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32-604: The Muehlebach family also founded the Muehlebach Hotel , Kansas City headquarters for Harry S. Truman during his presidency, and Muehlebach Field , which became Municipal Stadium for the Kansas City Athletics and Kansas City Royals baseball teams and the Kansas City Chiefs football team. George Muehlebach immigrated to Kansas City from Switzerland in 1859 by way of Lafayette, Indiana . The Swiss cross

64-500: A chance meeting in 1938 in the Muehlebach's lobby between two businessmen from Tulsa, Oklahoma. The two found two other men and sang their way through a snowstorm that had marooned all four at the hotel. A few weeks later, they convened several like-minded singers at a meeting in Tulsa, and from that the 25,000 member international organization was founded. The two businessmen's original meeting

96-425: A full term. The keynote address was delivered by Tennessee Senator Howard Baker . Other notable speakers included Minnesota Representative Al Quie , retired Lieutenant Colonel and former Vietnam prisoner of war Raymond Schrump, former Democratic Texas Governor John Connally , Providence, Rhode Island mayor Vincent Cianci and Michigan Senator Robert P. Griffin . It is the last national convention by either of

128-456: A lack of hotel accommodations, but Republicans were more receptive because the city had a reliably enthusiastic base of the party, and "fit the Midwestern image of Jerry Ford". Going into the convention, Ford had won more primary delegates than Reagan, as well as a plurality in popular vote. However, Ford did not have enough delegates to secure the nomination (1,130 delegates were needed to win

160-670: A malt cereal beverage and near beer , as a soft drink. In 1938 after prohibition, Muehlebach built a new brewery at 4th and Oak Streets in the City Market area. Interest in the beer exploded during World War II , when sales rose from 66,000 barrels a year to 161,000. Schlitz took over the new brewery in 1956 and eventually discontinued the brand in 1973, when it also closed the former Muehlebach brewery. Muehlebach Hotel 39°05′58″N 94°35′06″W  /  39.09941°N 94.58488°W  / 39.09941; -94.58488 The Hotel Muehlebach ( / ˈ m juː l b ɑː k / )

192-565: A new, modern Muehlebach tower in its place. A "skybridge" was also built that connects both hotel buildings on their second floors. The original 1915 Muehlebach building's lobby and ballrooms were restored and are now used as banquet and convention facilities by the Marriott. The original hotel guest room floors above have been gutted and remain unused. A cocktail lounge, Voo Lounge, opened in the structure's ground floor in 2023. The Barbershop Harmony Society (SPEBSQSA, Inc.) traces its beginnings to

224-677: Is a historic hotel building in Downtown Kansas City that was visited by every President from Theodore Roosevelt to Ronald Reagan . It is currently operated as one of three wings of the Kansas City Marriott Downtown hotel. The property, then the site of the First Baptist Church, was acquired in 1914 by the Muehlebach Estate Co., owned by George E. Muehlebach, whose father, George E. Muehlebach Sr., founded

256-595: Is now commemorated on a plaque in the restored original lobby of the hotel. During the 1928 Republican National Convention , held across the street at Convention Hall , Herbert Hoover frequented the hotel. Howard Hughes had the presidential suite during his 1945 stay. The Muehlebach was the White House headquarters for Harry S. Truman during his frequent visits to his home in nearby Independence, Missouri . Truman stayed in Independence but conducted business in

288-628: The Muehlebach Beer Company. Muehlebach demolished the church and built a 12-story, 144 foot (44m) high brown brick hotel building designed by Holabird & Roche at a cost of $ 2 million. It opened as the Hotel Muehlebach in May, 1915. The younger Muehlebach also built Muehlebach Field . On December 5, 1922, the hotel was the location of the first regular radio program broadcast by a band, when Carleton Coon and Joe Sanders began broadcasting

320-491: The "liberal" Schweiker, while few moderate delegates switched to Reagan. Helms promptly began a movement to draft Conservative Senator James L. Buckley of New York as the presidential nominee. The key vote of the convention occurred when Reagan's managers proposed a rules change that would have required Ford to publicly announce his running mate before the presidential balloting. Reagan's managers hoped that when Ford announced his choice for vice president, it would anger one of

352-498: The 7 (Burger, Stewart, Brennan, Blackmun, and Powell) had been appointed to the Supreme Court by Republican presidents. Ford selected Kansas Senator Robert J. Dole as his running mate, as unelected incumbent Vice President Rockefeller had announced the previous fall that he would not be a candidate for a full term in 1976. After Ronald Reagan lost the presidential ballot to incumbent Gerald Ford, 103 of his delegates walked out of

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384-846: The Ford Administration's foreign policy of détente towards the Soviet Union , criticizing his signing of the Helsinki Accords and indirectly blaming him for the April 1975 Fall of Saigon . The pro-Reagan Texas delegates worked hard to persuade delegates from other states to support Reagan. Ford, meanwhile, used all of the perks and patronage of the presidency to win over wavering delegates, including trips aboard Air Force One and personal meetings with Ford himself. White House Chief of Staff Dick Cheney proved to be an important figure in working to build support among those state delegations on

416-547: The Presidential Suite in the hotel's penthouse. Truman signed the Truman Doctrine legislation aid for Turkey and Greece at the hotel on May 22, 1947. In the true crime novel In Cold Blood by Truman Capote , killer Dick Hickock claims to have shaken hands with Truman in the lobby during one of his visits. Truman predicted his upset victory to staffers at the hotel during election night 1948 (although he spent

448-690: The Republican ranks. Newspaper headlines also told the story of the uncommitted delegates whose "wavering" at the convention made them the focus of both the Ford and the Reagan camps. "New 'Stars' Stealing GOP Show," The Chicago Tribune's Wednesday, August 18, 1976, headlines told readers. Estimates ranged from 93 to as many as 115 delegates uncommitted at the time of the convention. The largest block of uncommitted delegates were from Mississippi and another block were from Illinois's delegation. Wednesday, August 18, 1976, saw

480-470: The convention wondering if they had voted for the wrong candidate. A contemporary media account stated that if a motion to reconsider the nomination had been in order, it might have passed. Ford and Dole went on to lose to Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale in the 1976 election . Reagan defeated Carter in the 1980 election to become president, and won again in 1984, beating Democratic challenger Mondale. Dole ran for president in 1980, 1988, and 1996, gaining

512-588: The convention, and the remainder decided to scatter their votes among 30 people. Bob Dole prevailed by an overwhelming margin. There was no scheduled time slot for the runner-up to deliver a formal concession speech; however, when Ford and Reagan met on the dais after Ford's acceptance speech, the president insisted that the former governor accompany him to the podium to deliver a few remarks. Reagan gave an eloquent and stirring speech that overshadowed Ford's own acceptance address, despite being little more than five minutes long. Some delegates later stated that they left

544-521: The fence between Ford and Reagan, including the Mississippi delegation. White House political advisor Harry Dent also played a central role in helping President Ford work with the state delegations, who met with Ford and his aides in a presidential office set up on-site at the convention in Kansas City. Headlines during the Republican convention in Kansas City hinted at the still-simmering debates within

576-575: The hotel, as the Radisson Muehlebach Hotel . The hotel served as the headquarters for the 1976 Republican National Convention . It closed permanently in 1986. In 1996 Marriott Hotels bought the Muehlebach and made it into an extension of the Kansas City Marriott Downtown , a huge adjacent hotel originally built in 1985 as the Vista International Hotel . They imploded the 1952 Muehlebach Tower annex building and in 1998 built

608-591: The hotel’s Presidential Suite so frequently that the Muehlebach became known as White House West . In 1952, a 17-story western annex, called the Muehlebach Tower, and a parking lot, were added to the hotel. Allis sold the hotel in the 1960s. The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States foreclosed on the hotel in the early 1970s. In 1974, they renovated the hotel, at a cost of $ 7 million, and contracted with Minneapolis-based Radisson Hotels to manage

640-459: The mission of "Architect Helping Architect", held its first national conference at the Hotel Muehlebach. Gregson reported to those assembled: "You are the ones who have made the first great step toward a unified profession of architects. You are a living report that will go to every part of these fifty United States". In the fall of 1974, President Gerald Ford stayed at the Muehlebach when he

672-815: The night out of the media spotlight at the Elms Hotel in Excelsior Springs, Missouri ). The Presidential Suite was later renamed the Harry S. Truman Presidential Suite following his terms of office. Roy O. Disney spent the night in July 1956 before spending the Fourth of July in Marceline, Missouri with his brother, Walt Disney . In 1959 the Society of American Registered Architects (SARA), founded by architect Wilfred Gregson in 1956 with

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704-510: The party platform, some of which were implicitly critical of the President's own policies. Reagan and Senator Jesse Helms successfully had a "moral foreign policy" plank inserted. In light of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, the 1976 Republican platform became the first to advocate a Human Life Amendment to the Constitution , despite the fact that Roe v. Wade had been a 7–2 decision, and 5 of

736-592: The performances of their Coon-Sanders Original Nighthawk Orchestra nationwide. Manager Barney Allis took over the hotel in 1931, and during his lengthy tenure, the hotel welcomed celebrities including Helen Keller , Ernest Hemingway , Babe Ruth , Jean Harlow (1931), Frank Sinatra , Bob Hope , Elvis Presley , Jimi Hendrix Experience and The Beatles . The hotel also hosted Presidents including Theodore Roosevelt , Woodrow Wilson , Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover , while Missouri-native Harry S. Truman stayed in

768-532: The presidential nomination), and as the convention opened both candidates were seen as still having a chance to win. Because of this, both Ford and Reagan arrived in Kansas City before the convention opened to woo the remaining uncommitted delegates in an effort to secure the nomination. Reagan benefited from his highly committed delegates, notably "Reagan's Raiders" of the Texas delegation. They and other conservative Western and Southern delegates particularly faulted

800-561: The rank-and-file of the Republicans as to whether or not a new party might be formed out of the weaknesses of the Republicans. "Conservatives Seek a New Party if Reagan Loses," The Chicago Tribune's Wednesday, August 18, 1976, headlines told readers during the Kansas City convention, which quoted both White House aides as well as critics in the Republican Party who debated the possibility of a new party emerging out of that year's division in

832-507: The two factions of the party and thus help Reagan. Ford's supporters derisively described the proposed rules change as the "misery loves company" amendment. The proposed rules change was defeated by a vote of 1180 to 1069, and Ford gained the momentum he needed to win the presidential nomination. The balloting was still close, however, as Ford won with 1187 votes to 1070 votes for Reagan (and one for Elliot Richardson of Massachusetts). Conservatives succeeded in inserting several key planks into

864-427: The two major parties to feature a seriously contested nomination between candidates. Kansas City had not hosted a major party convention since the 1928 Republican National Convention that nominated Herbert Hoover . Its premier venue, Kemper Arena , was diminutive by national standards but it was new, and the city aggressively courted the convention planners of both parties. The Democrats demurred early on, citing

896-469: The uncommitted delegates break on the 1st ballot for President Gerald Ford, who won the nomination on the 1st roll call of delegates by a vote of 1,187-1,070. Reagan had promised, if nominated, to name Senator Richard Schweiker of Pennsylvania as his running mate , in a bid to attract liberals and centrists in the party. This move backfired, however, as many conservatives (such as North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms ) were infuriated by Reagan's choice of

928-736: Was a United States political convention of the Republican Party that met from August 16 to August 19, 1976, to select the party's nominees for president and vice president . Held in Kemper Arena in Kansas City , Missouri , the convention nominated President Gerald Ford for a full term, but only after narrowly defeating a strong challenge from former California Governor Ronald Reagan . The convention also nominated Senator Bob Dole from Kansas for vice president, instead of Vice President Nelson Rockefeller , who did not seek nomination for

960-622: Was in town as the keynote speaker for the National FFA Convention. He shook hands with many of the FFA band members that were standing in a rope line in the lobby. The band members were also staying at the hotel the same week. During the 1976 Republican National Convention both Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan made pitches for delegates at the Radisson Muehlebach. Immediately following the 1976 Republican Convention, Robert A. Heinlein

992-682: Was the Guest of Honor at the 34th World Science Fiction Convention held at the Radisson Muehlebach and the Hotel Phillips , directly across the street. He was booked into the Muehlebach's Harry S. Truman Presidential Suite for the 5-day convention held during the 1976 Labor Day weekend. Among the other celebrity guests that stayed at the Muehlebach were Babe Ruth , the Beatles , Jimi Hendrix Experience and Elvis Presley . 1976 Republican National Convention The 1976 Republican National Convention

George Muehlebach Brewing Company - Misplaced Pages Continue

1024-594: Was to be part of the logo for all their beers. In 1869, he bought the city's Main Street Brewery located at the northwest corner of 18th and Main Streets, from George Hierbe. The TWA Building would eventually occupy the site. In 1880, Muehlebach razed the original brewery and replaced it with a "Beer Castle", built in Romanesque style with a mansard roofed tower. During Prohibition , the company sold non-alcoholic "Mulo",

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