KANSAS CITY MARRIOTT DOWNTOWN
200 West 12th Street
Kansas City, Missouri 64105
Phone: 1-816-421-6800
Naka-Kon 2008 will be held at the Kansas City Marriott Downtown Hotel. The convention space is located in the Muehlebach Tower, which is Southeast of the Marriott Tower and connected via skywalk and underground tunnels. Parking is available under either the Marriott or Muehlebach towers and also under Barney Allis Plaza.
The Two Towers
The Kansas City Marriott Downtown consists of two towers: the Marriott Tower and the Muehlebach Tower. The convention will be taking place in the Muehlebach Tower. However, you will need to check into your room at the desk in the Marriott Tower.
Parking
There are three parking garages that are close to the convention: two are located under each tower of the Marriott and one is underneath Barney Allis Plaza. The rate for either of the Marriott lots is $13/day with hourly rates available. The rate for the Barney Allis Lobby garage is $10/day with hourly rates available. Although the rate for the Barney Allis Lobby is cheaper, you will have to pay for the time you spent in the lot every time you leave the lot.
Fun Facts about the Hotel
- The Kansas City Marriott Downtown is the largest hotel in the Kansas City area.
- When the Marriott Corporation assumed control of the Muehlebach Hotel in 1996, it spent two years and millions of dollars restoring it in accordance with guidelines for historic structures.
- Known as "Kansas City's Hotel of Presidents," every president from Woodrow Wilson through Richard Nixon stayed in the Presidential Suite of the Muehlebach Tower -- with heaviest activity occurring during Independence, Mo., native Harry Truman's administration between 1945-1953.
- This building has both state and federal historic landmark status.
- A ghost known as "The Blue Lady" has been known to stay at the hotel from time to time. Described as a blonde in her early 30s, she has been seen wearing a 1920's style blue dress with her hair tucked up into a wide-brimmed hat. Some have speculated that she is the ghost of an actress who once played at the Gayety Theater next door, and searches the Muehlebach for a lost lover.