Corinthian Hall

Corinthian Hall Canopy at Kansas City Museum

Originally constructed as a residence by lumber magnate R.A. Long in 1910, Corinthian Hall was donated to the Kansas City Museum Association in 1939 by Long’s two daughters. In 1948, the building was deeded to the City of Kansas City after museum funds were determined to be insufficient in maintaining the estate.

In 1996 International Architects Atelier was commissioned to conduct a restoration study and provide a preliminary cost estimate for restoration of the various estate buildings, including the main house, carriage house and stables, caretaker’s house, carpenter’s workshop, conservatory, pergola and limestone and wrought iron fence surrounding the three-acre estate.

Zahner was brought in to work on restoration of the Corinthian Hall canopy through MTS Contracting. The canopy restoration was part of a larger master plan for the historic restoration and adaptive renovation of Corinthian Hall into a mixed-use facility, incorporating elements of a traditional historic house-museum with modern elements.

Corinthian Hall’s beautifully elaborate cast bronze porté cochére canopy over the west porch was removed from its original mountings and transported to Zahner where the historic pieces were cleaned and restored with respect to its original design. Work included the re-creation of the deteriorated, original structural support system from stainless steel, re-casting and re-patination of several missing elements, and re-wiring of the original electrical service.

Using historic photographs for reference, fragments of the original glass were used to recreate the canopy glazing from a UV-stable, non-yellowing resin material, which replicates the appearance of the original glass while providing superior strength against breakage.