Lyceum Building

102-106 W. 9th Street
Attributed to George Mathews (1895)

This four-story, late 19th century masonry and steel building, constructed in 1895, incorporates Chicago style elements in its richly ornamented, asymmetrical south façade. Built as an office facility, the Lyceum served Kansas City as a ticket office for the Kansas City, Pittsburg and Gulf Railroad. Arthur E. Stillwell, who in 1889 organized the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Trust, was also the financial manager of the KCP&GRR— a line that stretched from Kansas City to Port Arthur, Texas.

The line later became the Kansas City Southern Railroad. Lyceum Hall, an elegant interior space for social events, served the building for many years. Over the ensuing decades, the Lyceum Building was remodeled, becoming the Orient Hotel, and later, the Delmar Hotel.