Muaha ha ha ha! I stumped you!FangKC wrote: I don't know the answer to your question about Oak Hall. I would assume that all the art objects in Oak Hall ended up in the collection of the Nelson-Atkins though.
](./images/smilies/eusa_wall.gif "Brick wall"){kind=small}
Ha, well I'm sure a quick call to the Nelson could answer the question about the statues.FangKC wrote:
I like the sturdyness of this structure. It looks like you could bombard it with canons and it would still stand.FangKC wrote: Sacred Heart Catholic Church (1896) Richardson Romanesque
26th and Madison
Kansas City, MO
Building remains.
Mrs. Sam Ray had this to say about the Baltimore Hotel in the Kansas City Times in 1979:Kansas City's famous Baltimore Hotel, between 11th and 12th streets on Baltimore, was described at the turn of the century, during the Democratic National Convention in Kansas City this way:
With but a single exception, the largest hotel in America, outside New York. (The Palmer House in Chicago was larger.)
The Pompeian room, one of several dining rooms at the hotel, seated as many as 700 persons. Its luxurious furnishings of Pompeian red, green, green onyx and gold leaf, with gilded furniture and a Carrara marble fountain brought from Europe, were impressive. Soft chamber music was played by musicians throughout the dinner hour.
An underground passageway conveniently led from the hotel bar to the Willis Wood Theater lobby across the street diagonally, at 11th and Baltimore. It was the finest legitimate theater in the city. The passageway served theater patrons during theater intermissions.
Names of the theatrical greats, foreign dignitaries, political potentates, presidents and business leaders from around the world appeared on the registers of the Baltimore Hotel.
The hotel was built during the years 1898-99 by the Corrigan estate. Louis Curtiss was the architect. It closed Aug. 6, 1938.
At an auction lasting several weeks after the closing of the hotel, everything from old demitasse cups and saucers to fine mahogany dressers with beveled mirrors passed into the possession of persons who wanted the remember the old hotel.
Today City Center Square, the new office tower, occupies the site.
As Henry Van Brunt once wrote: Hotel Baltimore, the grand hotel for three decades, at the very heart of the city, both physically and sentimentally.
In 1968, Mrs. Ray had this to say in the Kansas City Times:...The first unit of the hotel at the 11th Street corner (pictured) was built in 1898 and 1899. It replaced the Merril lumber yard. Two stories were added in 1901. This was extended south in 1904, and in 1908 the 12-story building at the corner of 12th and Baltimore was constructed. Louis Curtiss was the architect.
...
The Baltimore Hotel was known for its cuisine. The hotel had one of the most outstanding chefs of the day, Adrian Delvaux. Parties given there included one in honor of Madam Schumann Heink, Caruso, Lillian Russell, several of the nation's presidents and hundreds of others with impressive names and titles.
The block-long hotel, Kansas City's finest (before the Muehlebach), was closed in 1939. The 500 rooms were emptied and all furniture and equipment sold at an auction conducted in the Pompeian Room, once the hub of social and business life in Kansas City. Delvaux came back to Kansas City to attend the sale and was greeted by many friends and patrons of the past.
Today the City Center Square occupies the old hotel site as well as the remainder of the block bounded by Main, Baltimore, 12th and 11th.
When the first part (six stories) of the Hotel Baltimore was erected at the southeast corner of Eleventh and Baltimore in 1897, it replaced the Merril Lumber yard.
Three additions were built, bringing the height to 11 stories and extending the hotel to Twelfth street, with entrances on Eleventh , Twelfth and Baltimore. A tunnel under Baltimore connected the bar to the Willis Wood theater for intermission libations.
Well remembered are the Renaissance room with Carrara marble columns and the elegant Pompeian room with a marble fountain, which now stands on Wenonga road one block north of Tomahawk road and the site is now occupied by a 4-story parking structure, with street-level stores.
A full moon lights up the Baltimore Hotel, 11th and Baltimore, built for the veteran hotel men, A. D. and D. J. Dean, by the Thomas Corrigan estate. (The Dean brothers operated the Savoy Hotel previously.)
Thomas Corrigan was the owner and operator of Kansas City's early street car system, with horse-and mule-drawn cars before tracks were laid, and later with cable cars and then electric cars. He had purchased the hotel site in 1887, but died in 1894 before the hotel was built. Bernard Corrigan, his brother, was trustee for the estate and carried on the plans for a hotel.
Louis Curtiss was the architect. The brick bearing walls were 48 inches thick at the bottom, with iron posts on the interior supporting cinder concrete floors. All the cement was from Germany, and came to this country as ballast on sailing vessels.
Two additions had been made to the original building when this picture was made. The original hostelry, opened in the spring of 1899, was a 6-story building. The balcony shown was in the exact center, with three windows on each side, on the lower floors.
Two stories were added for the first addition, and in 1904 a second addition extended the structure 40 additional feet south, toward 12th Street. It was not until 1907 that the hotel was expanded all the way to 12th and half a block east toward Main. Louis Curtiss completed the architectural designs. An impressive entrance was built on 12th.
Thomas Corrigan Bourke, a grandson, says each addition of the hotel is clearly identified on the post card, and for this reason he dates it 1905.
During its heyday the hotel entertained many famous persons of the political, theatrical and business world. Two U.S. Presidents, Theodore Roosevelt and William H. Taft, and one presidential aspirant, William Jennings Bryan, were among its notable guests.
Today the block, designated as block 92 by urban renewal planners, is completely cleared and stands ready for use. But the glamorous old Baltimore Hotel will not be forgotten. Post card scenes were made at the turn of the century by day and by night, from many angles, including the roof, with aerial views of the city. These are now treasures of their owners.
Link to the Folly Web site, and photo gallery:The Century Theater at 12th and Central, designed by Louis S. Curtiss, prominent Kansas City architect, was first called the Standard Theater. The owner, Edward J. Butler, was a wealthy real estate man from St. Louis.
The theater, together with an adjoining hotel, the Edward (razed in 1965) was a hub of activity during the early years of this century. Today it is an important survival of turn-of-the-century theater architecture in the downtown area.
The Standard opened Sept. 13, 1900, offering performances of burlesque comedy and vaudeville.
After a Jan. 31, 1901 fire which destroyed the Coates Opera House three blocks away, the bill included opera and comic performances transferred to the Standard from the Coates. It was at this time that such popular performers as Sarah Bernhardt, Maude Adams and Richard Mansfield, appeared.
In 1902 the theater's name was changed to the Century. Burlesque shows scheduled on the Empire Circuit were presented. Al Jolson, Fannie Brice and Eddie Foy were among the stars who appeared during this time.
Joe Donegan, manager of the theater and the Edward hotel from 1900 until 1922, scheduled special events, often prize fights and wrestling, on Saturday nights after the regular show. Among those appearing were Jack Johnson and Jack Dempsey.
The Shubert brothers purchased the theater in 1923 and renamed it Shubert's Missouri. During this era the theater produced legitimate drama, such as the plays of Eugene O'Neill and William Shakespeare.
With prohibition the theater and grill encountered hard times. The theater was intermittently open for touring shows and movies until it closed in 1932. Five years later it was auctioned for back taxes.
In 1941 the theater reopened as the Folly with strip-tease shows. Later X rated movies were added. The theater closed in December, 1973.
The building has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places because of its importance as an element in the history of Kansas City architecture, society and humanities.
...
In 1981 in the Kansas City Times, Mrs. Ray said:Col. Willis Wood had made a fortune in wholesale dry goods and the manufacture of clothing in St. Joseph before he came here and built the ornate $400,000 theater that bore his name. It was located at Eleventh street and Baltimore avenue and he lived at the Baltimore hotel across the street, during construction. Louis Curtiss was the architect.
The theater was opened the evening of August 25, 1902, and the occasion was remembered as one of the most brilliant society events in Kansas City. Colonel Woods, with his ruddy face and gray mustache, took bows from his private box.
The boxes took up the front row of the second floor after the manner of the diamond horseshoe in New York's Metropolitan Opera house. Amelia Bingham was the star of the opening show in A Modern Magdalene. O.D. Woodward was the lessee of the playhouse.
Advertisements from old Willis Wood programs stir memories: Morton's café for after-theater club sandwiches and oysters-1024 Main; Get your carriage checks from the footman, he will call your vehicle after the performance; Tunnel entrance to right as you pass out of this theater, (to Baltimore hotel bar); Photos by Miss Reineke; Hotel Kupper, 11th & McGee, half a block from Emery Bird's; The Chocolate shop, Hot Drinks & Lowney's Chocolates, 20 Petticoat Lane; Derby Turf exchange, bookmaking on racing events; Latest high buttoned and high lace shoes; Mohair waists with panel & English skirts made to order, John Taylor's; Matinees Wednesdays and Saturdays; Accordion, side & box pleating, sunburst a specialty; Take the Wabash right to the gates of the World's fair (St. Louis), round trips daily $6.00; Morledge's Fish & Oyster house, theater parties a specialty; Rock's Flower store, Beauties, Violets and Orchids.
The Willis Wood theater had the first-class field to itself until 1906 when the Shubert theater was built. In late years stock companies played the theater, burlesque had a fling in 1913-14, then motion pictures. At the end stock companies again trod the boards. The relatively brief career of the theater ended with a disastrous fire in January, 1917. In Old Kentucky was the bill at the final show.
Demolition began in 1918 to make way for the new 20-story Kansas City Athletic club. Today it is the Hotel Continental.
In her last article on the Willis Wood in the Kansas City Times, 1986, Mrs. Ray said:Architects of today label the structure as being deliberately embellished and with some baroque characteristics, probably designed to make it physically attractive. Louis Curtiss was the architect and it is believed he followed the wishes and whims of the owner-builder, Col. Willis Wood, who had made a fortune in wholesale dry goods and the manufacture of clothing in St. Joseph, Mo., before coming to Kansas City.
Colonel Wood made his home at the Hotel Baltimore, diagonally across the street, while the theater was being built. The grand opening was Aug. 25, 1902.
Curtiss' work included plain line modern structures such as the Boley glass wall office building at the northeast corner of 12th and Walnut.
An amusing incident about the old Willis Wood was told by the late Margaret Holmes Richardson. She remembered attending the theater with her parents on an especially gala occasion. They were all in evening clothes, so were going by horse-car rather than in their own carriage.
The horse-car's tracks lay along Broadway, and when they reached a corner saloon downtown, the driver pulled the horses to a stop, wrapped the lines around the whip, dismounted and entered the saloon. What was to have been a brief stop for the driver became a long wait.
As the opening time for the theater performance approached, the exasperated Williard P. Holmes (bank president) stripped off his white kid gloves, threw back his black opera cape, moved to the driver's seat and took up the reins. With a curt command and touch of the whip, the team moved quickly the few remaining blocks to the theater just in time for the family to present the tickets and find seats before the curtain rose. How long it took for the driver to locate his car and animals at the Willis Wood curb is not known.
The Willis Wood was the leading theater until 1906 when the Shubert Theater was built, one block north.
In later years the Willis Wood was used for stock companies, burlesque and finally motion pictures. The theater burned in January, 1917. Today the site is that of the Continental Hotel.
The ornate architecture of Louis Curtiss's Willis Wood Theatre, Kansas City's first and finest legitimate theater, is pictured at the northwest corner of 11th and Baltimore.
The theater extended west on 11th to the alley. Curtiss departed from his usual plain line modern design, such as that of his Boley glass wall office building at 12th and Walnut. He was said to have been influenced by and followed the wishes and whims of the owner-builder, Col. Willis Wood, successful wholesale dry goods magnate of St. Joseph. Wood lived at the Baltimore Hotel, diagonally across the street, during the construction of the theater.
Carrie Whitney in her 1909 history of Kansas City wrote:
Kansas City is very proud of the Willis Wood Theatre, and justly so, for in point of sumptuous equipment and artistic beauty it stands to the front rank of American playhouses. The house opened Aug. 25, 1902, with Amelia Bingham as the attraction, and the occasion of the opening night will be remembered as one of the most brilliant society events in the history of kansas City.
Most patrons attended in full evening dress and arrived in their own horse-drawn carriage, by horse-drawn cab or horse-drawn street car.
A tunnel underground from the theater led to a Baltimore Hotel bar, a convenience for patrons during the play's long intermission.
The Willis Wood had the first class legitimate theater to itself, until 1906, when the Shubert Theater was built, one block north.
After suffering a disastrous fire in January 1917, demolition was started in 1918 to make way for the 20-story Kansas City Athletic Club building. The Continental Hotel was the next occupant.
Today the hotel has been converted into the modern office building Mark Twain Tower. The Kansas City Athletic Club still occupies four floors.
