Nelle Peters

Nelle Elizabeth Nichols Peters (1884–1974) was one of Kansas City's most prolific architects.

Life and career

Early life She was born Nellie Elizabeth Nichols was born in December 1884 in a sod house in Niagara, North Dakota. After her graduation, she pursued architecture as a means of combining her interests in art and mathematics. She moved to Sioux City to look for work, and was hired as a drafter by the Eisentrout, Colby, and Pottenger. She worked there for four years while taking correspondence courses in architecture. In 1907, she was sent to work in the firm's Kansas City office but in 1909, she left to establish her own business.

Works

McConahay Building, Kansas City, Mo., 1922 Ambassador Hotel, Kansas City, Mo., 1924 Luzier Cosmetic Company, Kansas City, Mo., 1928 Park Castles, Kansas City, Mo., 1929 Ambassador Hotel, Tulsa, Ok., 1929

Legacy Peters was considered one of Kansas City's most prolific architects, and she designed nearly 1,000 buildings.

Two districts in Kansas City have been named in her honor on the Kansas City Register of Historic Places. In 1982, the Nelle E. Peters Historic District was dedicated in a section of buildings at the corner of Summit Avenue and 37th Street. In 1989, the Nelle E. Peters Thematic Historic District was established within Country Club Plaza.

A district is named after her in Kansas City on the National Register of Historic Places as of July 23, 2009. The Nelle E. Peters Troost Avenue Historic District includes six apartment buildings in the block of 2700 Troost Avenue.

Peters is one of 13 women honored for contributions to Kansas City, Missouri, on the Women's Leadership Fountain at the Paseo and E 9th St. In 2021, she was posthumously inducted into the Starr Women's Hall of Fame, which honors women who have made Kansas City a better place to live.

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