The Bauer

First Friday staple. The Bauer is a huge old brick building converted into space housing many different explore-able options. It's more than art. It's rarely the same so each visit has the opportunity to surprise. Maybe even wow. Although I've never been aside from first Fridays, I know it's also an event space. Many a trendy hipster weddings have gone down here for sure. Last 1st Friday I was standing at the perfume shop, the one at the entrance with all strange but oddly yummy scents. Their I was just sniffing away and I don't know how to explain what I saw, or even what happened. Two characters walk past sounding like clucking chickens going on about the place. Decked head to toe in shiny, feathers and leather. The two are followed by a camera crew. One walks up to me and hands me a card. The two start sniffing away themselves carrying on with what I'm sure their hoping are all these witty one liners. Aaaaand that is a normal occurrence not just for the Bauer but 1st Fridays in general. Crap parking but we forge on anyways every single 1st Friday of the month.

I wanted to do a quick update on my previous review. We had our wedding ceremony and reception at The Bauer on Saturday. Everything turned out great! After working back and forth with Ashlee so much leading up to the day and then on the day of, we had Israel (and the owner for a little bit that morning) working with us. They were both fantastic and helped us through any questions or issues we may have had! Israel was there all day checking in on us and making sure we stayed comfortable the whole time. He helped us navigate some stuff throughout the day (like staging our first look) and helped finish us out at the end of the night. It was so nice having the grooms room and brides room to get ready beforehand and then using the auxiliary Parlour space as a quiet area away from the busyness of the dance floor. The venue was exactly what we were looking for both inside and outside (with the views of the city). All of our guests complimented us on it and we would not have changed a thing. I am so glad we found this place and got the chance to make such wonderful memories there! Now we'll just have to patiently wait to get our photos back so we can share them!

As a lot of you know, I throw a lot of parties and host a lot of events. As a result, I've worked with countless venues and vendors, ranging from awful to awesome. And I can confidently say that The Bauer more than earns 5 stars. This is a top tier mid-sized venue, and for my money, well deserving of the descriptor "as good as it gets".The event space itself is located on the third floor (with the first and second dedicated to small businesses and galleries), and is was very recently gutted and renovated, while respecting the history. The wood floors are gorgeously restored and each external wall is comprised of windows with fantastic views. To the north you have arguably the best view of the Kauffman Center plus the downtown skyline. From the south you can see Crown Center, Western Auto and the Liberty Memorial. Bare plaster walls and strung lights complete the look, and you really don't even have to decorate the space to have a beautiful, memorable venue for your event.There are a number of great amenities. Check out the hip yet tasteful Grooms and Bride rooms, the latter with a private entrance into the ladies room. The new catering kitchen is spacious and well designed. The freight elevator comes with an attendant and is a fun way to get less mobile guests into your party. They have beautiful wooden cocktail tables that you won't want to cover with linens, reclaimed wood portable bars. On the night of your event you'll have THREE parking lots available for your guests. Oh, and our event had around 150 people and could have easily accommodated more. Moreover, they're incredibly easy to work with. As I was planning my wedding reception, I was ecstatic to find a venue that allowed me to bring in my own caterer and bar program. This alone saved me a ton of money and gave me complete creative freedom for my event. You simply do not find this in virtually any other venue in town. I was wildly impressed. The staff is professional, they anticipate (and can meet) your needs, and are easily accessible. The cherry on top? Hot damn this place is affordable! OK, we got a pretty steep discount for booking before their remodel was completed, but even without, this place is less than what most aesthetically similar spaces are charging. I can't sing this place's praises highly enough. They were key in making our wedding reception a huge hit.

Hot Damn, this is an awesome wedding venue. Seriously though...The Bauer is the perfect raw event space. I recently attended a wedding reception here and couldn't get over how awesome this empty art gallery was. From the moment you walk it's pretty clear where to head. They had some nice signage directing us straight to the to floor. The room is huge and boxy with plenty of large windows that overview the city. Now I know they have a caterer that does the food, but it deserves a shout out. I'm sure it's off a preferred list but they had some very nice BBQ dishes prepared. Because they space is predominately shades of white, you can pretty much decorate it however you'd like. TL;DR The Bauer is a banging event space in KC. Use it.

I loved getting a chance to check out this beautiful and versatile event historic event space for a recent wedding in Kansas City. They really have all their bases covered from the moment you walk up to the venue. Someone greeted us and told us exactly how to get to our party. When we arrived on the second floor, there were coat racks, which I always appreciate as they are often overlooked in OKC. The main rooms we were in had huge plate glass windows with sweeping views of the city. The rooms were large enough for a dance floor and DJ, guest tables, a buffet table and plenty of room to move around. The ladies room was probably the highlight for me - what a special place to get ready for your big day, or primp and preen with your girlfriends before a big party. I wish we had a location just exactly like this in Oklahoma City!

What an awesome space!!! I love the view from the top, so to speak and this place has so much character. One of my favorite things was the ladies' powder room. Oh, and the giant door separating the two sides of the space. I guess l like it all. The charming trip up the stairs (pun intended after a few glasses of wine) is unique and different and the original wood floors are gorge. Not sure what the capacity is here, but they way it is divided, it seemed to be the perfect roominess, being populated, but not over-crowded.

Beautiful space with a stunning view of the skyline. This was on the short list for venues to host our wedding.

An 85 degree day in April is unusual but it was stifling in the bridal room and stifling in the cocktail area. I can't imagine a wedding there in July or August. The brides will be carried out on a stretcher. The heat is unbearable. The grooms room freezing. Brides room no air conditioning at all.

Hosted my wife's 50th birthday bash at the Bauer. Food, bar and a band. The staff was fantastic. They made pulling off the event a breeze. The 3rd floor is a great place to host a party. The atmosphere was great and the view of downtown KC at night is wonderful.