And here it is, the district’s very own historic hotel. Now it’s a Hilton, but it previously operated for many years as the President Hotel, which opened in the mid-1920s during the same decade-long construction boom that produced the Kansas City Power and Light Building. The President Hotel operated until the 1980s, when it finally closed. And it stayed closed until Hilton bought and renovated it in the early 2000s. During its long life it saw many watershed moments, the biggest of which came early on, when it served as the headquarters for the 1928 Republican National Convention that nominated Herbert Hoover.
The decades have come and gone, but the hotel has become frozen – architecturally and design-wise, at least – in the 1920s. Visitors can see the elegant 1920s-era splendor in the décor and atmosphere of the hotel’s stylish meeting rooms, and in the Drum Room Lounge, which has hosted such performers as Frank Sinatra and Glenn Miller. And it still serves up live entertainment, along with steaks and martinis.
Photo “Hotel President KC 01.JPG” by Nima Kasraie is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
