hotel history
Nobody Asked Me, But… No. 247: Hotel History: Driskill Hotel, Austin, Texas
Stanley Turkel | April 20, 2021
by Stanley Turkel, CMHS Hotel History: Driskill Hotel (188 rooms) The Driskill, a Romanesque-style building completed in 1886, is the oldest operating hotel in Austin, Texas, and one of the best-known hotels in Texas. The Driskill was conceived and built by Col. Jesse Driskill, a cattleman who spent his fortune constructing “the finest hotel south of St. Louis”. Flush with cash from his service to the Confederate Army to which he supplied beef throughout the Civil War. In 1884, Driscoll purchased land in downtown Austin for $7500 and announced plans for a new hotel. Today, the Driskill remains one of the premier hotels in Austin, fe...
Nobody Asked Me, But… No. 246: Hotel History: Hotel McAlpin, New York, N.Y. (1912)
Stanley Turkel | March 30, 2021
by Stanley Turkel, CMHS Hotel History: Hotel McAlpin (1,500 rooms) The Hotel McAlpin was constructed in 1912 by General Edwin A. McAlpin, son of David Hunter McAlpin. As well as being the world’s largest hotel, it was also one of the most luxurious. The amenities were as breathtaking as they were opulent including a massive Turkish bath and plunge pool on the 24th floor. The hotel also had its own in-house orchestra, as well as its own fully-equipped hospital. When construction of the Hotel McAlpin neared completion by the end of 1912 as the largest hotel in the world, The New York Times commented that it was so tall at twenty-five...
Nobody Asked Me, But… No. 245: Boone Tavern Hotel, Berea, Kentucky (1855)
Stanley Turkel | March 9, 2021
by Stanley Turkel, CMHS Hotel History: Boone Tavern Hotel (63 rooms) Built on the old Dixie Highway and named after Kentucky explorer Daniel Boone, the historic Boone Tavern Hotel is located on College Square in Berea, Kentucky. The hotel is owned by Berea College and operated with student workers from the College Labor Program. Students earn money for books, room and board but pay no tuition (valued at $25,500 per year), thanks to the generosity of donors who support Berea College's mission of providing a free high quality education for students primarily from Appalachia who have high academic potential and limited financial resourc...
Nobody Asked Me, But… No. 244: Hotel History: Wormley Hotel
Stanley Turkel | February 16, 2021
by Stanley Turkel, CMHS Hotel History: Wormley Hotel (150 rooms) James Wormley, a pioneering Black nineteenth-century businessman opened the first integrated hotel in Washington, D.C.. He was also known for his business acumen and lobbying efforts to secure adequate funding for the first Washington, D.C. public schools for black Americans. Wormley was born to Pere Leigh and Mary Wormley. Both parents had lived as free people and servants with a wealthy Virginia family prior to moving to Washington, D.C. in 1814. On January 16, 1819, while living in a small, two-room, brick building located on E Street, near Fourteenth Street, nort...
Nobody Asked Me, But… No. 243: Hotel History: Hotel Roanoke, Virginia
Stanley Turkel | January 26, 2021
by Stanley Turkel, CMHS Hotel History: Hotel Roanoke, Roanoke, Va (332 rooms) Roanoke was a little town named Big Lick when enterprising railroad magnate Frederick J. Kimball chose it as the site of a major railroad juncture. After Kimball combined two of his railroads into the Norfolk and Western Railroad, he built a comprehensive community with the Hotel Roanoke as its grand centerpiece. Built in a wheat field on a little hill, the Hotel Roanoke began as a rambling wooden structure of less than three dozen rooms. As the city grew, the railroad consistently provided resources for hotel additions, remodeling and furnishings to maint...
Nobody Asked Me, But… No. 242: Hotel History: Fisher Island, Miami, Florida
Stanley Turkel | January 5, 2021
by Stanley Turkel, CMHS Hotel History: Fisher Island, Miami, Florida Fisher Island is in Miami-Dade County, Florida, located on a barrier island of the same name. As of 2015, Fisher Island had the highest per capita income of any place in the United States. The CDP had only 218 households and a total population of 467. Named for automotive parts pioneer and beach real estate developer Carl G. Fisher, who once owned it, Fisher Island is three miles offshore of mainland South Florida. No road or causeway connects to the island, which is accessible by private boat, helicopter, or ferry. Once a one-family island home of the Vanderbilts,...
Nobody Asked Me, But… No. 241: Hotel History: Menger Hotel
Stanley Turkel | December 15, 2020
By Stanley Turkel, CMHS Hotel History: Menger Hotel (316 rooms) The Menger Hotel, one of the most iconic and historically significant buildings in San Antonio, was constructed on Alamo Plaza in 1859 by German immigrants Mary and William Menger. Mary arrived in San Antonio in 1846 and when her husband died soon after her arrival, she opened a boarding house. The building provided studio space for renowned sculptor Gutzor Borglum, most famous for his work at Mt. Rushmore. After William Menger opened the Menger Brewery in 1855, he married Mary and the success of the Brewery operation led to the construction of the Menger Hotel. The orig...
Nobody Asked Me, But… No. 240 Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac, Quebec City, Canada (1893)
Stanley Turkel | November 24, 2020
by Stanley Turkel, CMHS Hotel History: The Château Frontenac (611 rooms) Listed as a National Historic Site of Canada, the Fairmont Le Château Frontenac is among the nation’s most celebrated historic landmarks. This spectacular retreat is located in the heart of Old Québec, which served as the seat of colonial French power in North America over the better part of two centuries. It was from this location that France presided over thousands of acres that stretched from the Great Lakes to the bayous of Louisiana. Old Québec then became the headquarters in Canada for the British when they wrestled control of the region away from Franc...
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