Two fine early-day hotels are pictured in this 1909 postcard scene of Broadway looking north from Eleventh street. The Brunswick hotel (left foreground) was built in 1883 by C. A. Brockett of the Brockett Cement company and a partner named Barnes. Though only five stories high, it had 70 rooms and was designed for either family residents or transient guests. When the Brunswick opened, the Coates House (right) a block north, was the only hotel of first rank in the city and the only one with adequate facilities for large dinners and parties .Col. A. A. Tomlinson owned all of the east side of the 1000 block south of the Coates House and built the small stores, barber shop and cafe shown in the foreground. He also operated the Casino in the middle of this block, which extended east to the alley. It had a capacity of about 700 persons and was used for formal dancing parties, recitals and art exhibits. Later it was converted into a garage. The business establishments along Broadway catered to residents of nearby Quality Hill. The Coates House is still in operation, but the fine old Brunswick, after weathering a national depression and a shifting local scene, was razed in December of 1939. Kansas City Star, November 15, 1969.
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