could only imagine a beautiful, black lacquered Steinway grand piano, positioned in the center of the radius of the beautiful, glass block wall in that room, and instead of having a full bath, change it to a stunning black lacquered bar. with mirrored back and glass shelves for crystal glasses It would also have had highly polished black floors, white thick rugs scattered about with low slung, over sized, wide armed, ivory leather chairs, accompanied by gleaming, chromium and glass smoking tables. I would then have added sliding, ivory, leather clad, black lacquered double, pocket doors to the adjoining living room. What a perfect set up, for elegant parties! #2. Since the humongous basement was already finished as a party/recreation room with fireplace, I would have changed the very large playroom above the 4 car garage. into an elegant guest apt., especially since it had it’s own exterior entry on the front of the house. And last of all, it’s very unfortunate that the house wasn’t built at 2900 Verona Rd. (location of the old Vadegrift mansion) on the hillside, overlooking the Kansas City Country Club. It would have been magnificent. with a formal motor court and reflecting pool in front and the back, with many terraces cascading down the hill to Indian Lane, instead of its present location, surrounded by so many non descript, much smaller houses. Anyway…enough already, it really WAS, in its day, a TOTALLY MAGNIFICENT HOUSE, in its ORIGINAL FORM. and I’m thankful to have those images permanently embedded in my mind! So go ahead and make those foolish changes, only to destroy its original PERFECTION, It’s especially bad, or sad, should I say, that the house never got the National, or even Internationl recognition that it so deserved, as being…for me at least, a TRULY MAGNIFICENT, ARCHITECTURAL MASTERPIECE!!!
Upon closer inspection, using only Google Earth, it appears that the front doors are not the 8 panelled, double Lalique doors that once graced the entry to the stair hall, but instead, just black double doors with 8 round glass portholes. If any door needed a porthole, it would be the exterior door leading to the playroom above the garage. I was told by one of the designers, that the Lalique panelled doors had been lost, or ??? when the house was gutted. How very unfortunate, if that’s the caae, and they were never recovered. But I’m still shocked that a historic house, listed on the National register, could have had its facade so drastically changed!
National Register listing provides no protection. Unlike the listing departments in France and England where there are substantial penalties, the US doesn’t believe in protecting its history.
How really sad!
I completely agree. I don’t know about France but England has some financial incentives. I think they’re judged on a case by case basis. Homes like this should become a whole house museum for their architectural category. The National Register should’ve been given teeth as well.