Your Secrets are Safe With Them

Zebra Room restaurant, event space/ballroom, Martini Loft full bar, dirty martini, 13th floor, hotel

 

 

 

In 1951, a handsome man sat at the crowded Martini Loft in downtown Kansas City, Mo., where hoards of fans were eager to buy him another dirty martini. He smiled politely and nonchalantly sipped his drink, accustomed to the attention. You tend to draw it when you’re one of the greatest professional baseball players of all time. Though Mickey Mantle left the Kansas City Blues in 1951 to play for the New York Yankees (where he cemented his fame), the city never forgot him.

 

During the height of the grand hotel era, the luxury of the Aladdin Hotel at 1215 Wyandotte St. drew the most prominent players from many professions. Along with Mantle, Greta Garbo (Swedish-born silent film-turned talkie star and model, recipient of countless awards and nominations and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame) both of whom have suites in the hotel named after them. The tallest building in Kansas City upon its completion in 1925, the Aladdin Hotel and its contemporaries were the forerunners of the five-star hotels we know today.  In 1926, the Aladdin earned the award for best new downtown structure, its enclosed rooftop garden and first floor lined with shops drawing acclaim from the Business District League.

 

The Republican National Convention of 1928, held in Kansas City, brought with it some of the country’s most prominent and influential politicos—all rooming in the Aladdin and the six other lavish hotels in a mere four block radius. The booming city drew then-President Calvin Coolidge, presidential nominee Herbert Hoover, and his Vice President (and Kansas native) Charles Curtis. River travel and the Santa Fe Trail crossing created a huge hostelry industry; Kansas City was the perfect place to stop off for food, booze, and leisure.

 

 

Walking along Wyandotte Street, nothing quite compares to the dramatic entrance of the hotel. You’re immediately drawn in by the original outer adornments of winged lions and birds devouring serpents. The eerie yet beautiful theme continues into the lobby, where a modern whimsical sculpture, commissioned by the present owner, compliments the style.

 

Reopened in 2007 after a major restoration, the hotel transports you back in time with its flawless duplication of the authentic Art Deco style where it all began. The chic, funky vibe of the 1920s and 1930s emanates throughout—from the dizzying carpets of plums, lime greens, reds, and grays, to the old Zebra Room restaurant, still in operation.

 

Hotel lore claims that the Zebra Room’s name originated from the restaurant’s social scene where blacks and whites permissibly mingled in a pre-civil rights age. The restaurant once maintained a “private entrance” through the alleyway, where mobsters and moguls of the prohibition-era admitted their bookies and mistresses on the hush-hush. Though the door has since been sealed, the echoes of infamy and extravagance linger.

 

The Zebra Room lives up to its name in design. You can’t miss the lushly detailed, gigantic painting of a zebra leading to a corridor of glittering zebra print and red walls, finally landing at a round table set with serving ware of the now familiar animal pattern.

 

The present owner transformed the old 16th floor pool to an elegant ballroom, still retaining the Art Deco style with swirling carpet of the same plum and chartreuse, and deep blood-red drapes, creating a stunning and complimentary alteration to the original features of the Aladdin. The hotel is one of few in the United States to house a 13th floor (still in use), a rarity due to the superstition haunting 13 as an unlucky number (the practice of excluding the number dates back to the construction of the first skyscrapers and elevator installments, when builders believed a structure more than 12 stories would be unsound and unsightly). The mail chute still extends all the way to the 15th floor, and the old cocktail lounge, aptly dubbed the Martini Loft, remains overlooking the lobby from the mezzanine above.

 

Circular gilded windows glint between bold mismatched pieces of furniture—pleather red high-backed chairs, purple armchairs, metallic-orange couches—that somehow all integrate seamlessly against the red and black diamond carpeting lining the balcony. The Martini Loft seems endless, with secret corners bearing more eccentric seating and tables. The gilt adornment of the thick marbled pillars calls to the grand golden elevator doors. Dirty martinis are still a favorite drink at the loft—just ask Barney the bartender.

 

Long gone are the days when a night’s stay here required just $3.00, but the aura evokes the Roaring ‘20s feel with swanky rooms in vibrant colors. Whether you’re seeking a room, a drink, or incredible atmosphere, the Aladdin is one of Kansas City’s best boutique hotels—and with champagne offered up during check-in, what more could you want?

 

Let the gorgeous terra cotta female figures ornamenting the high façade lure you in. They’ve kept silent watch for nearly 90 years, witnesses of fame and fortune, scandal and grandeur.

 

Your secrets are safe with them.