The Hotel President (now Hilton President Kansas City) is a Jacobethan hotel tower at 1329 Baltimore Avenue (NRHP range 1327–1335 Baltimore) on the southwest corner of 14th and Baltimore in downtown Kansas City, inside today’s Power & Light District.123 Designed by Shepard & Wiser and built by George Siedhoff, it was constructed in 1925 and opened in early 1926 (period press and the National Register place the opening around January–February 1926) as a roughly fifteen-story, ~453-room luxury house with a roof garden, radiocasting system, and on-site ice plant.124 It closed in 1980, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 8, 1983 (NRIS 83001016; Hotels in Downtown Kansas City thematic resource), and reopened in January 2006 as a Hilton franchise after a roughly $45 million restoration led by developer Ron Jury.1256

History

Construction and opening (1925–1926)

The National Register nomination credits architects Shepard & Wiser and builder George Siedhoff for a 1925 corner hotel with about 130 feet of frontage on Baltimore and 108 feet on West 14th Street.1 Period and secondary accounts put construction cost at about $2.5–3 million.12 The nomination states that the Westport Hotel Operating Company employed art, sculpture, and master decoration trades for the public rooms and that the house opened with 453 guest rooms and 19 private rooms.1

Opening. The National Register summary says the hotel opened in February 1926 and cites the Kansas City Star advertisement “Announcing the Opening of the Hotel President” (31 January 1926) and the Kansas City Journal Post “Goal Reached in Hotel President” (7 February 1926).1 A later Kansas City Star restoration feature likewise places the original opening in January 1926.5 Prefer early 1926 (January–February) rather than a single uncorroborated calendar day unless a box-office ledger is located.

Opening amenities recorded in the nomination include a “radiocasting” (public-address) system, an ice manufacturing plant said to produce about 8,000 pounds of ice per day, dining rooms and cocktail lounges, and a roof garden seating about 650.1 National Trust coverage repeats the ice-plant claim as a Kansas City hotel first and notes the irony of that capacity during Prohibition.4

Secondary narratives (Wikipedia, Clio) also associate the project with Niagara Falls hotelman Frank A. Dudley and the United Hotels Company chain; that ownership chain is not spelled out in the extracted NRHP history block and is not re-established here.

Jazz Age hub and 1928 convention

Within two years of opening the house sat in the same downtown boom that produced the nearby Mainstreet Theatre, Midland Theatre, and later the Power & Light Building.7 Local and tourism sources state that the President served as headquarters for the 1928 Republican National Convention, which nominated Herbert Hoover; the National Register’s downtown-hotels context discusses the June 12–15, 1928 convention in the city but does not, in the extract used here, isolate the President’s headquarters role—treat the HQ claim as well-attested secondary reporting pending a primary seating chart or official RNC program.2457

On August 17, 1927, aviator Charles Lindbergh repeated Municipal Airport dedication remarks that evening at the Hotel President, where radio station WOQ engineers recorded the speech (per Kansas City Public Library / Missouri Valley Special Collections FAQ material used on the vault’s Lindbergh page).8

A basement passage linking the Mainstreet Theatre to the President Hotel is documented on the vault’s mainstreet-theater page as a performers’ tunnel later associated in local lore with Prohibition-era movement between buildings; that claim is not re-sourced on this page.

Drum Room and mid-century life

In 1941 the hotel opened the Drum Room, a cocktail lounge that became one of downtown’s best-known nightspots. The National Register cites the Kansas City Times (“Hotel Opens Drum Room,” 29 August 1941) and notes that New York artist Winold Reiss painted a roughly 280-square-foot mural with South Sea Island motifs for the room.1 Clio attributes the lounge design to Neville and Sharp and describes a giant kettle-drum central bar (removed in the 2000s restoration for space); National Trust and hotel marketing name performers including Frank Sinatra, Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, and others—entertainment guest lists are secondary/marketing claims and are not independently dated here.24 Kansas City singer Marilyn Maye is among the local artists repeatedly associated with the room in secondary sources.27

Architecture

The National Register describes a fifteen-story steel-frame corner building in a Jacobethan vocabulary: rectangular multi-light windows with stone mullions, segmental curved gables at the four corners, strapwork ornament, terra cotta framing at upper bays, wrought-iron railings and spiral colonnettes, lighter stone at the ground story, a banded terra cotta frieze above the twelfth floor, pedimented upper windows, balustrade and quatrefoil motifs, and terra cotta coping along the parapet.1 An east-side light court with a gable-roofed base is bridged at the upper floors by a span connecting the wings.1

Height note. The same thematic nomination elsewhere groups the President among downtown hotels reaching great height and parenthetically lists “President Hotel—19 stories” while the property description states fifteen stories; Star restoration coverage calls it 14 stories. Prefer configuration-specific language (NRHP exterior description = fifteen stories) until a measured survey is filed.15

Public rooms historically included the Aztec Room, Walnut Room, Congress Ballroom, mezzanine spaces, and the Drum Room; the 2005–06 restoration restored lobby and major ballrooms toward mid-century appearance while converting the original dense room inventory into larger modern guestrooms.256

Notable events

  • 1927 — Lindbergh evening address / WOQ recording after Municipal Airport dedication (see charles-lindbergh).8
  • 1928 — Association with the Republican National Convention (Hoover nomination); headquarters claim is widely repeated in secondary sources.245
  • 1935 — Secondary crime reporting recounts the unsolved assault/death of a guest later identified as Artemus Ogletree (room 1046 in popular retellings); not expanded here.
  • 1941– — Drum Room opening and decades as a downtown entertainment lounge.124
  • Convention trade — Operated in the same downtown hotel cluster that later served traffic to Municipal Auditorium (opened 1935) and, in a later era, the convention center / arena district south of 12th Street.1

Decline and closure

The National Register states the President closed in 1980, citing the Kansas City Star (“Hotel President to Close; Renovation a Possibility,” 22 July 1980). At nomination the building was empty, renovation was under consideration, and the structure was assessed as still in good condition.1 Secondary summaries sometimes say late 1970s or 1979 for last guests; prefer the 1980 close date in the nomination and Star headline unless a final guest-night ledger is found.12 Furniture, fixtures, and art were sold off during vacancy; decades of deferred maintenance, pigeon infestation, and water damage are described in reconstruction coverage.59

Early Power & Light District / South Loop redevelopment schemes contemplated demolition of the vacant hotel for park or parking use. The Kansas City Council ultimately preserved the building as redevelopment plans shifted; developer Ron Jury advanced a reuse scheme after the prior Durwood-era demolition plan ended and after public debate over a Sasaki master-plan promenade that would have removed the hotel.25

Restoration and Hilton era

Jury’s campaign (announced September 20, 2001, per Star reporting) faced financing collapses, contractor liens, temporary removal as TIF developer, and an August 2005 water-main break at 14th and Baltimore that flooded parts of the project and destroyed the Drum Room’s snare-drum exterior sign—about $1 million in damage by Jury’s account to the Star.5 Construction partners named in that coverage include J.E. Dunn Construction and Gastinger Walker Harden Architects.59

Reopening. A Hilton Hotels Corporation release republished in trade press states that the vacant hotel reopened after a $45 million renovation as the Hilton President Kansas City on the date of the release—January 5, 2006 in Clio’s citation of Business Wire—at 1329 Baltimore at 14th Street, with 213 rooms and suites (down from 453), restored lobby, Congress Ballroom, Walnut Room, and Drum Room, and about 12,000 square feet of meeting space.26 Star coverage of December 30, 2005 reported a $45.4 million project and a planned January 11 inauguration ceremony; treat January 2006 as the public relaunch window, with January 5 as the corporate “reopens today” date.56 Jury received a Historic Preservation Award from the AIA Kansas City chapter for the project.25

Visit KC lists the property as a Historic Hotels of America member with 213 sleeping rooms, 26 suites, on-site restaurant/lounge, and Power & Light District location two blocks from the arena / convention cluster.3 Wikipedia and hotel materials note further guest-room and suite work around 2017 and 2019; those campaigns are not re-dated from primary Hilton releases here.7

As of 2026 the operating brand remains Hilton President Kansas City (Hilton franchise; not to be confused with Hotel Kansas City, the separate former Kansas City Club conversion). The house is the principal full-service historic hotel inside the Power & Light entertainment blocks, complementary to other restored downtown houses such as Hotel Phillips several blocks north on Baltimore / 12th Street.3710 The National Register inventory lists the historic resource as the President Hotel at 1327–1335 Baltimore Avenue, listed 8 August 1983 (NRIS 83001016).111

See also

Sources

Footnotes

  1. Ellen J. Uguccioni and Sherry Piland — National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property / inventory materials, Hotels in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri (Downtown Hotels TR); President Hotel individually listed 8 August 1983, NRIS 83001016. Architectural description: 1327–35 Baltimore; 1925; Shepard & Wiser; George Siedhoff; fifteen-story Jacobethan corner building (130 ft Baltimore × 108 ft W. 14th); closed 1980. History: Westport Hotel Operating Company; 453 guest rooms + 19 private; cost $2.5–3 million; opened February 1926 with radiocasting system and ice plant (~8,000 lb/day); roof garden ~650; Drum Room 1941 / Winold Reiss ~280 sq ft South Sea mural; cites Star 31 Jan 1926, Journal Post 7 Feb 1926, Times 29 Aug 1941, Star 22 Jul 1980. NPGallery asset — MPDF / nomination text: npgallery.nps.gov ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12 ↩13 ↩14 ↩15 ↩16 ↩17

  2. Clio — “Hotel President (Hilton President Kansas City) and the Drum Room,” entry 63490 (David J. Trowbridge et al.) — asserts: 1926 opening; Shepard & Wiser; ~$3 million; 453 rooms; 1928 RNC / Hoover; Drum Room 1941 (Neville and Sharp; kettle-drum bar; Reiss murals; named entertainers); close late 1970s / vacancy; demolition threats; Ron Jury ~$45 million Hilton restoration; reopen early 2006 as Hilton President; 213 rooms; AIA KC award; address 1329 Baltimore; cites Business Wire 5 Jan 2006, Star Collison 30 Dec 2005, NRHP Uguccioni/Piland, National Trust Drum Room piece, etc. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12 ↩13 ↩14

  3. Visit KC — “Hilton President Kansas City” listing — asserts: Historic Hotels of America; building in Power & Light District since 1926; 1329 Baltimore Ave., Kansas City, MO 64105; 213 sleeping rooms; 26 suites; meeting space inventory; (816) 221-9490; Hilton brand URL. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  4. Lauren Walser — “Jazz Greats Still Echo At Drum Room Lounge in Kansas City,” National Trust for Historic Preservation / Saving Places, 6 April 2017 — asserts: opened 1926; first KC hotel with own ice plant; Shepard & Wiser; Hilton President / Historic Hotels of America; 453 rooms at opening; 1928 RNC headquarters / Hoover; Drum Room 1941 with drum-shaped bar and live music; named performers; address 1329 Baltimore Ave. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  5. Kevin Collison — “Developer Ron Jury, Putting Finishing Touches on $45.4 million Restoration of the President Hotel” (Kansas City Star, 30 December 2005), republished Hotel Executive Newswire — asserts: open January 1926; 14th & Baltimore; 453 → 213 rooms; $45.4 million; planned inauguration 11 January (story dated 30 Dec 2005); Jury / Leddy partners; AIA KC Historic Preservation Award; 1928 RNC / Lindbergh / Dylan guests; demolition fights (Durwood plan, Sasaki promenade, Udris opposition); TIF / financing chronology; J.E. Dunn / Gastinger Walker Harden; Aug water-main break ~$1M; Drum Room kettle drum not restored; lobby to 1940 appearance. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12

  6. Hilton Hotels Corporation press release — “Return of the President: Kansas City’s Landmark President Hotel Reopens Today as the Hilton President Kansas City” (Business Wire 5 January 2006 per Clio; full text mirrored at Journal des Palaces, published 9 January 2006) — asserts: vacant ~25 years; $45 million renovation; reopened as Hilton President Kansas City; original 1926 / 453 rooms → 213; restored lobby, Congress Ballroom, Walnut Room, Drum Room; ~12,000 sq ft meeting space; address 1329 Baltimore at 14th Street; NRHP 1983; ownership President Hotel TC, LC; managed by Presidian Management under Hilton franchise. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  7. Wikipedia — “Hotel President.” — asserts: 1327–35 Baltimore; built 1925; Shepard & Wiser / George Siedhoff; Jacobethan; NRIS 83001016 listed 8 Aug 1983; United Hotels / Dudley narrative; 1928 RNC headquarters; Drum Room entertainers; closed 1980; Jury $45.5 million restoration / Hilton reopen (Wikipedia says 2005—prefer January 2006 primary release in 6); Jury Hotel Group management; 2017/2019 renovations. Cross-check against 156. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  8. Kansas City Public Library / Missouri Valley Special Collections (KC History) — “When Did Charles Lindbergh Come to Kansas City?” — asserts: 17 August 1927 Municipal Airport dedication and evening Hotel President remarks recorded by WOQ (as used on vault charles-lindbergh). (Host resolution can be intermittent; URL is the published MVSC FAQ path.) ↩ ↩2

  9. Barbara Horwitz-Bennett — “Hilton President Hotel,” Building Design + Construction, 1 October 2006 — asserts: 1928 RNC association; jazz-era role; long vacancy / damage; 2002 council override of demolition; 2004 cleanup; lobby restoration difficulties; JE Dunn work; Presidential Suite reconfiguration; modern meeting space and 200-plus rooms after renovation. ↩ ↩2

  10. Hilton — Hilton President Kansas City property page (official brand URL) — asserts: 1329 Baltimore, Kansas City, Missouri 64105; Hilton President branding; Power & Light / theater district marketing (automated fetches may 403; URL is the published brand address as of 2026). ↩

  11. National Park Service NPGallery — “President Hotel,” Asset Detail NRIS 83001016 — asserts: listed 8/8/1983; architects Shepard & Wiser / Siedhoff, George; significant year 1925; location Kansas City, Jackson County, 1327–1335 Baltimore Ave.; multiple listing Hotels in Downtown Kansas City TR. ↩

See also

Categories
  • Concept
  • Building
  • Hospitality
  • Downtown Kc
  • Power And Light

On the record — ks.city/wiki/buildings/hotel-president · last revised 2026-08-10