Muehlebach Hotel / KC Club Project

[FangKC]

Is this the same spot where the Haberdashery was in the eighties? Where they had crocks of peanuts on the tables and people were encouraged to throw the shells on the floor?

Yes, Moderne, it appears so.

[Rabble]

CityScene is reporting the bar in the Muehlebach Hotel building, that faces Baltimore, will reopen.

Historic Muehlebach Hotel Bar Reopening After 40 Years

The former Rendezvous bar in the historic Muehlebach Hotel, a luxurious watering hole where Truman Capote once worked on “In Cold Blood” and bygone businessmen talked deals over whiskeys and cigars, is reopening soon as the Voo Lounge.

The old bar at 1214 Baltimore has been largely dormant since 1983, but thanks to the new Downtown Marriott ownership its been restored to the grandeur it radiated when the landmark hotel opened in 1915.
...
The Voo Lounge will reopen Feb. 10 as a classic piano bar with Will O’Keefe performing every evening. The concept calls for it to be an interactive experience for patrons to enjoy the music and perhaps sing along.
...

https://cityscenekc.com/historic-muehle ... -40-years/

Location:

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.0996735 ... 384!8i8192

https://www.vookansascity.com/history

The great news is the new owners are intrigued with the lobby as well as the bar. No discussion here of apartments. Maybe they will reopen the mezzanine, along with the grand entrances off of both Baltimore and 12th street, and return the Muehlebach to it's former glory as KC's best hotel.

I think to do this, the owners should fill in the openings between the original Muehlebach and the Marriott, and run it as a separate hotel. The original Muehlebach, by itself, is much bigger than the President.

The question then would be what to do with banquet facility to the south. My assumption is the mezzanine was filled in at the time this addition was built, and that this addition was built at least 10 years before Bartle, as part of KC's earlier convention facility.

To picture this lobby, with the mezzanine restored, walk into the President and multiply by 10. The Muehlebach should be as beloved and iconic to KC as the Peabody is to Memphis.

[TheLastGentleman]

Reposting some things I’ve found before:

The Muehlebach once had a two story lobby with a mezzanine. You can see the railing in the upper part of the frame here.



Image of the lobby before it was filled in



Same perspective today



This is the area of ceiling that isn't original. I'm assuming it got filled in when the south addition was built.



Because of that, if you go to the second floor, you'll notice that the ceilings seem pretty low. Note the height of the columns.



That mezzinine could be brought back like how it was in the pickwick



Various pictures

[Cratedigger]

Wow had no idea - thanks TLG

[missingkc]

It appears that very little of that space is being used for the purpose for which it was created - if used at all. What a shame. Thanks for posting.

[TheLastGentleman]

[FangKC]

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CovYr4JJ ... _copy_link

[DaveKCMO]

So are we addressing the pigeon shit, or nah?

[herrfrank]

LOL on the pic of the drinking fountain/ bubbler above -- I used to park in the Barney Allis garage, take the basement tunnel to the (new) Muehlebach lower level, and then up and across the new lobby into the old lobby, which is about a half-storey below the new lobby -- the old lobby and its several nooks have been open to the public for at least 10 years, but few people pass through there. Anyhow, the doors from the old lobby lead onto Baltimore, directly across from my office tower (1KCP). I would sometimes get water from that antique fish-themed drinking fountain. The old lobby is a beautiful space and Marriott has been talking about doing something with it for years.

BTW, the second storey of the new Muehlebach, which connects to the honky tube to the downtown Marriott fka the Vista International, also connects to the mezzanine level of the old Muehlebach. My company would often take a floor in the new Muehlebach when we did a bit IT project over a weekend, so that colleagues who lived in the distant burbs could be accessible all weekend. Nowadays that seems quaint.

[kenrbnj]

Just stayed at the Hotel Kansas City -- quick business trip into town. First time back in a few years.

As a jaded traveler - I book/stay in 120-150 hotel room nights per year, mostly Hyatt properties. That Hotel Kansas City is a stand-out It is beautiful from every angle. The attention to historic detail is breathtaking.

Even if you live in Overland Park or whatever, take it as a strong recommendation to book a night there. ..The Speakeasy bar in the basement is top-notch, as well.

Ask for a south view.

-Ken

[DaveKCMO]

It's my second favorite hotel in KC now, after the Crossroads Hotel (which is always much buzzier). I've stayed in both multiple times.

[TheLastGentleman]

Can we please get this fixed? It's been this way for years now. It can't be good for the building.

[moderne]

Certainly a safety and liability issue.