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. Kansas City Times, August 25, 1973.
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