Located at the corner of Baltimore and West 11th in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, the building formerly known as Mark Twain Tower has had a storied life that includes both President Harry S Truman and the Playboy Club. Now, it will take on a new life as The Continental, a 154-unit luxury apartment building with three large retail areas comprising 10,000 square feet of space. The project will be named for the Hotel Continental, which occupied the space from 1938-1983.

Originally opened in 1923 as the Kansas City Athletic Club, the building exterior and interior boasted an old world English Tudor aesthetic that was later renovated at the time of the hotel opening into the fashionable and minimalist deco styling typical of this time period. Occupants over the past almost-century implemented various interior renovations that covered up the original Art Deco features, so the interior will be gutted to make preservation and renovation possible. The fifth-floor ballroom will be preserved and restored, and the seventh-floor swimming pool will be completely renovated. The grand lobby, when finished, will be modified back to its former Art Deco-inspired glory, reminiscent of when the hotel was originally opened.

The project is scheduled to be completed in 2018.

(The photos show the Hotel Continental as it was originally.)