The TWA Corporate Headquarters' Building was the corporate headquarters of Trans World Airlines until 1964 when the airline moved its headquarters to New York City. The building was located at 1735 Baltimore Avenue in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, although the area is now known as the Crossroads Arts District.

The selection of Kansas City for the headquarters for TWA (initially via Transcontinental Air Transport) was said to be done by Charles Lindbergh. The building was designed by architects Raymond E. Bales, Jr. and Morris Schechter and constructed by the Long Construction Company of Kansas City. Site work began in May 1955, and construction was completed on October 31, 1956. The building was constructed in TWA's red and white corporate colors. The three-story L-shaped commercial facility is dominated by aluminum panels and corrugated concrete paneling. It was constructed using the Youtz-Slick construction method, in which steel support beams were first erected and then concrete slabs were poured at ground level and lifted into place by hydraulic jacks. The slabs were then bolted and welded onto the beams. This method allowed for a reduction in construction cost and construction time.

By 1964, TWA had become a major international figure in aviation, which prompted a move of the executive offices to New York. The building at 1735 Baltimore remained headquarters for the accounting department, ticket office, credit department, and cargo department until 1969. TWA also continued to use the building for training for its flight attendants until opening the Breech Academy in suburban Overland Park, Kansas in 1969.

In 2002 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. It had been vacant for several years although plans as late as 2003 called for the building to be converted to residential condominiums under the names of TWA Lofts LLC. Instead the building was purchased by the Kansas City based advertising agency Barkley Inc.. The company moved into the facility on November 14, 2006.

TWA Moonliner II

During TWA's heyday, the building was easily identified by the 32-foot TWA Moonliner II rocket ship that stood on the roof. The TWA Moonliner II was modeled after the 80-foot tall TWA Moonliner from Tomorrowland at Disneyland. The original Moonliner II was removed from the roof in 1962. The original Moonliner eventually fell into disrepair while sitting near a rest area in Concordia, Missouri for 25 years. It was since restored and is now on loan to the Airline History Museum at the Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport. Fabrication of the new Moonliner II replica began September 2006, and the rocket was completed and installed at 18th and Baltimore on September 29 of that year.

External links

• Bizjournals on loft conversion
• Crossroads neighborhood tour (pdf)
• KCPL Library on Selection of KC for TWA

References