St. Louis Planters’ House Hotel
David O. Semsrott
Collecting Hotel Advertising Corner Cards has always been a popular collecting area, especially those from the Planters’ House in Saint Louis, MO. Corner Cards from the Planters’ House are known from 1857 - 1904 with different managers / proprietors names, attractive designs & colors offering many different known envelopes with great appeal. Since the Planters’ House was very popular the large number of envelopes provided free to guests resulted in many surviving examples, most are within the reach of collectors. Because the hotel was in business for 81 years, many different stamp issues & St. Louis cancellations are represented, offering the general collector & postal historian a specialty collecting area.
The first reference to a Planters’ Hotel was in 1817 by the Missouri Gazette, a small inn located on 2nd St., offering a few private rooms & later large and commodious Stables. Not mentioned in the 1821 city directory, the Planters was gone.
Located at 4th & Chestnut street, the foundation of the future Planters’ House was laid out in 1837 & completed in 1841, Henry Spence designer. He was commissioned by a business group headed by Judge John B.C. Lucas, original shareholders included William Carr Lane, Pierre Chouteau & Joseph Charless. To honor Judge Lucas, the name Planters was to be changed to “Lucas”, but much of the fine English china service & furnishing had been initialed, so Planters’ House remained. The then huge hotel with a 300 guest capacity quickly became “The” place to see the famous and be seen.
The main front measured 230 feet, two wings, forming an interior courtyard, extended 130 feed down Pine & Chestnut Streets. The exterior façade with rusticated ground floor, blind arcades on the second story wings & two story pilasters rising through the third and fourth stories, its floors were almost entirely of marble. During March of 1841 the Missouri Gazette ran daily advertisements of the Planters’ House as, “the largest Hotel west of the Mountains & will be fitted up on a scale of corresponding character. Charles Dickens stayed at the Planters House in 1842 and gave it great reviews.
In the spring of 1846 the famous European piano virtuosos
Leopold de Meyer played for several days at the Planters House. In 1850,
St. Louis ranked 4th in U.S. population, 78,000, ahead of Boston, Mass.
Benjamin Stickney originally leased the Planters’ House in 1842 for $7,000 per year & Mr. McKnight joined Stickeny, both were past managers of the National Hotel in St. Louis. McKnight sold his interest to Leonard Scollay & retired to New York.
In 1858 first overland mail from California via the Butterfield route arrived in St. Louis, a little over 24 days, just under the limit of 25 days. San Francisco newspapers were left at the Planters House to be viewed by all.
In 1860 Scollay died & Stickeny operated the hotel alone, producing a new corner card with Benjamin Stickney being the only name. Examples of this design are known in five colors
In mid 1861 there was a famous meeting regarding national hostilities between Missouri Governor Jackson & ex-Gov. Price with General Lyon on the Army, this historical gathering was held at the Planters House’, General Lyon served verbal notice to Gov. Jackson that he was declaring war on Jackson’s forces!
Stickney operated the hotel alone until 1864 when he retired, selling his interest to Samuel Hatch & Wells Felt. A year later they abandoned the hotel and took the furnishing and went to the Lindell Hotel. Three weeks later the abandoned Planter’s House was leased by Joseph Fogg. He spent $13,000 in repairs & reopened in Aug. of 1865. J. Fogg was formerly with the Barnum’s Hotel in St. Louis, also known for it’s beautiful corner cards.
The opulent Hotel Saloon was often visited by Slave Traders, finished with their auction business on the steps of the Saint Louis Court House, just a short walk away. The famous libations “Planters Punch, the Tom & Jerry & possibly the Tom Collins” are said to be the first poured by the bartenders at the Planters’ House.
In 1880 the hotel lease was purchased by Joseph Gerardi who added another story & completely rebuilt the hotel. President Grover Cleveland in 1887 presided over the Veiled Prophet Ball & banquet in his honor at the Planters’, it’s finest hour. Later in 1887 the Planters’ burned and was closed, the original building and additions were razed ending the famous Planters’ House.
The new Planters Hotel - 1893HE NEW PLANTERS HOTEL – THE FINAL CHAPTER
With continuing growth, St. Louis needed hotel rooms. A new Planter’s was built on the original site, to be managed by Henry Weaver. The new hotel was a 12 story fire proof building, funding aided by a bonus provided by the “Autumnal Festivities Association”* which began in 1891. The purpose of the association in part, was to secure the erection of a hotel to cost not less than a million dollars, and to issue invitations broadcast to the civilized world to partake of the city’s hospitality.
*The Autumnal Festivities Assoc. included the Veiled Prophet, parade & ball, carnival & general promotion of St. Louis due to the Colombian Exposition, Chicago World’s Fair held in 1893. St. Louis wanted those World’s Fair visitors, ultimately in 1904, St. Louis had it’s turn at the Big Show.
During the Louisiana Purchase Exposition Weaver leased 4 upper floors of the Times Building at Broadway & Chestnut for 18 months as an annex to the Planter’s Hotel to accommodate World’s Fair visitors. The new Planters did business until New Years Eve 1922 when it too closed to become an office building, the Cotton Belt building. Progress passed by the Planters House, it closed in 1922 after 81 years of operation.
Thanks to the following Saint Louis, MO. contributors for tearing up their collections, sending scans & making copies, and to those promoting this article:
G. Hendren – B. Metcalf – B. Nettles – M. Nickel – B. Schultz – D. Straight
