Historical Marker
Oldham Hotel
Historical marker location:
105 East 5th Street, Kansas City, Missouri
( Marker is on 5th Street east of Walnut Street, on the right when traveling east.)
Built 1916.
The state of Missouri was the birthplace of the ice cream cone. It was invented by a Syrian immigrant named Ernest Hamwi who was selling waffles at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis. When an ice cream vendor ran out of dishes, Hamwi rolled up one of his waffles to hold the ice cream and the ice cream cone was born.