The Lindell Hotel was a hotel in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Located on Sixth Street and Washington Avenue, [1] the hotel opened in 1863 and was destroyed by fire in 1867. A new hotel was reconstructed on the same site and reopened in 1874. It was one of the largest and best-appointed hotels in the city, with 270 bedrooms, and had its own barbershop and Victorian Turkish baths.
The Laclede Hotel Company of St. Louis was established on March 5, 1855, by a charter from the Missouri Legislature. A lot was selected for the new hotel bounded by Washington Avenue and Green Street and Sixth and Seventh Streets. Brothers Jesse G. and Peter Lindell contributed this lot in exchange for eighty thousand dollars in Laclede Hotel Company stock and contributed ten thousand dollars to the endeavor beyond that. Although work on the hotel was to begin earlier, an economic crisis in 1857 forced work to be delayed. In 1859, another act was approved by the Legislature to build an even larger structure than was previously planned, at a cost of five hundred thousand dollars. It was at this point that the hotel was renamed to Lindell Hotel, in honor of its benefactors. Construction on the Venetian style hotel was completed in 1863. The building was six stories high and consisted of two parallel buildings with two courts in between. [2] In 1882, guests could stay at the Lindell Hotel for $2.50 to $4.50 per day. [3]
A grand opening ball was held on November 25. [2] A piece composed expressly for the grand opening ball was written and performed by Waldauer & Vogel's Orchestra. The organizers sold four thousand tickets, although they were wary of inviting women for fear that some improper characters might be admitted. An article in the Missouri Republican newspaper reported on the event the next day. A mob gathered to view the guests arriving for the ball, and a rumor spread that a Chicago woman would arrive in a gown of spun glass. Over the course of the evening, guests dined on twelve hundred quail, more than two hundred turkeys, and one thousand pounds of cake. The party continued until five in the morning. [4]
When the hotel opened, William Roberson, a successful African-American barber, leased space in the basement to open his tonsorial parlor, or barbershop. Roberson was one of many free blacks in St. Louis at that time that ran successful businesses. Roberson renovated the hotel space at a cost of eighteen thousand dollars and hired thirty employees. The barbershop was advertised in a creative way, as Roberson had a Turkish man in a turban drive through St. Louis city streets in a gig with a bathtub mounted on top. [4] Roberson was credited with introducing the popular Turkish bath to the Western country.
Only a few years after opening, the Lindell Hotel succumbed to fire. On March 30, 1867, a fire erupted on the upper story and quickly spread through the roof and all sides of the building. Although the fire department arrived without delay, the height of the hotel prevented firemen from throwing water on the roof. The top of the hotel was completely engulfed in flames, which spread downward throughout the structure. Luckily, because the fire started around 8:30 pm, many of the hotel's four hundred guests had not yet gone to bed. It became clear that the hotel would not be saved, so furniture and other items were taken out, and many were saved. As the fire grew worse, firemen abandoned efforts to save the Lindell Hotel and focused their efforts on saving the surrounding buildings. Around midnight, the walls of the hotel fell resulting in about nine hundred thousand dollars of damage to the building and between two and three hundred thousand dollars of furniture lost. [2]
Stones from the remains of the original Lindell Hotel eventually made their way to St. Louis' Tower Grove Park. The hotel fire occurred shortly before Henry Shaw deeded the land that would become Tower Grove Park to the City of St. Louis. Shaw saw potential for the limestone blocks that were salvaged from the fire. The limestone was brought to the park and restacked to resemble ancient ruins, according to a plan drawn up by Shaw and horticulturist James Gurney. This type of arrangement modeled on ancient ruins was common at the time, as European grand tours gained popularity. [5]
Almost immediately after the fire, citizens began assembling to discuss rebuilding the hotel. It was debated whether the building should stand on the hotel's old site or to the west, on the same street. Mrs. Vincent Marmaduke resolved to rebuild the hotel on its original site. George I. Barnett was selected as the architect for the new building and work began on September 1, 1872, with the clearing of rubble from the fire. Construction took two years, and the new hotel was opened on September 28, 1874. The new hotel had two hundred and seventy guest rooms, with more room devoted to public use than the old structure. [2]
The Lindell Hotel offered some unique amenities for the late 1870s, including steam heat, lace curtains, and an electric massage bath. Guests could also choose from cold water, Russian, or Turkish baths. The barbershop in the hotel was very popular and employed a dozen premier barbers. One barber working there made $2,000 a month in 1870s dollars and served 600 regular customers from all over the city. [6]
The hotel was demolished in June 1905 to make way for the Grand-Leader Dry Goods Store. [7]
The Grand Central Hotel, later renamed the Broadway Central Hotel, was a hotel at 673 Broadway, New York City, that was famous as the site of the murder of financier James Fisk in 1872 by Edward S. Stokes.
Tower Grove Park is a municipal park in St. Louis, Missouri. Located on the south side of the city, the elongated 289-acre (117 ha) park extends 1.6 miles (2.6 km) from Kingshighway Boulevard east to Grand Boulevard. The park’s predominately residential surroundings include the neighborhoods of Southwest Garden, Shaw, Tower Grove East, and Tower Grove South.
Downtown St. Louis is the central business district of St. Louis, Missouri, the hub of tourism and entertainment, and the anchor of the St. Louis metropolitan area. The downtown is bounded by Cole Street to the north, the river front to the east, Chouteau Avenue to the south, and Tucker Boulevard to the west. The downtown is the site of many corporate headquarters, including Stifel Financial Corp., HOK, Spire Inc, and a host of other companies.
Shaw is a neighborhood in St. Louis, Missouri. It is bordered on the North by Interstate 44, the east by S. Grand Blvd, the west by Tower Grove Ave and the Missouri Botanical Gardens, and the south by Tower Grove Park. The Shaw Neighborhood is a local historic district whose historic structure and character is protected by ordinance.
Erastus Wells was a 19th-century politician and businessman from Missouri. Wells was born in Jefferson County, New York, and was the only son of Otis Wells, a descendant of Hugh Welles, an early colonist of Wethersfield, Connecticut. Otis Wells was a farmer and died when Erastus was only fourteen. Erastus was the grandson of Ethelinda Otis and a relation of John Otis, who helped found the town of Hingham, Massachusetts in 1635. Other notable relatives include James Otis, a successful lawyer, Harrison Gray Otis, a statesman and orator, Samuel A. Otis, one of the framers of the constitution of Massachusetts, and George Otis, a clergyman and author.
Dutchtown is a neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri. It is called "Dutch" from Deutsch, i.e., "German", as it was the southern center of German-American settlement in St. Louis in the early 19th century. It was the original site of Concordia Seminary, Concordia Publishing House, Lutheran Hospital, and other German community organizations. The German Cultural Society still has its headquarters there. St Anthony of Padua Catholic Church towers over the neighborhood and is a symbol of the neighborhood.
Southwest Garden is a neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri, located south of The Hill and Forest Park Southeast, west of the Missouri Botanical Garden and Tower Grove Park, east of Lindenwood Park and Clifton Heights, and north of North Hampton.
The architecture of St. Louis exhibits a variety of commercial, residential, and monumental architecture. St. Louis, Missouri is known for the Gateway Arch, the tallest monument constructed in the United States. Architectural influences reflected in the area include French Colonial, German, early American, European influenced, French Second Empire, Victorian, and modern architectural styles.
Preston J. Bradshaw (1884–1952) was one of the most eminent architects of St. Louis, Missouri, during the 1920s. Among his numerous commissions as an architect, he is best known for designing hotels and automobile dealerships in the region. Like many hotel architects of his time, he eventually moved into the actual operation of hotels, becoming owner and operator of the Coronado Hotel in St. Louis.
Streetcars in St. Louis, Missouri, operated as part of the transportation network of St. Louis from the middle of the 19th century through the early 1960s.
The streets of St. Louis, Missouri, United States, and the surrounding area of Greater St. Louis are under the jurisdiction of the City of St. Louis Street Department. According to the department's Streets Division, there are 1,000 miles (1,600 km) of streets and 600 miles (970 km) of alleys within the city.
Albert Bartleton Groves, also known as A.B. Groves or Albert B. Groves, was an American architect who practiced in the St. Louis, Missouri area.
George Ingham Barnett (1815–1898) was an architect from St. Louis, Missouri. He was called "The Dean of St. Louis Architecture" for his contributions to the buildings of St. Louis as well as for his influence on other architects in the United States.
PrideFest St. Louis is an annual LGBT pride event in St. Louis, Missouri. The event is organized by Pride St. Louis, an LGBT non-profit organization in the Greater St. Louis area. Between 350,000-500,000 people attend the two day festival and grand parade.
The Magnolia Hotel St. Louis is a historic hotel in downtown St. Louis, Missouri. Opened in 1925, it has been known for most of its existence as the Mayfair Hotel.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of St. Louis, Missouri, United States.
The Planter's House Hotel was the name of three hotels in St. Louis, Missouri. The first operated from 1817, the second from 1841 to 1891, and the third until 1922.
Barnum's St. Louis Hotel was a historic 6-floor hotel built in 1854. The Barnums were a family of hotel keepers who had run the famous Barnum's Hotel in Baltimore. This building was located at the 2nd and Walnut Streets in St. Louis, Missouri, and has been considered to be St. Louis' first high-rise building. The hotel was designed by architect George I. Barnett.
Mill Creek Valley was a historic neighborhood located in the central corridor between 20th Street and Saint Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri. European settlement began in the 18th century with mills established along La Petite Rivière, now known as Mill Creek. It became an industrial and railroad center in the 19th century. Union Station was opened in 1894. The building was closed in 1978 and renovated for commercial use. Also a residential and commercial center, Mill Creek Valley was populated by German immigrants and African Americans, before and after the Civil War. More people moved into the area during World War II to support the war effort.