Savoy Hotel and Savoy Grill (1888-2014); The Savoy at 21c and 21c Museum Hotel Kansas City
Introduction
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This historic Kansas City building was home to the Savoy Hotel starting in 1888. Five years later, the hotel added the Savoy Grill, the longest-operating restaurant west of the Mississippi River. The restaurant and hotel closed following a 2014 fire, but the building was later renovated and reopened by the 21c hotel chain to include a contemporary art museum along with many tributes to the history of the former historic establishment. Soon after the hotel reopened, the former dining room of the Savoy Grill reopened as the Savoy at 21c Restaurant. Visitors to the restaurant can sit in a booth that was the preferred location of Harry S. Truman and view a series of historically significant murals that were created as part of the restaurant's 1903 opening. These murals by Edward Holslag depict early Kansas City history from pioneers departing Westport on the Sante Fe Trail to the arrival of steamboats on the Missouri River. A short hallway connects these historical works to a contemporary art museum that is open to the public 24 hours a day within the new hotel's lobby. A virtual tour of the hotel's art gallery and restaurant, including the murals by Edward Holsalg, is available within this entry.
Images
The Savoy Grill now operates as the restaurant of the 21c Hotel much as it did for the Savoy Hotel
This postcard shows the Savoy in the early 20th century as automobiles and horse-drawn carriages shared the street
The Savoy Grill was the oldest continuously-operated restaurant in Kansas City
The Savoy Grill includes a dozen murals by Edward Holslag that were created for the Savoy Grill when it opened in 1903
The view of the Savoy Grill from the street entrance
A view of Harry Truman's favorite booth
1903 Murals depict early Kansas City history including steamboats on the Missouri River
Murals also include images of pioneers departing Westport on the Sante Fe Trail and Native peoples
In 2018, the museum added a work made by artist Brad Kahlhamer to the restaurant that was inspired by Native American dream catchers and part of 21Cs effort to balance the historic murals that celebrate European-American expansion.
Mural by Edward Holslag
Mural by Edward Holslag
Mural by Edward Holslag
A close view of Harry Truman's favorite booth
Clockwise starting on the left: Serge Alain Nitegeka, Captive José Toirac, A Brief History of Cuba As Told By Other Things #1(Cartier) José Toirac, A Brief History of Cuba As Told By Other Things #2(Benetton) Hector Zamora, Brazil Sue Williamson, Other Voices: Even Nothing Works, Bern, Switzerland
Left to right: Ken and Julia Yonetani, Crystal Palace: The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all Nuclear Nations (U.S.A.) Kara Walker, Alabama Loyalists Greeting the Federal Gun-Boats, Harper's Pictorial History of Daniel Jackson, The Thousand Yard Stare (Possible Future Me)
Left to right: Lina Puerta Sweet Potato Crop Pickers Chili Pepper Crop Picker Orange Crop Picker Kara Walker, African Boy Attendant Curio with Molasses and Brown Sugar, from "The Marvelous Sugar Baby" Installation at the old Domino Sugar Factory Warehouse (Front Basket)
The entrance to the historic hotel, now part of 21c with two floors of modern art
The entrance to the hotel features a modern work by the artist Luftwerk called Linear Sky
Backstory and Context
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The Savoy Hotel and Savoy Grill was constructed in four phases between 1890 and 1906 and featured a neoclassic design. The building was initially completed as a five-story structure, with a sixth story added along with rear extensions. From 1905 to 1906, a western addition was added, reaching seven stories. In the earliest years, the Savoy Grill was only open to male patrons while the hotel's dining room was open to all guests. Harry S. Truman was a frequent patron of the Savoy Grill when he operated a nearby clothing store prior to his entrance into politics, a career that was initially aided by Tom Pendergast. Truman ate at the Savoy so often that a plaque was later placed in booth number four, designating the preferred table of the former haberdashery owner who went on to become President of the United States.
The Savoy Grill maintained a turn of the century feeling up throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The hotel and grill have passed through many different owners, including the Savoy Investment Company which bought the building in 1962. Donald F. Lee purchased the restaurant in 1960 and acquired the hotel five years later. The Savoy Grill was the oldest restaurant in the city and the longest continuously-operated restaurant in the western half of the United States until a 2014 fire led to its closure. In 2016, work on renovating and reopening the historic hotel began under the auspices of the 21c Museum Hotels group and the historic dining room reopened in 2018. In that same year, the museum added a work by artist Brad Kahlhamer within the Savoy Grill that was inspired by Native American dream catchers and intended to help balance the historic murals that celebrate European-American expansion.
Sources
National Register of Historic Places, Savoy Grill, Kansas City, Jackson, Missouri, National Register #74001073.
Diane Stafford, "Hotel Savoy renovation in Kansas City gets new timetable." The Kansas City Star. September 13, 2016. http://www.kansascity.com/news/business/development/article101620162.html (accessed April 21, 2017).
Deel, Karla. The Savoy Hotel Bed & Breakfast and the Savoy Grill. n.d. http://ediblenetwork.com/kansascity/edible-traditions-the-savoy-hotel-bed-breakfast-and-the-savoy-gr... (accessed April 28, 2017).
Scooters Bars. February 2010. http://www.scootersbars.com/2010/02/savoy-grill/ (accessed April 28, 2017).
Postcard of the Savoy Hotel, Mrs. Sam Ray Postcard Collection, Kansas City Public Library. Accessed August 28th, 2022. https://kchistory.org/islandora/object/kchistory%3A108939/datastream/OBJ/view.
Photo by David Trowbridge
https://kchistory.org/islandora/object/kchistory%3A108939/datastream/OBJ/view
Photo by David Trowbridge
Photo by David Trowbridge
Photo by David Trowbridge
Photo by David Trowbridge
Photo by David Trowbridge
Photo by David Trowbridge
Photo by David Trowbridge
Photo by David Trowbridge
Photo by David Trowbridge
Photo by David Trowbridge
Photo by David Trowbridge
Photo provided by 21cHotel for Clio
Photo provided by 21cHotel for Clio
Photo provided by 21cHotel for Clio
Photo provided by 21cHotel for Clio
Photo provided by 21cHotel for Clio