Part 5

Born April 24, 1833 in Argua Switzerland, George Muelebach would become one of the most successful business owners in Kansas City - the Muehlebach Brewing Company. He left Switzerland at 22 with his siblings and moved to Westport, Misosuri where George started a saddle and harness business, which soon turned to an interest in freight and then onto Colargo to search for gold. It wasn't until 1869 when George and his brother John, purchased the Main Atreet Brewry at 18th and Main in Kansas City.

Between 1870 and the beginning of national Prohibition in 1920, the brewery held four different names, but remained in the Muehlebach family.  By 1899, capacity had increased to 25,000 barrels annually, and the company deployed seven local delivery wagons.    The Muehlebach brewery was by then the second largest in Kansas City, behind only the Kansas City Breweries Company.

Unfortunately, George Muehlebach did not live to see the heyday of the company he founded.  He died on December 22, 1905, leaving his 24-year-old son, George E. Muehlebach, in charge.  Also in 1905, George E. took control of the Muehlebach Estate Company and developed a substantial number of land holdings in the Kansas City area.  In 1916, the company opened the 12 story, 500-room Hotel Muehlebach at 12th and Baltimore.

The hotel was known as the Kansas City's Hotel of president since every president from Woodrow Wilson through Richard Nixon stayed in the presdential suite. The hotel is also known for it's celebrity guests including Babe Ruth, Elvis, and the Beatles.

The building is both a state and federal landmark and the the registration desk used now is in the new structure at the Wyandotte Street entrance. The original Muehlebach Hotel registration desk with "pigeon hole" mail boxes, "sit-down" phone booths and period lamps, was restored to meet historic preservation standards.

A ghost known as “The Blue Lady” has also been known to stay at the hotel from time to time. Described as a blonde in her early 30’s, she has been seen wearing a 1920s-style blue dress with her hair tucked up into a wide-brimmed hat. Some have speculated that she is the ghost of an actress who once played at the Gayety Theater next door, and searches the Muehlebach for a lost lover.