This profile is in active compilation — some details are awaiting a cited source.

Southmoreland on the Plaza is an independently owned 14-room lodging house at 116 East 46th Street in Kansas City, occupying a 1913 Colonial Revival mansion a block off the Country Club Plaza. The house has been operated as guest lodging since 1989 under four successive sets of owners; in January 2022 it dropped the staffed bed-and-breakfast model it had carried for three decades and reopened as a self-service boutique hotel with no on-site staff and no food service.

Description

Southmoreland on the Plaza is a lodging business in a 1913 mansion on East 46th Street, one and a half blocks east of the Country Club Plaza and adjacent to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art district. It offers 14 bedrooms distributed across the main house, its upper floors, and a carriage house on the property.12

The business is unusual in the metro for having changed its operating model rather than its address. From 1989 to the end of 2021 it ran as a staffed bed-and-breakfast with cooked breakfast service. In January 2022 the operators announced a transition to a self-service boutique hotel: no on-site staff, no food service, guests given access to the veranda and sunroom in the evenings, dishes and glassware left available, and mini-fridges added to the rooms. The stated reasons were changed guest preferences and staffing difficulty following the COVID-19 pandemic.2

Alongside room bookings the property markets itself for weddings, corporate travel and retreats, and whole-house or whole-property bookings.3

Goods and services

  • Guest rooms — 14 bedrooms across the main house floors and the carriage house12
  • Whole-house and whole-property bookings3
  • Weddings and events on the grounds and in the house3
  • Corporate travel and corporate retreats3
  • Gift certificates3
  • No restaurant, no bar, and no breakfast service since January 20222

History

The building. The house was built in 1913 for Leo Snider, for his wife and expected child, in the Colonial Revival manner.14 From 1948 to 1989 it was owned by the Buis sisters, schoolteachers, who divided it into a duplex.4 More than 11,000 square feet was subsequently added to the main house, and a new carriage house was built on the site.4

The business. The lodging business is distinct from and much younger than the house. Susan Moehl and Penni Johnson bought the property from Agnes Buis in 1989 and converted it to an inn, undertaking major renovation.4 Mark Reichle and Nancy Miller purchased it in 1998 and ran it as a bed-and-breakfast until 2019.4 Aaron and Audrey Clemons bought it in 2019, renovated extensively, converted the former garage into a guest room named for Charlie Parker, expanded the driveway, and worked with the Kansas City Art Institute on the interior art.4 In January 2022 the property ceased operating as a bed-and-breakfast and reopened self-service.2

The 1913 date belongs to the house. The lodging business dates to 1989, and has passed through at least four ownerships since, so no single owner’s tenure is long by Registry standards.

Sources

Footnotes

  1. Southmoreland on the Plaza — official site, About page — asserts: address 116 E 46th Street, Kansas City, Missouri; house built 1913 by Leo Snider for his wife and expected child; 14-bedroom Colonial Revival mansion with a carriage house; converted to a bed-and-breakfast in the 1980s by Susan Moehl and Penni Johnson; self-service hotel model since January 2022. Site root: southmoreland.com (Accessed 2026-08-14.) ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  2. Southmoreland on the Plaza — “Southmoreland’s Transition” — asserts: transition from bed-and-breakfast to self-service boutique hotel in January 2022; no on-site staff; food service eliminated; dishes, glassware and newly added in-room mini-fridges provided; veranda and sunroom available through the evening; 14 bedrooms; reasons given as changed guest preferences and post-pandemic staffing. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  3. Southmoreland on the Plaza — site navigation and service pages, southmoreland.com, southmoreland.com, southmoreland.com, southmoreland.com — asserts: the property markets weddings, corporate travel, corporate retreats, whole-house and whole-property bookings, and gift certificates; accommodations are categorised as first-floor, second-floor, third-floor, and carriage-house rooms. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  4. KC Yesterday — “Uncovering the History of Southmoreland on the Plaza: a 110-Year-Old Mansion in Kansas City” — asserts: built 1913 for Leo Snider; owned 1948–1989 by the Buis sisters, schoolteachers, who converted it to a duplex; purchased from Agnes Buis in 1989 by Susan Moehl and Penni Johnson, who established it as an inn; Mark Reichle and Nancy Miller purchased it in 1998 and operated the bed-and-breakfast until 2019; sold in 2019 to Aaron and Audrey Clemons, who renovated, converted the garage into the Charlie “Bird” Parker room, expanded the driveway, and partnered with the Kansas City Art Institute on decoration; over 11,000 square feet added to the main house plus a new carriage house. This is the primary independent source for the ownership chain. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

Categories

On the record — ks.city/registry/southmoreland-on-the-plaza · record updated 2026-08-14