The Mayfair was founded by hotelier Charles Heiss, a Bavarian who worked in hotels in Europe, Canada, and elsewhere in America.

[2] Designed by prominent St. Louis architect Preston J. Bradshaw, the hotel's 18-story building was built in 1924 and 1925.

[3] Among the hotel's guests throughout the years were Irving Berlin, John Barrymore, Douglas Fairbanks, Cary Grant, Harry Truman, and Lyndon B. Johnson.

[4] KMOX installed an $18,000 Kilgen organ and held recitals every day at noon and between 6 and 7 p.m.[4] In 1977, the hotel was renovated.

Some 85 rooms were removed and the interior redecorated, but original features were kept when possible, maintaining the building's historic value.