By Michael Bushnell
Northeast News
May 13, 2015

In the late 1950’s, an empty plat of ground just north of the old Boy’s Hotel at Admiral Boulevard and Highland Avenue caught the eye of three local businessmen.

At the time, Kansas City’s North End and Northeast area was an enclave largely made up of Italians, born of immigrant parents who migrated to the area in the early 1900’s. Jack DiBenedetto, Sal Arrello and Phil Forte partnered together and in 1961, opened the Motel Capri, located at what was then the intersection of a number of major U.S. highways. According to the description on the back of the postcard, the Motel Capri sat “at the intersection of Highways 69, 24, 71, 56, I-29 and 35.” The U.S. highways predated the modern interstate system, making the motel a favorite among business travelers, politicians and tourist families alike.

Originally opened with 15 units, the motel grew quickly, according to Jack DiBenedetto Jr. The first addition was five units. Then, a larger addition to the south and finally, the three story addition with a lounge and full service restaurant added to the center of the motel. DiBenedetto, the younger, worked in the family’s motel as a bus boy and front desk clerk prior to going off to college in the 1970’s.

“Back then, that was the nicest restaurant and lounge in Northeast,” DiBenedetto said. “We had all kinds of characters in there. Mafia guys, FFA conventioneers and country music stars. Everyone knew the Capri.”

During the 1960’s, Charlie Genova’s Chestnut Inn at 12th Street and Chestnut Avenue was a hot spot for nationally renowned country stars like Ferlin Husky, Kitty Wells and the venerable Roy Clark. Clark often credits Genova for the start of his country music career. If you played at the Chestnut, you stayed at the Capri. The motel thrived for years as a staple of Northeast life. According to DiBenedetto, on fried chicken night at the restaurant, there was always a wait. Coffee was always free for police officers regardless of what time of day it was. Former Chief Clarence Kelly was a regular at the Capri’s restaurant before accepting the F.B.I. Director’s gig in 1973.

In 1988, the motel was sold to an out of town investor. The lounge closed and the pool was filled in and the motel began a long, slow downward spiral, becoming more of a transient dwelling, often being the target of police sting operations for drugs and prostitution. In April of this year, Dr. Marc Hahn, CEO of the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences, announced that the university had just completed the purchase of the motel with plans to turn it in to green space fronting The Paseo Boulevard. According to KCUMB sources, demolition should be complete by the end of June. While the old Motel Capri might soon be a thing of the past, there’s hope the sign that was a northeast landmark for many years during a grand era in Northeast history can be saved.