The Court of the Penguins (Plaza)

The Court of the Penguins — a whimsical Country Club Plaza fountain installation of bronze penguin figures arranged around a basin, located on Nichols Road between Pennsylvania Avenue and Jefferson Street. It offers a playful counterpoint to the Plaza’s grander mythological pieces.

History

The Court of the Penguins sits on Nichols Road between Pennsylvania Avenue and Jefferson Street on the Country Club Plaza.¹ Its bronze penguin figures are arranged around a fountain basin, making it one of the more lighthearted installations in a collection otherwise dominated by classical and mythological statuary.¹

Architecture + materials

Bronze penguin figures grouped around a Plaza fountain basin.¹ Exact dimensions and casting details are unconfirmed — “.

Current status

Operating, with the Plaza’s seasonal winter off-period (drained by mid-November after the Plaza Lighting Ceremony; refilled in late March or April).¹

Cultural significance

Within the Plaza’s fountain program, the Court of the Penguins is the clearest example of the collection’s whimsical register — a deliberate counterpoint to the mythological grandeur of the Neptune, Bacchus, and Four Fauns pieces. It is a frequently-photographed family-friendly stop along Nichols Road.

Visiting

• Address: Nichols Road between Pennsylvania Ave and Jefferson St, Country Club Plaza, Kansas City, MO 64112
• Best time to visit: Spring through fall (seasonal operation)
• Public access: Free

Sources

Footnotes

1. KS.City Wiki — Country Club Plaza Fountains (collection page), which records the Court of the Penguins’ location on Nichols Road between Pennsylvania Avenue and Jefferson Street, its bronze penguin figures, and its “whimsical” character. That page draws on Sherry Piland & Ellen J. Uguccioni, Fountains of Kansas City: A History and Love Affair (City of Fountains Foundation, 1985) and City of Fountains Foundation documentation (https://cityoffountains.org). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴