Barnum's St. Louis Hotel

Barnum's St. Louis Hotel was a historic 6-floor hotel built in 1854.[1] The Barnums were a family of hotel keepers who had run the famous Barnum's Hotel in Baltimore.[2] This building was located at the 2nd and Walnut Streets in St. Louis, Missouri, and has been considered to be St. Louis' first high-rise building. The hotel was designed by architect George I. Barnett.

Barnum's Hotel, located at the northeast corner of Second Street and Walnut Street. Photograph taken ca. 1870.

The famous former slave Dred Scott worked as a porter here from 1857 until his death.[3] Dred Scott's new owners had freed him two months after the U.S. Supreme Court decision. Scott became a local celebrity, greeting visitors at the hotel until he died of tuberculosis on September 17, 1858.[4]

Famous guests included Henry Clay and Illinois Governor Richard Yates.[5]

The hotel was demolished in 1890.[5]

References
  1. "Barnum's Hotel". Archived from the original on May 7, 2018. Retrieved 2018-05-06.
  2. Walter Barlow Stevens (1909). St. Louis, the Fourth City, 1764-1909, Volume 1. St. Louis: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company. p. 782.
  3. Valerie Battle Kienzle (2017). Lost St. Louis. Charleston, SC: The History Press. p. 83.
  4. "Barnum's Hotel". 2014-05-22. Retrieved 2018-05-06.
  5. "An Old Hostelry No More". Dade County Advocate. December 18, 1890.

38.623536°N 90.186456°W / 38.623536; -90.186456


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