Bartle Hall Expansion, Kansas City, Missouri

The City of Kansas City, Missouri, opened the H. Roe Bartle Exhibit Hall in 1976. Featuring nearly 17,200 m² of column free exhibit space and 33,100 m² of additional meeting rooms, food preparation areas and lobbies, the building proved to be a successful facility for the trade show market for nearly a decade. Situated in the western downtown section of the City, the existing building is bounded on the north, west and east by historical private and municipal buildings. Expansion to the south could be accomplished by building across two freeways, their associated ramps and two city streets, or by providing an L-shaped structure along the highway. Like the existing hall, the expansion would be designed for a live load capacity of 14.4 kN/m². A separate conference center and new dock facilities were planned to add needed meeting rooms, banquet halls and truck entrances.