Crossroads Hotel

Crossroads Hotel occupies one of those buildings that already had enough personality before anyone decided to put beds in it. Built in 1911 as a bottling and distribution depot for the Pabst Brewing Company, the brick warehouse later became associated with Kansas City political boss Tom Pendergast and, according to local lore, Prohibition-era bootlegging. Aparium Hotel Group reopened it as Crossroads Hotel in 2018, giving the building a new role without erasing the evidence of its previous ones. The result feels particularly right for the surrounding Crossroads Arts District: industrial, creative and slightly rough around the edges.

Keep the Bricks

Chicago-based KTGY Simeone Deary Design Group resisted the temptation to smooth everything out. Weathered brick, exposed concrete, old timber and the generous proportions of the former warehouse remain central to the interiors. Against them sit worn leather, rich brown fabrics, deep-blue flannel, checks and plaids, giving the spaces warmth without disguising their origins. A new four-storey atrium was carved into the centre of the substantial former storage building, bringing daylight deep into the plan and exposing layers of the building’s changing architecture. It is a clever intervention: dramatic enough to transform the hotel, but respectful enough to let the old structure remain the star.

A Lobby Made for Staying

The lobby works less like a place to check in and more like the neighbourhood living room. A central bar anchors the space, surrounded by sofas, communal tables, games and smaller seating areas that shift naturally between morning coffee, laptop hours, cocktails and late-night conversations. This is very much Aparium territory: the hotel is designed to be used by locals as much as by overnight guests. And in an arts district, that matters.

Art With a Local Address

Crossroads Hotel takes its neighbourhood seriously. A dedicated gallery and studio programme gives Kansas City artists room to exhibit, collaborate and experiment, while locally commissioned pieces appear throughout the building. Ceramic lamps, custom wallcoverings, artwork and smaller handcrafted details make the hotel feel connected to the city rather than assembled from a global boutique-hotel catalogue. Even guest rooms include wallpaper by local tattoo artist Mikey Wheeler and leather accessories made in Kansas City. The aim is not to look like an art hotel. It is to function as part of an arts district.

Industrial, But Not Cold

The 131 rooms and 13 suites continue the warehouse vocabulary with exposed brick, blackened metal, natural textiles and timber. Some have retained structural quirks that make the building’s past impossible to ignore, while swings, sculptural columns and custom furnishings introduce a little irreverence. The Vault Suite goes one step further, occupying one of the building’s original walk-in safes. For a more social interpretation, the Pendergast Suite adds its own bar, billiards table and entertaining space — a subtle nod to the colourful history attached to its namesake.

Three Reasons Not to Leave for Dinner

Food and drink are central to the hotel’s social life. Lazia is the more polished option, an Italian restaurant built around house-made pasta and generous, comforting cooking rather than stiff formality. XR occupies the lobby and shifts easily from breakfast and coffee to pizza, cocktails and late-night drinks. Then there is Percheron. Named after the draft horses once used at the Pabst facility, the rooftop bar combines craft beer, cocktails, DJs and skyline views. It has become one of the hotel’s biggest draws for locals, particularly around sunset. Sometimes adaptive reuse needs a deep architectural explanation. Sometimes putting a beer on the roof of an old brewery says enough.

Made for the Crossroads

The surrounding neighbourhood is essential to understanding the hotel. Kansas City’s Crossroads Arts District is filled with galleries, studios, murals, independent restaurants, breweries and music venues. First Fridays regularly push exhibitions and creative activity out onto the streets, blurring the line between cultural district and neighbourhood festival. Crossroads Hotel responds to that energy rather than trying to create a self-contained luxury bubble. You are meant to go out. But you are also meant to come back.

Why It Works

Crossroads Hotel gets adaptive reuse right because it never tries to make the old Pabst depot behave like a conventional luxury hotel. The brick stays rough, the public spaces stay busy and the art stays local. Aparium and Simeone Deary have used the building’s industrial past as a foundation rather than a theme, then layered on enough comfort, food, drink and creativity to make the place feel alive. In a district built on making things, Crossroads Hotel feels appropriately handmade.