Overview
Unknown to a lot of people is that the historic district of Kansas Cityis absolutely booming. A hearty testament to a thriving economy, the delights of this midwestern city are on a real turn around. One such benefit is the increases to the tourism industry. While there are many more commercial options if one is looking to stay downtown, there are some more historic hotels that offer every modern amenity that also includes a real old-world charm. One such place is the Muehlebach Hotel, which has been a downtown mainstay since 1915.
With construction beginning in 1914 and ending in 1915, George Muehlebach was a man with a vision. The original founder of the Muehlebach Beer Company (which was later acquired by Schlitz in 1956), George boasted of the grand ballrooms, meeting rooms, and all the other luxurious amenities that he could cram into his towering hotel. It was such a popular stop that even the likes of Ernest Hemingway, Babe Ruth, Frank Sinatra, Helen Keller, and even Presidents Woodrow Wilson, Calvin Coolidge, and Harry Truman were regulars there. However, by 1976, the hotel was acquired by the Radisson Chain before being further turned over to the Mariott brand. But despite such changes in ownership, the hotel still has managed to keep its ghostly flavor alive.
Is the Muehlebach Hotel Haunted?
A ghostly apparition named the Blue Lady is the premier spirit at the Muehlebach. Reports from hotel guests and staff alike describe her as a younger woman with blonde hair that’s tucked underneath a blue fedora, while she’s also dressed in a blue-colored flapper dress of 1920s style. Those who have encounters the Blue Lady have noticed a substantial drop in the room temperature and those who have gotten up close say that she appears frazzled and lost as if looking for something.
Running water faucets in a room, lights flickering on and off are some of her more spirited trademarks in this historic hotel. However, one thing about her is very unsettling to guests, and employees especially. She has been spotted the most on the first floor of the hotel in and around the lobby area, sometimes sitting or standing with her head in her hands as if sobbing, but no sounds are emitted. Even more chilling is that during such ghostly emotional breakdowns, her spirit simply disappears. The prevailing theory is that she was a Kansas City theatre actress who is eternally looking for a lost lover who may have perished in the hotel.
The hauntingly beautiful reasoning behind the Blue Lady is that even in death, love still seems to find a way. Today, the Muehlebach Hotel has been considered a “wing” and has been absorbed and renamed into the Kansas City Mariott Downtown. Despite the name change, the lost love ghost that haunts this hotel is something that will never change no matter how long the time.
