Country Club Plaza Christmas Lights

Country Club Plaza in Kansas City is the country's first shopping center. It began in the early 1920s.

The Plaza lighting traditon began in 1930. The buildings have been lit for the holiday season every year except 1973 when President Nixon urged curtailing the use of Christmas lights to reduce dependence on foreign oil imports

2008 is the 79th year of the tradition. It takes months to hang the lights and take them down each year. The lights are turned on at 5 p.m. each evening until January 11, 2009.

The date of this postcard is unknown (probably pre-1963).