The Mack B. Nelson House at the intersection of 55th Street and Ward Parkway is one of the parkway’s many architectural gems. The stately 16-bedroom mansion is a glowing example of the grandeur that some fortunate Kansas Citians enjoyed during a golden era of homebuilding in the early 20th century. In fact, the Nelson House is across the street from another famous residence built in the very same year, 1914, the Bernard Corrigan House.
PC: Missouri Valley Special Collections
Mack B. Nelson
Mack Barnabas Nelson was born in Arkansas in 1872 and moved to Kansas City in 1894. He rose to prominence through his position as vice president and, eventually, president of the Long-Bell Lumber Company, which enjoyed a reach as far south as Louisiana and East Texas, and as far west as Washington state. That company built Kansas City’s very first skyscraper, the R.A. Long Building—the city’s first all-steel framed building. Rising 16 stories and with 600 offices at the intersection of 10th Street and Grand Avenue, it served as the Long-Bell Lumber Company headquarters and was the first location of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.
Interior courtyard of Mack B. Nelson House. PC: Missouri Valley Special Collections
A Sunset Hill Mansion
Nelson’s iconic mansion was designed by Henry F. Hoit, an architect who worked on several projects for Robert A. Long of the Long-Bell Lumber Company. In addition to the company’s headquarters, Hoit also designed Long’s personal residence, Corinthian Hall (now the Kansas City Museum), and his country home, Longview Farm, in Lee’s Summit.
The Mack B. Nelson House is a must-see during the holidays with its elegant display of lights.
The Mack B. Nelson House has a striking symmetrical façade of buff brick, stone, and terra cotta. The red-tiled roof suggests a strong Mediterranean influence, and the exterior is adorned with decorative dormers and wrought iron balconies. One of the home’s most notable features is the interior courtyard, surrounded by columns with marble flooring, a central fountain, and a retractable skylight.
From its large corner lot, the house stands proud as one of the most visible and stately homes that line Ward Parkway. More than that, it’s a grand symbol of the industries—and the powerful early 20th-century industrialists—that built Kansas City into one of the American Midwest’s most dynamic cities.
