SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — The Springfield-Greene County African-American Heritage Trail Committee is placing its 11th trail marker at Missouri State University’s Kentwood Hall, which used to be a segregated hotel.
A dedication ceremony for the new marker will be held in the Crystal Room of Kentwood Hall on 700 E. St. Louis St., on Thursday, Feb. 26, at 4 p.m. There will be a brief program before attendees go to the marker site on St. Louis Street.
Built in 1926, Kentwood Hall, formerly known as the Kentwood Arms Hotel, was a luxurious five-story hotel along Route 66 that hosted many notable guests, like comedian Bob Hope, actress Jeanette McDonald and Presidents Harry Truman, Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan.
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However, the Kentwood Arms Hotel was one of many places in that era that were segregated, which was the biggest reason the hotel was placed in the national spotlight…