History+of+the+Windsor+Hotel

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The beautiful, historic, four-story Windsor Hotel was often referred to as the “Waldorf of the Prairies”. In 1887, John A. Stevens built the hotel next to his Opera House, constructed the year before in 1886 (The Opera House was razed in 1953). The Windsor Hotel was built on a homestead Stevens claimed in 1879. The hotel was built of native stone and brick made from a kiln located where Kansas Tireland is now located.

The hotel contained 125 rooms and one bathroom on the third floor. Ornate gas chandeliers lit the hotel until 1898 when electricity was installed. It was carpeted throughout and had four clothes closets. The bell boy, for a quarter, would get guests their towels and soap and unlock the room door.

The most remarkable feature of the hotel is an interior court in the center of the mezzanine. The atrium on the second floor extends upward for three stories and is topped by a vaulted skylight. Balconies with mahogany balustrades surround the court on three sides; and the graceful stairways on the fourth side converge on the central court floor. The hotel rooms are arranged in two rows around the court, the interior row opening onto the central court. As the innovation of its time, hot and cold water in pitchers, with personal wash stands and commodes were maintained in every room. The rooms on the main floor were exclusively for the noted, the notorious and the very rich.

The second floor of the hotel contained the large parlors, dining room, the Presidential Suite and John Stevens’ private living quarters. The suite opened onto the court and folding doors provided direct access to the Opera House. The Presidential Suite was a series of three rooms, complete with large bath, stting room and fireplace, overlooking Main Street. One room was large enough to hold three large beds with room to spare. The most distinctive feature was a solid cherry wood fireplace, hand carved, and decorated with hand-painted Italian ceramic tiles tile. It was reported that Lillian Russell, Eddie Foy, Buffalo Bill Cody, Jay Gould, and General Dodge enjoyed the stately comforts of the Presidential Suite.

The Opera House, where a succession of great entertainers of the 1880's trouped the boards in a luxurious setting of red velvet and gleaming chandeliers, was built the year before and adjoined the hotel on the south. The Stevens' suite opened on to the court and provided direct access to their opera box through folding doors. The Opera House was purchased by Col. A.H. Burtis and was operated by the Burtis family until 1928.

The Windsor Hotel was the finest hotel between Kansas City and Denver and was the cattlemen's headquarters of Western Kansas. Some New York and Denver travels, who stopped at the hotel for the night, noticed the cattlemen in the lobby, became alarmed at the rough element, and asked to have their jewels locked in the safe. They were told the "rough element" were cattlemen who could buy their jewels several times over.

The hotel was noted for its fine dining room, which served fine foods in the approved style of the times. Finger bowls were served after every meal. Meals were still being served in 1924. As one of the "swankiest spots" on the continent "men of money" had their "affairs" in the gay nineties at the hotel. The direct entrance from the hotel to the adjoining Stevens Opera House allowed the "Diamond Jim Bradys" and their bejewelled ladies to "strut" from the hotel suites, through the mezzaine balcony to their boxes at the Opera.

The hotel was not only a landmark but also a center of social, community, and even "big business" affairs. Many thousand acres of Western Kansas land changed hands over the big table in the Court, as well as transactions involving thousands of head of cattle. Many balls and musicals were held in the immense court.

In April of 1972, the Windsor was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was closed as a hotel in 1977. Restoration plans are currently underway. Because of its historic importance to local and state history, the Windsor Hotel is currently listed by the Kansas Preservation Alliance as one of the top five most endangered buildings in the state. The Windsor Hotel is owned by the Finney County Preservation Alliance. Tours by appointment. Call 620-275-4340 www.gardencity.net/windsor.

Clark, Norman. The Windsor Hotel Vertical File. 15 August 2010 Garden City Chamber of Commerce. "Attractions." Garden City Area Chamber of Commerce. 15 August 2010. [].