Elms Hotel

Infobox_nrhp | name =Elms Hotel
nrhp_type =


caption =
location= Excelsior Springs, Missouri
lat_degrees = 39
lat_minutes = 20
lat_seconds = 14
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 94
long_minutes = 13
long_seconds = 32
long_direction = W
locmapin = Missouri
area =
built =1912
architect= Jackson & McIlvain
architecture= Tudor Revival, Gothic Revival
added = March 29, 1985
governing_body = Private
refnum=85000648cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2008-04-15|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service] The Elms Hotel is located at Regent and Elms Boulevard in Excelsior Springs, Missouri. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

History

The current Elms Hotel was built by the Elms Realty Company of native stone and opened in 1912 after fires destroyed previous locations in 1898 and 1910. During the 1920s and 30s the region around Kansas City, Missouri was a wide open town under crime boss "Big City" Tom Pendergast. The Elms prospered as a speakeasy, and Al Capone was said to be a visitor. In 1922 the original owner, the Elms Realty Company, sold the hotel to Dr. A. S. McCleary, operator of a Kansas City sanitarium. McCleary sold the hotel in 1925 to the Roberts Hotel Company of Chicago.

In 1932 the American Medical Association released research studies that negated the effect of mineral water, and that same year the hotel was declared bankrupt and was purchased by the Eppley Hotel Company chain.

In 1948 Harry S. Truman spent the night of his successful Presidential election in 1948. On election night Truman predicted victory to his staffers at his headquarters at the Muehlebach Hotel in Kansas City and then went to the Elms, avoiding the attention drawn to his home in Independence, Missouri. In the morning he was woke there with the news he had won the election. [ [http://elmsblvd.com/elmshotel.html "The Elms Hotel"] , Elms Boulevard Neighborhood Association. Retrieved 6/19/08.] [ [http://www.exspgschamber.com/elmshotel.html "Elms Hotel"] , Excelsior Springs Area Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved 6/19/08.] [ [http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ne/topic/resources/OLLibrary/Nebraskana/pages/nbka0103.htm "Eugene C. Eppley"] , "Nebraskana." Retrieved 6/19/08.]

The hotel's sale in 1966 from the Eppley chain to the Sheraton Corporation was part of the second largest hotel sale in United States history. [ [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,866996,00.html "Closing the gap,"] "Time magazine" June 4, 1956. Retrieved 6/15/08.]

References

It is also said that there is many ghostly activities throughout the hotel, a maid in her 1920's attire, a man in the basement part of the hotel has been traced back to the speak easy days.

External links

* [http://www.legendsofamerica.com/MO-ElmsHotel.html Legendsofamerica profile]
* [http://www.elmsresort.com/ Official website]
* [http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/MO/Clay/state.html National Register entry]