The Elms looks like a sanitarium from overhead, but it's actually quite ornate. And historic! Hot-potato real estate style:
The hotel's sale in 1956 from the Eppley chain to the Sheraton Corporation was part of the second largest hotel sale in United States history. Sheraton quickly sold the hotel again, only to rebuy it in 1960 when it went bankrupt. As the Sheraton-Elms Hotel it remained open until 1971. After a number years of closure, it was bought by local citizens and reopened in 1977.
In 1991 the hotel again went bankrupt, but continued to operate. The city of Excelsior Springs bought the hotel in 1995 and transitioned it to new owners, who renovated the hotel in 1998 at a cost of $16 million. The hotel closed in 2011 for another renovation, costing $20 million. It reopened in 2012, celebrating its centennial.
As for the Fontenelle, It was the top joint in town, until it wasn't. Closed in 1970 and knocked to the ground in 1983. That'll show it.
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