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Discovery Mid-America January 2010

Built-in museums enliven
historic hotel

Old hotels are rare these days. In today’s fast-paced world most overnight accommodations have more similarities than distinguishing differences. After a long trip, it’s hard to remember what made one interstate motor inn or hotel different from another.

Older hotels have their own personalities, like eccentric relatives who are loved despite their flaws. The good ones — restored to preserve long-ago grandeur — can be a real treat. Located in the heart of the towns they serve, they benefit travelers by being close to downtown attractions.

The Saint George Hotel, in the heart of Weston's business district (photo by Ken Weyland)

I’ve stayed at a few, including the Stanley in Estes Park, CO, featuring a Stanley Steamer in the lobby; the Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs, AR, with its magnificent mechanical music player and lavish landscaping; and the Elms Resort and Spa in Excelsior Springs, MO, which recently marked its 120th year. All are unique, but no more so than the Saint George Hotel in Weston, MO.

In the mid-1840s, Weston was in its heyday. Its population was nearing 5,000, more than its upstart neighbor to the south, Kansas City. Every day some 300 steamboats would tie up at the landing at the foot of Main Street with supplies for nearby Fort Leavenworth and settlers heading west. Then they would haul tobacco, hemp, lumber, whiskey and fruit for consumers downstream.

The Saint George Hotel became part of Weston’s business community in 1846. The largest building on Main Street, the three-story brick structure boasted 47 rooms on its upper floors. The lower floor contained a saloon, sample rooms for traveling salesmen, two retail stores, and a tobacco shop in the lobby. A neighboring enterprise, the Weston Brewing Company, helped keep beer flowing in the saloon. Business was booming and times were good.

Then came a series of disasters that would change Weston from a boomtown to a quaint visitor destination. A fire in 1855 destroyed most of the downtown business district, followed by a cholera epidemic that wiped out much of the populace. Three years later, a flood knocked out the steamboat port. The Civil War pitted many of the town’s residents against each other and ended the slave-based hemp industry. Then came the 1881 flood that changed the river’s course, taking it two miles away from Weston. By then, much of the steamboat traffic had already been replaced by the railroads.

John Pottie, the Saint George's owner

But the town soldiered on, its population reduced to little more than 900. Ironically, its decline left its historic buildings safe from the clutches of developers.

The Saint George Hotel, a survivor of the 1855 fire, was heavily damaged by another fire in 1890, but was rebuilt within six months. The rebuilt hotel has been in nearly continuous use ever since. Over the years, the hotel has had several owners, and several names, including the Weston Hotel, The Exchange Hotel and the Ryan Hotel.

John Pottie has been the current owner since August 2008. He had operated the nearby Charlemagne’s Restaurant for the past five years in a house that is even older than the hotel.

“I chose the name because Charlemagne was my 39th grandfather,” Pottie said as he unrolled a genealogical chart several feet long indicating his family tree.

An ardent antiquer, Pottie began collecting woven silk tapestries in 1980, buying many in the Kansas City area. Today his extensive collection includes the first ever example of a woven silk tapestry, produced in 1839, and occupies two rooms on the lower level of the hotel. It is designated the National Silk Art Museum.

“My collection totals around 300 pieces,” Pottie said. “More than 30,000 people have visited the museum in 2009, including 111 museum curators.”

“The tapestries were woven by machines that used a key-punch system to duplicate the finest art of the era,” Pottie added. “Less than 5 percent of the original art remains in existence.”

The process was the major means of duplicating art masterpieces prior to photography.

Two other museums at the hotel feature Pottie’s collections. The Mort Reeber Camera Museum, located in Valentino’s Champagne & Wine Bar, includes cameras that were in wide use before the age of digital photography. Also in the wine bar is the Orval Hixon Art Museum, a collection of original black and white Vaudeville-era photographs taken in Kansas City, MO. The portrait of an 18-year-old Joan Crawford is especially eye-catching.

The Charlemagne Restaurant is now an integral part of the hotel. “The restaurant and the museums are amenities that make the hotel click,” said Pottie, who said the hotel’s 26 rooms are maintaining good occupancy despite the difficult economy.

The Saint George Hotel is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Guests can choose from Queen and King Standard rooms to the Captain’s Suite with a hot tub and corner balcony view. Rates begin at $79.

The National Silk Art Museum (photo by Adrienne Haake)

Ozone air cleaners are being installed in the rooms, making them allergy-free. “We also have secure Wi-Fi and Ethernet,” Pottie said.

More than 160 years after the Saint George Hotel was first built, Weston visitors can spend the weekend within walking distance of Weston’s antique and specialty shops, restaurants, historical museum and an authentic Irish pub. Many antebellum homes and business buildings can be seen in the town, which now boasts a population of more than 1,600.

The Saint George Hotel is located at 500 Main Street. For more information or reservations, call 816-640-9902 or visit www.thesaintgeorgehotel.com.

> Traveling with Ken Archive — past columns

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