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Mayfair Hotel (St. Louis, Missouri)

1979 establishments in MissouriBuildings and structures in St. LouisDowntown St. LouisHotel buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in MissouriHotels in St. Louis
National Register of Historic Places in St. Louis
Hotel Mayfair
Hotel Mayfair

The Magnolia Hotel St. Louis is a historic hotel in downtown St. Louis, Missouri. Opened in 1925, it has been known for most of its existence as the Mayfair Hotel. The Mayfair was founded by hotelier Charles Heiss, a Bavarian who worked in hotels in Europe, Canada, and elsewhere in America. Heiss served as the assistant manager at the Knickerbocker Hotel in New York City and as the manager of the Detroit hotel of the Statler Hotels, an early American hotel chain. Statler transferred Heiss to St. Louis to manage its hotel there, which he did for some years before having a disagreement with Mr. Statler, in which he swore to build better hotels nearby in St. Louis.Designed by prominent St. Louis architect Preston J. Bradshaw, the hotel's 18-story building was built in 1924 and 1925. The concrete building is faced in red brick and terra cotta; it uses terra cotta extensively in its facing, window frames, ornaments, and cornices. The building had three high-speed elevators run by elevator operators. The Mayfair opened its doors on August 29, 1925, for a private reception and dinner for the 120 stockholders and contractors. The next evening, 4,000 guests were invited for a grand opening and dedication. The Mayfair Hotel featured a nine-chair barbershop, a six-booth beauty parlor (unlike at many hotels where these services would be located in a basement), and private dining rooms and a luxurious lounge in the mezzanine off the lobby. Among the hotel's guests throughout the years were Irving Berlin, John Barrymore, Douglas Fairbanks, Cary Grant, Harry Truman, and Lyndon B. Johnson. In 1925, Radio station KMOX went on the air from a studio in the mezzanine. KMOX installed an $18,000 Kilgen organ and held recitals every day at noon and between 6 and 7 p.m.In 1977, the hotel was renovated. Some 85 rooms were removed and the interior redecorated, but original features were kept when possible, maintaining the building's historic value. The hotel was added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 17, 1979.The hotel was sold in 2003 to local businessmen Michael and Steven Roberts, who renamed it the Roberts Mayfair Hotel. The hotel was managed by Wyndham Hotels for a time during this period. The brothers built a condominium tower next to the hotel, which proved unsuccessful, forcing them to sell the hotel to UrbanStreet Group in 2012, who then resold it for $4 million to Magnolia Hotels in 2013. Magnolia renovated the hotel, and reopened it in 2014 as the Magnolia Hotel St. Louis.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Mayfair Hotel (St. Louis, Missouri) (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Mayfair Hotel (St. Louis, Missouri)
North 8th Street, St. Louis

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N 38.63 ° E -90.191944444444 °
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Magnolia Hotel

North 8th Street 421
63101 St. Louis
Missouri, United States
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Hotel Mayfair
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International Hat Company
International Hat Company

International Hat Company, formerly named the International Harvest Hat Company, was a St. Louis, Missouri-based manufacturer of commercial hats and military helmets. The company was one of the largest hat manufacturers in the United States and, at one time, the largest manufacturer of harvest hats in the world. It is best remembered for its design and mass production of tropical shaped, pressed fiber military sun helmets for service members of the United States Army, Marines, and Navy during and after World War II. Additionally, the American owned company was a major producer of harvest hats, straw hats, fiber sun hats, enameled dress hats, baseball caps, and earmuffs throughout most of the 20th century. However, it is the International Hat military sun helmets that have become the most notable collector's items. Established in 1917 as a private corporation, the company began with a single product line of harvest straw hats. By the late 1930s, the company had expanded into fiber pressed sun hats and leather harvest hats. During World War II, International Hat developed and produced several models of military sun helmets, including a model with rudimentary ventilation. After the war, the company became interested in plastic molding injection, moving increasingly away from pressed fiber. In the 1950s, General Fibre Company, a subsidiary of International Hat, changed its name to General Moulding Company to reflect these production changes in basic materials. By the 1960s, International Hat was mostly producing baseball caps, straw hats, earmuffs, plastic helmets, and plastic sun hats. During this era of expansion, the company had a proclivity for building its factories in small rural cities, often becoming the largest employer and economic backbone of those communities. On several occasions, International Hat donated land or facility equipment for the creation of municipal parks located adjacent to one of its factories, namely for the purpose of benefiting employees, their families, and the local community.After sixty-one years of business, the company was sold in 1978 to Interco, Inc., where it continued operating as a subsidiary. In 1988, Interco was the target of a hostile takeover bid. Consequently, International Hat was divested the following year to Paramount Cap Company, as part of a debt restructuring plan instituted by the parent company. However, Interco subsequently went bankrupt in 1991, after selling 16 of its 20 subsidiaries. Although International Hat was liquidated, several of its original factories are still in operation by other hat companies in Southeastern Missouri. Additionally, one of International Hat's warehouses in the historic district of Soulard, Missouri has been added to the National Register of Historic Places. International Hat operated the historical building from 1954 to 1976. It is presently used as a senior and disabled living facility.