Pacific House Hotel (1860-1868; 1868-Present)

The Pacific House Hotel building at 401 Delaware Street is believed to have been designed by architect Asa Beebe Cross and operated as a hotel for many decades. The original building, constructed circa 1860, burned down in 1868 but was used as a Union headquarters during the Civil War. The building was where General Thomas Ewing of the United States Army issued General Order Number 11, which called for the evacuation of four Missouri counties in the wake of William Qunatrill's raid on Lawrence and other Kansas communities. After the war, the building again served as a hotel until it was destroyed in an 1868 fire. The building was quickly rebuilt and operated as a hotel for decades, and it was converted into loft-style apartments in 1999.

Local legends about the original hotel include frequent visits by outlaws Frank and Jesse James. In 1863, that building became the headquarters for the District of the Border, a military unit commanded by Brigadier General Thomas Ewing Jr. Order 11 depopulated parts of Vernon Bates, Cass, and southern Jackson County, believing that this would reduce pro-Confederate raids into Kansas communities in the wake of Quantrill's attack on Lawrence. The orders were later revised to support civilian resettlement.