Mayfair Hotel

The Mayfair Hotel is a hotel and office building in downtown St. Louis, built in 1925 with 18 stories. The exterior features red brick with terra cotta decoration, while the interior is appointed with crown moldings, sparkling chandeliers, and original stained-glass windows.

The hotel opened in 1925 at the corner of St. Charles and Eighth Street, designed by architect Preston J. Bradshaw as a pioneer with air conditioning and housing radio station KMOX on its mezzanine. Following a 1977 renovation, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 and reopened as Magnolia Hotel St. Louis in 2014.

The hotel takes its name from Mayfair, reflecting its upscale character. Inside, original stained-glass windows with Bavarian themes remain visible, showing the German heritage of founder Charles Heiss and the cultural mark he left on the building.

The hotel sits in the center of downtown St. Louis near the convention center and is easy to find on foot. Visitors should know that the building combines modern amenities with preserved historic details, such as the original windows and early twentieth-century architectural elements.

The hotel was a pioneer with the first air conditioning in St. Louis and housed radio station KMOX, which broadcast from the mezzanine level starting in 1925. A tradition of placing chocolate on pillows was reportedly started by actor Cary Grant during his stays in the 1950s.