Known for charm, simplicity and the historic “Poet’s District” location, the Robert Browning Apartments are located just steps away from Kansas City’s beloved Country Club Plaza. Happy hours, dining, and shopping are right outside the residents’ windows. The apartments may be small, but location and historical ambiance make up for size. The building was constructed in 1929 and is part the "Poet Apartments" cluster of buildings named for famous writers and designed by local architect Nelle E. Peters. Almost a hundred years later, the Robert Browning “boasts its preserved early 1930’s architecture while also providing modern day amenities with a simplistic approach.”

************************************************

A BIT OF CITY HISTORY: FORGOTTEN, BUT NOT GONE

On December 11, 1884, Nelle Nichols Peters was born to a farming family in North Dakota. Although a woman, she would become one of the most prolific architects in Kansas City during the 1920s and design nearly 1,000 local buildings. Despite the fact that many of these buildings still occupy prominent locations, especially near the Country Club Plaza, Nelle Peters today remains one of the more obscure figures in Kansas City history.

Nichols came to Kansas City in 1909. Few developers wanted to hire a female architect in the 1910s, but she did manage to take on some of her own architectural projects outside a firm. Peters's designs were not overly ornamental, but they were both attractive and functional. Many still stand today. Among her most notable designs were the Ambassador Hotel at 3560 Broadway, which was the largest apartment-hotel in Kansas City when it was completed in 1924 and the Robert Louis Stevenson Apartments (4804 Jefferson Street).

Unfortunately, the drop in apartment construction during the Great Depression and Second World War curtailed Nelle Peters's career in the 1930s and 1940s. She remained in the business, but had to work as a seamstress to augment her income. She finally retired in 1967, although by that year it appears that she had not had a contract in nearly 11 years. Little else is known of Nelle Peters, who was at once one of the most prolific architects and a very obscure figure in Kansas City history. When she died on October 7, 1974, at the age of 90, virtually no one acknowledged the significance of her accomplishments.

While Nelle Peters herself still remains largely invisible, many of the buildings she designed still contribute to the beauty of the city's landscape. Above is one of them. Few know anything about Nelle nor the history of this (or her other) examples of her architecture. But she and her work helped to shape the city.