Oak Tower, Kansas City

Oak Tower, also known as the Bell Telephone Building, is a notable 28-story skyscraper in Downtown Kansas City. Designed by the local architectural firm Hoit, Price & Barnes in collaboration with I.R. Timlin, the building was originally conceived as the headquarters for the Bell Telephone Company's newly consolidated Southwestern System. Construction began at the intersection of Eleventh and Oak Streets in 1917, but the project faced delays due to World War I shortages, and the building was finally completed in 1920.

Oak Tower originally stood at 14 stories (185 feet) without setbacks. In 1929, the building doubled in height due to the telephone company’s growth, becoming Missouri's tallest structure until 1931. The top half was built using Haydite, a lightweight concrete invented by Kansas City’s Stephen J. Hayde, enabling the addition of fourteen new stories—six more than standard concrete could support. The expansion was carried out by Swenson Construction Company, known for other Kansas City landmarks.

Oak Tower served as the general headquarters of Southwestern Bell for only a year before the company relocated its main office to Saint Louis, after which the tower continued to operate as the Missouri headquarters for Southwestern Bell. The building's original terra-cotta facade was covered in white stucco following a sale in 1974.

Oak Tower remains a vital part of Kansas City's infrastructure as a key fiber transit building. It hosts a significant Tier II data center run by Netsolus, covering 11,000 square feet and serving major telecoms like Cogent, Verizon, and Zayo. Netsolus, headquartered in Oak Tower, also has data centers in Phoenix, Denver, and Omaha, underscoring the building's lasting importance in the city's tech landscape.