Historic Anecdotes

Historic Anecdotes

Though The Kirby Building is a fully vested member of the National Register of Historic Places, some of the history behind the building belies its stoic presence.

It was once commonly referred to as "The Old Girl," and she must have been a tad uncomfortable in her first life as an office building. That's because there weren't women's restrooms on every floor until 1971. While the gentlemen had facilities on every one of the 17 stories, the ladies' rooms were spaced four floors apart. Of course, there weren't many female office workers when the building was built in 1913. More restrooms might have been needed if the original plans for the building's basement had come to fruition.

Adolphus Busch, "The Old Girl's" builder, planned to use the basement as a rathskeller - a German restaurant, with strong beer and ale. But the laws at the time prohibited such a use below street level. The basement became A. Harris Bargain Basement. A. Harris & Co. (later Sanger-Harris) called The Kirby Building home for 47 years.

Renovations on The Kirby were completed in 1999.

When The Kirby Building was built, every floor featured bubbling drinking fountains that circulated ice water from the building's artesian wells. Decorative, state-of-the-art fountains, yes; women's restrooms, no. The high-speed elevators that zipped her tenants through the 17 stories in 1913 are of such quality that they are better (and faster) than most elevators in today's buildings of similar height.

The quality, historical design in many ways is better constructed than modern buildings. While "The Old Girl" might be getting a cosmetic "face lift" during her current renovation, it still has the equipment and structure of buildings half her age.

Select from the following to learn more about The Kirby's history.