I found the below while looking on Kansas Memory*.
Photo source: Kansas Memory (http://www.kansasmemory.org/item/3349)
It’s interesting to consider the fact that the Eldridge has been around as long as it has. This photo (taken from an index card of sorts given to tenants) lays out all of the codes that proprietors and tenants had to live by while dwelling inside the Eldridge. The most intriguing word there to me is “tenants,” the fact that the Eldridge was more than simply just a hotel. It was a boarding house where people lived. It’s earliest incarnation was the Free State Hotel during the period in which it was still up for debate whether or not Kansas would be slave or free.
It was on one of Lawrence’s most famous nights (that of Quantrill’s Raid) that the Eldridge was truly born. Urban legend** states that when Quantrill and his made stormed into Lawrence, patrons of the hotel leaned out their windows to cheer, “ooh,” and “ahh”; they thought it was some kind of show being performed for them. After the smoke cleared, Colonel Shalor Eldridge took the burnt lot on which the first hotel had stood and built another incarnation, naming it after himself***. From the date inscribed on the Rules and Regulations card, one can infer that if this card wasn’t made available upon the Eldridge’s grand opening that it followed soon after.
Another facet of the Eldridge not commonly known about is its supposed haunted nature. According to Legends of America, the Eldridge is rumored to possess a portal to the spirit world. On top of this, there have apparently been encounters with ghosts witnessed by guests in room 506:
“In this room witnesses have reported breath marks on recently cleaned mirrors, doors opening and shutting on their own, and lights turning on and off by themselves.
Others report cold spots throughout the old hotel. Some guests have even encountered apparitions on the fifth floor and an ‘elevator ghost’ likes to open and close the elevator doors on the fifth floor. Several photographers have also mentioned having inexplicable technical difficulties with their cameras when near the elevator.”
Beyond just the Rules and Regulations, how do you think hotel/boarding house culture has changed between then and now?
-Elliot Kort
* – www.kansasmemory.com
** – Paul Stuewe, Lawrence Historian
*** – www.eldridgehotel.com
This is a very interesting post. I had no idea that the Elderidge was once a border house for people living in Lawrence. Also the rules and regulations are interesting. The fact that the owner said they were not responsible for the theft of valuables even though the theft would have taken place in the Elderidge itself! I also had no idea in the involvment of the so-called “Border Showdown” with Quantrill when he raided Lawrence. It is nice to know about the historical landmarks here in Lawrence!
I found this post very intriguing. I of course knew that the Elderidge had been burned down during Quantrill’s raid, but my knowledge of the Elderidge ended there. I had no idea that it was also a boarding house. I thought it was interesting that guests without baggage were required to pay in advance. But since this was before credit cards, the owners had to make sure people wouldn’t skip out on their bill. I also found it very fascinating that the Elderidge is supposedly haunted!
Great post, I really like learning about historic building and especially when they are in this area. I was surprised to find out that the guests of the Hotel thought it was a show. You would think they would be politically aware enough to know about the frequent battles that occurred in Lawrence. Also, I had always heard people talk about the Eldridge being haunted. I don’t really believe in ghosts but it would be fun to stay on the 5th floor just in case.
I would also like to encourage everyone to go to the Eldridge for a meal or a drink. The inside of the building is really cool and the architecture, especially the wood work, is definitely something to see.
I’ve always assumed the Eldridge was one of Lawrence’s oldest buildings, but I never knew it went by a different name. My favorite rule there is that people without baggage must pay in advance, so, peoples belongings in a room were apparently collateral. I also love a good ghost story, it’s cool to know that Lawrence has it’s own place in the history of haunted places.
-Travis Jackson
I have heard some urban legends about the Eldridge it is a landmark for Lawrence. The fact that so many strange phenomena have been reported by so many witnesses makes it obvious that something supernatural is likely happening there. I found this a fascinating post.
-Thomas Shiroky
Isn’t it interesting which rules from back there are still in effect at most hotels now? I think there is still a marker or something on the building itself that gives some of the history. Thank you for your post!
*Shelley M. Stoh
Thank you for this blog, I found it very intersting and found out something which I did not know about the hotel. It is hard to believe when I walk through the doors of the hotel for luch or dinner I am truely living and being a part of the history of Lawrence as it has been around for so long. I also was not aware of its haunted nature which is a fun little fact I will use when I have visitors come to town.
Carlos
This is a really interesting post. It’s great that Lawrence has such a historic place. I didn’t know that it was used as a boarding house and people actually would live there. I also didn’t know it had a different name before it was burned down by Quantrill. I had heard before that it was haunted and it would be really cool to experience something like that. Great post!
Jenny Jordan
Very interesting,
The Eldridge is the most historic operational business that I know to still be in operation in the state. I also had been unaware that the building was fully burned during the raid, but it is surely quite fortunate that the ‘tenants’ were allowed to leave before the deed was done. That hauntings have been reported is also fascinating, and I have to wonder what the proposed explanations currently are for these events.
-Jeff G.