Lassen Hotel, later Radisson Wichita Hotel, later Market Center

Wichita's first high-rise and once its largest hotel, the Lassen Hotel was financed by El Reno businessman Henry Lassen. It is also notable for its interesting use of a classically-inspired combination of Renaissance Revival and Late 19th and Early 20th Century Revivals, which are all characteristic styles of the post-World War I boom. After being completed in 1919 the hotel accommodated many famous figures as they passed through the city, including Amelia Earhart, Will Rogers, Rudolph Valentino, and many others. After changing hands several times over the decades, the hotel became the Radisson Hotel from 1968 to 1971, a retirement home until 1981, and office space until 2015. The offices were vacated in 2015 so the building could be repurposed into apartments, but this never happened and the former hotel stands empty today.

The namesake of this building is Henry Lassen, a flour miller and real estate investor. Lassen's hometown was El Reno, Oklahoma. He began his career there with companies such as the Canadian County Mill and Elevator Company, frequently passing through Wichita on his way to other places of business like Osage City. Eventually, he left his hometown to continue business here after being "snubbed into leaving [El Reno]," according to an Oklahoma newspaper. The circumstances of this are unclear, but the Lassen family left for Wichita in the 1910s, with Henry Lassen joining C.M. Jackman with a local milling operation.

In 1918 Lassen financed the construction of the Lassen Hotel, which Richards, McCarty, & Bulford designed. The building's architecture combines Renaissance Revival and Late 19th and Early 20th Century Revivals. When it opened for business on January 1, 1919, the Lassen was the largest hotel in Kansas and the first high-rise hotel in Wichita. Famous guests at the hotel over the years included Amelia Earhart, Charles Lindbergh, Will Rogers, Knute Rockne, Jack Dempsey, and William Jennings Bryan. The Lassen is significant for its architecture and its association with the economic development of the city between World War I and the Great Depression. For decades the hotel was the city's premier hotel and convention center. During the 1930s, it was the home of the city's oldest radio station, KFH, which stood for "Kansas' Finest Hotel."

In 1986, the hotel was purchased and operated as the Wichita Radisson. This lasted until 1971 when the building was purchased by Defenders of the Christian Faith, who repurposed it as a retirement home. This lasted until 1981, after which the building was vacant for several years until another repurposing, this time for office space. Many locals today may know the building better as Market Center, the title it took during its thirty or so years as an office building. In 2015 all offices were vacated in preparation for yet another repurposing, the aim of which this time was to convert the building to 110 apartments. Work never began, and as of 2022, the empty structure is for sale.

Cawthon, Richard J.. Lassen Hotel - National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form, NPS Gallery. August 21st, 1984. Accessed February 17th, 2023. https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/2b17250e-919b-4d2c-bc27-4e597bc0aaf4.

Savage, Cynthia. Lassen, Henry, House - National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, NP Gallery. February 1st, 2008. Accessed February 17th, 2023. https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/f0e973fa-a2a8-4359-8193-490dfa8beb97/.