It was built in the early 1920s and soon afterward bought by Tom Pendergast, a local political boss, who arranged for connecting access between his office and the hotel.

The need for affordable working class hotel space south of downtown came about as the result of the completion of Union Station in 1914.

Raymond H. Sanneman designed the Monroe Hotel in 1920 for the Dubinsky Brothers, and Elelman-Fleming Construction Company served as the general contractor.

The five-story hotel was constructed of reinforced concrete with brick and terra cotta at an estimated cost of $150,000.

After sitting vacant for more than 30 years, renovation to the Monroe Hotel was completed in mid-2006, by the Kansas City designer Benjamin Sundermeier.