Lost To Time And Redevelopment... The Southern Hotel

One of Baltimore's lost hotels, is The Southern Hotel, which opened for business March 6, 1918 on the site of the 18th Century Fountain Inn at which George Washington stayed. Later the site was occupied by the Carrollton Hotel, famous in Baltimore history as a house of public entertainment, but destroyed in the great fire of 1904. A bronze tablet, which was originally located at the Carrollton Hotel was unveiled April 12, 1918 in the lobby of the Southern Hotel by the Colonial Dames of America, Chapter 1, carried this inscription: This Site was Formerly Occupied by the Fountain Inn, where GENERAL GEORGE WASHINGTON Lodged upon the Following Memorable Occasions: May 5, 1775, on His Journey to Philadelphia as a Delegate from Virginia to the Second Continental Congress; Sep. 8, 1781, on His Way to the Reduction of Yorktown; April 17, 1780, when Proceeding as President-Elect to His Inauguration at New York.

The new hotel was promoted by A. J. Fink. He secured an option on the site, interested capital, and the magnificent Southern Hotel was the result. The Southern fronted west 93 feet on Light Street and south 148 feet on Redwood Street. The structure was fourteen stories, contained 345 bed rooms, all with private bath, and represented an investment of $1,250,000 in 1918 dollars of which the site cost $150,000, the structure $900,000, and the furnishings $200,000. The hotel was designed by Otto G. Simonson and built of mainly brick, stone, concrete, terra cotta and hollow tile, with the partitions of gypsum.

The Southern differed from the vast majority of hotels in the it had but one entrance. That entrance, into a parlored lobby, had a spacious semi-public lounging room just within the front door, and a ladies room adjoining, so that the home atmosphere welcomed both male and female guests directly at the threshold. The lobby was luxuriously furnished, the rug covered marble floor, accented with mahogany furniture.

The private dining rooms had paneled walls in a French gray finish, and the furnishings included elaborate carved sideboards and cabinets, with leather seat chairs of a special pattern, and quaint window dressings. All the dining rooms had convenient and roomy pantry service, and were conveniently connected to the main kitchen by a stairway and service elevator.

Lobby Floor Elevators

The decorative furnishings of the Southern Hotel were very carefully planned, insuring a thoroughly harmonious blending of colors. The result was that an entering guest of artistic sensibilities had the impression of the sudden rise of a curtain upon a scene of beautiful interiors with the comforting promise of other delights to eye and mind, linked with luxurious catering to the usual requirements of one's physical well-being. The foundation of the general color scheme was laid in the carpeting, the wall coverings, draperies and furniture having been selected with the utmost care that no note of discord was found in the completed work.

Upon entering the hotel, the lobby, lounge and mezzanine met the eye at one glance. Here the draperies were of a soft brown sunfast velour with a rose backing, giving a shimmering iridescence in autumn tones. The spacious elevator lobby was flanked with two private dining rooms, and a banquet room directly in front of the elevators. Damask in shades of blue and mauve decorated the private dining rooms and the main dining room was furnished in rose, the table lights and wall lamps having shades of gold-colored silk. This blending of rose and gold afforded a soft yet brilliant illumination.

In the ladies' reception room and the second-floor banquet rooms the decorator's art was carried out in delft-blue velour.

Colony Club Lounge

The Old Colony Club had a home on the second floor of the Southern Hotel. It occupied the entire Light street front of the second floor. At the time of the hotel's opening, the Old Colony Club had a membership of 14,000 with dues of $25.00 per year. In 1918, there were fourteen Old Colony clubs distributed over America, only one headquarters in any city. The membership was privileged to use any Old Colony Club as their club home when in that city. The membership was composed of business men, and the club quarters were utilized not only for the home conveniences, but also for business appointments and the like. All of these club homes were located in hotels, and the following hotels had the necessary furnished quarters: The Muehlebach, Kansas City; the Planters, St. Louis; the Bellevue-Stratford, Philadelphia; the Manhattan, New York; the Bellevue, Boston; the Gibson, Cincinnati; the LaSalle, Chicago; the Raleigh, Washington; the Hollenden, Cleveland; the Pontchartrain, Detroit, as well as the Southern, Baltimore. Damask in shades of blue and mauve decorated the Old Colony Club rooms on the second floor.

 Colony Club Dining Room

The 345 bed rooms were in the main abundantly lighted, and three-fourths of them were what was termed front rooms. Every room had either bath or shower, the majority of the rooms with tub baths. The woodwork is gumwood, with a mahogany finish, and the walls are papered in light colors, with small pleasing patterns. The furniture is mahogany and walnut, built by the White Furniture Co. of Mebane, N. C. The beds are mostly wood and the dressers have glass top, with a "dresser scarf" of light brown blotting paper which looked like silk fabric under the glass, and with an attached light over center of mirror.  A pincushion, pin tray, candle stick, etc., were included as dresser top accessories. The carpets were Whittal and Sanford, all of neutral brownish tones, except those for the corridors, which were red. The rugs are Whittal Anglo-Saxon. The writing desks were of the Statler Hotels type. and the arm chairs were Karpen upholstered. The window draperies were of Orinoka fabric of special design by the Orinoka (Philadelphia) Mills, those over lace curtains. The waste baskets were wicker and the illumination was by ceiling bracket and portable lights. The bed light was shaded and adjustable. The windows had Chamberlain weather strips and Hartshorn shades and every window had both light and slumber shades. The walls were hung with French prints, and each room had vacuum bottle for cold water, and was plugged for light, telephone, and electric fan. A linen laundry bag was provided for sending clothing to the laundry, and the guests' laundry was returned to rooms in a fiber-box. The room doors were mahogany, three hinge, and each corridor door was equipped with a rigid knob occupancy indicator. A daily newspaper was placed under the door of every occupied bed room every morning, the paper stamped "Good Morning, Compliments of the Southern Hotel."

Typical Bedroom

There were also 26 sample rooms ranging from 20' x 24' to 24' x 31' in the hotel, which were designed for travelling salesmen and trunk shows.

Typical Sample Room

The halls of the hotel averaged seven feet wide, wainscoted with burlap and papered above. At each corner there were signal lights directing patrons to the elevators. At each landing there was a pay station telephone, a synchronized Howard clock, a Cutler mail chute, and also a settee and French mirror. There were two ice water fountains and stack of paper cups in each hall.

Typical Floor Elevator Lobby

The fourteenth-floor ballroom, which occupied the east end of the floor, was a marvel. This room, 46' x 85', was lighted with tall windows on three sides, the ceiling was slightly arched and finished in delicate relief, and had a pure Adams treatment with "Wedgwood" medallion ornaments. The color scheme is gray and gold, with window draperies of striped derby damask, the wisteria, green and gold combinations lighting up a veritable fairyland of fancy. The chair coverings were also of this wisteria theme. The floor was resilient for dancing, and one end of the room was fitted with a stage. The acoustic properties of the ball room were very good and at the time it was the largest room of its kind in the city.

This floor, in addition to the ballroom, also had a roof garden which occupied the west end of the floor. It was arranged to give Baltimore a social headquarters all year round and furnish roof garden facilities of the most desirable kind. The west and south sides of the roof garden were covered with a pergola and were glass enclosed during the winter season. The floor of the roof garden was in red Welsh tile. And the view from the roof garden commanded a panorama of the city and surrounding hills which was a delight to the eye.

Between the ballroom and the roof garden was a sub-kitchen and serving room, admirably arranged for facilitating the service of banquets and roof garden refreshments. A wide marble floored corridor which connected the two rooms. The kitchen serving the ball room and roof garden had Sexton equipment and a Blakeslee Niagara dishwasher, and the floor was of the same red Welsh tile as the roof garden.

Fourteenth Floor Cooridor and Reception Room

Throughout the entire hotel, specially shaped flat valances were used instead of old-fashioned dust-catching heavy draperies. The draperies were designed and executed by the Hutzler Brothers Co. of Baltimore.

The hotel also had a bar which was finished in the Adams period, a very attractive room. The back-bar equipment was Bichop-Babcock. There was also a barbershop in the basement of the hotel with seven chairs, and a manicure department.

Barber Shop

The kitchen, located in the basement, was of the "open to inspection" type. It was equipped by the Sexton Stove Co., with copper and aluminum utensils. The kitchen machinery was run by electric power, and in keeping with the time in which it was built, there was a separate kitchen for the white help. The bake shop has a brick oven and the usual equipment.

The elevators were Otis and operated by women, who were found to be competent for this work, a breakthrough for the time and partially caused by the labor shortages of the Great War.

When the hotel opened, the china was supplied by Warwick of Wheeling, West Virginia, most of it marked with the hotel crest. The hotel silver was provided by the Wallace Silver Company, and the glass was provided by the Central Glass Works of Wheeling, West Virginia. The dining room chairs were upholstered mahogany with cane backs.

On June 11, 1918 the roof garden opened for the first time to a large and constantly increasing crowd. The roof abounded in fresh hanging greens and growing flowers, electric lights draped effectively in red, white and blue shades, with flags of the allied nations of the Great War attractively arranged. During the evening appropriate favors were presented to guests, and Beatrice Van Loon and her all female orchestra furnished a most enjoyable musical program. The Southern Hotel roof garden would undoubtedly be a very popular place for dining in the open that Summer, and for many summers to come.

Known for its culinary delights, a few of the recipes from the Southern Hotel have been preserved for posterity. In 1932 recipes for Baked Oysters Lafayette, Grilled Oysters Baltimore, Casserolette of Crab Meat, Stuffed Shad Roe Fountain Inn, Broiled Smelts Maitre d'Hotel, and Old Fashioned Fried Chicken Maryland Style were published in "Eat, Drink And Be Merry in Maryland," which had been provided to the author by A.J. Fink, managing director of the hotel.

The hotel finally closed its doors in 1964, after only 46 years of service. In 1967, the hotel was purchased by the Maritime Engineers Beneficial Association, which operated a seaman's training center there until turning off the lights for good in 1984. The hotel was torn down in 1998.

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Before the Ban Part 7 - Pre-Prohibition Baltimore Breweries - Thomas Beck Brewery/Dukehart Brewing Company/Maryland Brewery

By 1861, Thomas Beck opened a brewery known as the known as the Rock Springs Brewery, which was known for its production of beer in kegs and ginger beer in bottles. In 1871 in partnership with his son August Beck, the brewery became known as Thomas Beck and Son.

Thomas Beck Brewery 1869

At some point after 1882, the brewery was taken over by Thomas M. Dukehart. Dukehart had previously taken over the old Medtart Brewery, known for the production of ales, porters, stouts, and malt extract, on Holliday Street near Centre Street in 1872, and moved this operation to the former Beck Brewery on Baltimore Street.

Thomas Beck Brewery 1869

In 1891, through a reorganization, the first of several, the Dukehart Brewing Company took over the Ale & Porter Brewery of Thomas M. Dukehart. At this time the brewery complex consisted of a large and commodious brewhouse, extensive underground vaults, a large ice house, stables, a cooperage, a 3-story brick hotel corner of Baltimore and Calverton Streets, and the brewery had a 30,000-barrel annual capacity.

In 1900 the brewery was sold as a receiver sale and taken over by the Dukehart Manufacturing Company. At this time the brewery consisted of a brick brewery buildings and bottling house, brick and frame stables, a washhouse, blacksmiths’ and wheelwrights’ shops, sheds, a 3-story brick hotel with 2-story brick back building. The brewery also listed as assets 10 wagons, 2 buggies, 1 copper cooler, 1 copper bottom mash tub, 2 boiling kettles, 8 fermenting tubs, and 12 vats.

In February 1904, the brewery leased the bottling house and old ice-storage building to the Cahn, Belt & Company for one year.

An interesting note about their beer. On November 2, 1908, their Dukehart's Porter was tested by the State of Maryland and found to have a 3.5% alcohol content.

As of 1911, with William Obermann serving as manager, the brewery had 1-35-ton Pennsylvania Iron Works compression ice making machine made by the Pennsylvania Iron Works of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a direct expansion refrigeration system, and 45,266 cubic feet of cold storage space.

While remaining independent of the great Baltimore brewery mergers of 1899 and 1901, the brewery eventually closed in 1913.

Today all that survives of the brewery complex is two stories of the 3-story brick hotel with its 2-story brick back building at the corner of Baltimore and Calverton Streets, now known as the Club International.

1880 Baltimore American Advertisement

1886 Advertisement

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1891 Advertisement

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1908 Advertisement

Thomas M. Dukehart's Maryland Brewery 1890

West Baltimore Street

Dukehart Manufacturing Company 1901

West Baltimore Street

Site of the Dukehart Manufacturing Company 1914

West Baltimore Street

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Welcome to Maryland from the West... the Fort Cumberland Hotel

As America through the second decade of the 20th Century, Cumberland, Maryland took upon itself to add to the "Queen City" with the construction of a new hotel, to serve not only travelers on the new National Highway as  well as potential new convention business, but also as a gathering place for important local events. Originally planned to open July 1, 1917, stock in the company was entirely subscribed to locally.

Construction on the Fort Cumberland Hotel began in 1917 when the Cumberland Hotel Company gave the contract to Kean & Clark of Cumberland to build the hotel. Located on the northwest corner of Baltimore and North Liberty Streets is a six-story, fireproof brick hotel. Designed by Fred Webber, of Philadelphia, it was built at over a cost of $250,000. As built, it contained 180 rooms, 150 with their own bathroom.

Opening on January 10, 1918. this block-like brick hotel, with classically inspired applied stone ornaments is one of two hotels in Cumberland remaining from the age of railroad transportation. The main entrance with "marquee" is located in the east side along North Liberty Street, with several commercial fronts along Baltimore Street. The principal windows of the second story, which are doubles, have bracketed entablatures. Two belt courses band the street sides between the fifth and sixth floor windows with panels of stone carving below the top floor openings. The structure is crowned with a dentilled stone cornice and a frieze of carved panels and triglyphs below and a closed parapet above. Clusters of flowers drop from the triglyphs flanking the upper story windows. The carved panels are floral arrangements with mermaids.

Generally, hotels from this period provided a lobby, dining room, and a ballroom or smaller gathering rooms on the first floor. These first-floor spaces were often used by local organizations, which hotel owners encouraged to create greater ties between their business and the community. The upper floors contained the guest rooms. By the 1920s most guest rooms in small city hotels had their own bathrooms, while just three decades earlier individual bathrooms would have been quite rare.

Known for its culinary delights, a few of the recipes from the Fort Cumberland Hotel have been preserved for posterity. In 1932 recipes for Lobster Thermidor and Braised Duckling Bigarrade were published in "Eat, Drink And Be Merry in Maryland," which had been provided to the author by Ivan W. Poling, manager of the hotel.

The hotel, then known as the Cumberland Arms, closed in 1976 when it was turned into senior housing. Today the building is a 69-unit low income housing property still known as the Cumberland Arms run by The Hampstead Companies.

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Before the Ban Part 6 - Pre-Prohibition Baltimore Breweries - The Eigenbrot Brewery

The Eigenbrot Brewery on Willard Street in West Baltimore was actually founded by Ferdinand Joh, formerly of the Philip Odenwald & Ferdinand Joh brewery on what is today South Calverton Street, in 1873. Joh died in 1876, however, and the brewery was inherited by his daughter Louisa, who married Henry Eigenbrot the same year. Eigenbrot was a thirty-year-old machinist, the son of a saloon keeper. Though he became the manager, Louisa retained title to the brewery. The brewery was not incredibly successful, but it did enough business to continue, and to support the Eigenbrots in a comfortable style. In 1878 the brewery sold 3,936 barrels of beer and in 1879 it sold 3,195 barrels of beer.

1905 View of the Eigenbrot Brewery

In 1892, however, a reorganization of the brewery came about, and Alexander L. Straus, the son of malt supplier Levi Straus, became the new manager. (As a result of their role as malt suppliers, the Straus family had a great deal of power in the brewing industry.) A new company was formed, and Alexander Straus became the principal owner along with Louisa Eigenbrot. The brewery underwent a great deal of expansion and modernization under Straus. The plant was enlarged and new equipment, including refrigeration units, was installed, In 1891, the year before Straus took over, the brewery produced about 14,000 barrels of beer, but by 1895 production reached about 45,000. A fire at the brewery in 1896 precipitated the erection of a new and larger brewhouse, and in 1897 a new large storage building was erected as well.

The majority of the Eigenbrot Brewery Company was built in 1873 by Ferdinand Joh. This group of structures includes those which border South Warwick Street at the foot of Lipps Lane. Central to this early group is a two-story brick building with a gable roof which later served as a "wash and storage" room. This was probably part of the original brewhouse. North of this building and adjacent to it is a one-story brick building which later became part of the brewery's bottling plant. South of it is a three-story hops storage building with a highly decorative brick cornice. In 1892 the brewery began a modernization program which greatly increased its capacity. Key to this was the installation of a refrigeration system to expedite the cooling of the wort. An elaborate boiler house and compressor house fronting on Willard Street housed the unit. The former has a rooftop lantern now in badly deteriorated condition. In 1896 and 1897 a new brewhouse and cold storage warehouse was added. The brewhouse is a five-story brick structure fronting on Willard Street just north of the office. The warehouse is also five stories but is much higher, each floor having sufficient clearage for the large wooden fermenting vats and storage tanks.

In 1899, the Maryland Brewing Company, a newly formed conglomerate, purchased the Eigenbrot Brewery along with seventeen other Baltimore breweries, namely George Bauernschmidt Brewing Company, George Brehm, Wehr, Hobelmann & Gotlieb Co., National Brewing Co., Germania Brewing Co., Darley Park Brewery, Bayview Brewery, Mount Brewery, Vonderhorst Brewing Co., Baltimore Brewing Co., George Gunther Sr. Co., Oriental Brewing Co., S. Helldorfer's Sons, John F. Weissner & Bro., and John B. Berger. Now known as the Eigenbrot Brewery, Straus was retained as manager, but Eigenbrot retired at this time.  In the year ending February 28, 1901 the brewery sold 45,535 barrels of beer.

The Maryland Brewing Company was sold to the Gottlieb-Bauernschmidt-Straus Brewing Company in 1901. This sale included the Eigenbrot property. Henry Eigenbrot died in 1906. The company added three new structures in 1906 to house its expanded distribution facilities, a two-story brick stable along Hollins Street, a new stock house, and a two-story 50'x150' bottling and storage warehouse addition to the bottling plant designed by Otto C. Wolf of Philadelphia. In 1909 a new refrigeration plant was built between the 1873 and the new warehouse.

In 1909, concrete floors, electric lighting and steam heat were installed, and in 1911 a 75-ton ammonia condenser and new vertical single acting compressors were added. As of 1911 the brewery had 1-75-ton Erick ice making machine, 2-50-ton Wolf-Linde and 1-25-ton Wolf-Linde compression ice making machines made by Fred W. Wolf of Chicago Illinois, and a brine circulation-direct expansion refrigerating system. Also, in 1911, F.E. Beall designed a 40'x45' modern garage, built by Adam Kratz, for the brewery. Straus left the brewery in 1912, and Charles Bach became brew master and manager. He retained this position the Gottleib-Baurenschmidt-Strauss Brewing Company closed brewery in July 1918 in order to conserve fuel, ammonia and materials. Trade would continue to be served by the Globe and National breweries of the Gottleib-Baurenschmidt-Strauss Brewing Company. A moving and storage company took over the property in 1920. It is currently owned by a furniture distribution company. The Brewery still stands today.

1887 Advertisement 

Post 1901 Eigenbrot Beer Sign

1902 Advertisement for Bock Beer

1902 Baltimore American Advertisement

H. Eigenbrot's Brewery 1890
101 Willard Street

Eigenbrot Brewery 1901

101 Willard Street

Eigenbrot Brewery 1914

101 Willard Street

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Built for Another Century... The Stafford Hotel

The Stafford Hotel, a project conceived by Dr. William A. Moale, was designed by Charles E. Cassell and built by William Ferguson & Brother. Construction began around September 1892 and by March 1893, construction had reached the sixth floor. It was intended first as an apartment house and the rooms are arranged with this view, but in December 1893 it was decided to open as a hotel, with a portion of the rooms, still divided into suites for family use and leased for that purpose. These suites could to be divided into single rooms as desired.  Each floor consisted of eight suites of three bedrooms each, with interior finishes in hardwood. With an 80-foot frontage on Washington Place, and standing 12 stories tall, it made quite a statement and was one of the contributing factors to a height restriction eventually being place on new construction on that part of Baltimore.

The hotel was completed and opened by July 1, 1894. The front and sides of this fireproof hotel were Pompeiian bricks and brownstone in the Romanesque style. The main entrance led to a tilled hallway decorated in Romanesque designs. Soft monotints of the wall and ceilings were relieved with friezes and borders in conventional patterns flecked with gold. To the right of the hallway was the ladies' reception room, entered by a separate street entrance, and decorated in the Louis XVI style. Adjoining is room was the main office, private office, and elevator entrance.

On the left of the hallway was the main dining room carpeted in crimson, and with oak furnishings. The table appointments were all marked with the Stafford coat of arms, and the central panel in the front window of the dining room was formed of the coat of arms in colored glass. All the brass electric light brackets and chandeliers bore reproductions of the Stafford arms. To the rear of the dining room was the café, smoking and lounging rooms, bar, barber shop, and coatroom.

There were also iron and stone stairways encircling the central rotunda of the of the building, which was lighted through a skylight. Two passenger elevators and a freight elevator also gave access to the upper floors. There was also a newsstand located in the rotunda.

The second floor contained the ladies' parlor and drawing room facing Washington Place, with a writing room adjoining. A café was also on this for ladies traveling unattended and for permanent guests who did not care to go to the public dining room. White and gold decorations and furniture gave this room an attractive appearance. Private dining rooms, adjoining a reception room for their occupants, occupied the back of the second floor.

On the upper floors were 140 bedrooms and 30 private parlors in suites. Each floor had connecting rooms for the convenience of families and parties occupying them. Eighty bathrooms were scattered among the suites. The hotel also featured a bridal chamber which was finished in delicate shades of carpet and hangings, with ivory and gold furniture to correspond. The other chambers and parlors were finished with solid colored carpets and furniture of oak, birch and maple of handsome design. The hallways throughout the hotel were carpeted in crimson to great effect. And each room was connected by telephone with the hotel office and was lighted with incandescent lamps.

The twelfth floor contained a trunk room for guests’ baggage.

Decorating of the original hotel was done by Emmart & Quarterly, with J.W. Putts and Company providing the crockery and Reed & Barton providing the silverware.

By 1906 it was time to update the hotel, which though modern for its time when built, was in need of updating foe the 20th Century. Charles E. Cassell & Son were selected as the architects for the improvements and Edward Brady & Son was the contractor doing the work on the hotel. With a budget of $50,000, the remodeling included new furniture in every bedroom, as well as the reception rooms, dining room, lobby, rotunda and other apartments. The major improvements were however to be on the first floor and basement of the hotel.

Partitions were installed on each side of the entrance corridor, dividing the dining room. The ladies’ reception room and office were removed. The dining room was widened as far back as the rotunda and all of the space on the other side of the dining room was be occupied as a lobby or lounging room. The dining room was divided off by a French beveled plate glass partition with glass doors. The glass partition was trimmed with bronze and had a marble base. French plate glass mirrors, resting on marble bases, were hung on all the walls of the dining room and the large marble columns which were on the south side of the dining room, and had been decorated with numerous electric wall lights were removed. The woodwork if the dining room was of a Verde antique bronze finish. Candelabra with colored shades were placed on the tables and projecting from the ceiling were electric lights. The lights were covered with the coat of arms of the hotel and large prism glass globes.

Lights similar to those in the dining room were installed in the lobby. Sheraton style furniture was ordered for the hotel, the first-floor chairs and couches were of mahogany and antique woodwork, being finished in crimson leather, the larger pieces bearing the crest of the hotel. The A.B. & E.L. Shaw Company of Boston supplied the lobby furniture. The crest was also hung crest now hangs on the walls of the entrance corridor. This crest represented the original coat of arms of the Duke of Stafford who was a relative of Dr. Moale who established the hotel.

The partitions at the rear of the rotunda which had formed the barber shop, toilet, package and storage rooms were removed and the space devoted to the office, telegraph and telephone booths, and check room. To the north of the lobby was now the ladies retiring room which contained a dresser, mirror and washstand. The roof of this retiring room was of glass and from it suspended droplights. The hotel office was now situated in the space formerly occupied as the public toilet and cloak room, the news stand, and barber shop. Mont Blanc marble, with a beautiful red vein running through it, divided the office. Opposite the office was now the telegraph station and news stand. The cafe and bar were redecorated with bright colors on the walls, and the woodwork was re-polished. A marble stairway was installed to connect the basement and first floor.

On the south side of the basement, directly below the dining room a grill room was created. Entrance to the grillroom was gained by a corridor which was reached by the new marble stairway leading from the office above. The grill room featured a floor of mosaic and the woodwork finished in quartered fumed oak, the panels and the ceiling to correspond. The caps of the marble columns were solid gilt with gilded ornaments at the intersections of the main ribs. The chairs of the grill were of mission style. The electric fixtures were of hammered brass. Reminiscing in 1944, James P.A. O'Connor, first manager of the bar, who worked at the hotel from 1894 to 1911, described the original bar as thimble sized with the proverbial black leather upholstered furniture.  

On the north side of the corridor in the basement a men's toilet, barber shop and bootblacks’ rooms were created. The floor of both the basement and the first floor were of white marble and mosaic with colored borders which kept with the architecture of the hotel.

A number of changes were made on the fourth, fifth, and sixth floors. These bedrooms were enlarged with the removal of partitions. New mahogany furniture was ordered for each room, as well and other rooms of the hotel, and new satin finish brass beds were purchased for the 150 bedrooms.

The entire hotel was re-carpeted with Persian rugs, every room and corridor repapered and repainted, new draperies of silk tapestry hung, and a new range installed in the kitchen.

With renovations complete, the first floor which had previously seemed crowded by the office and the ladies’ reception room in the front was now roomy and up to date.

On June 28, 1908 Princess Lwoff-Parlaghay arrived at the Stafford Hotel taking the entire second floor of 13 rooms which had been reserved for her, staying until the next Thursday.

In 1911 dining room of the hotel was again redecorated, painters and decorators making the white room a veritable bower of gilt and white.

By 1918 the hotel boasts 132 rooms and a staff of 93 people, to include: 9 chambermaids (2 in linen room), 3 day scrub women, 3 night scrub women, 2 housemen, 2 passenger elevator men, 2 freight elevator men, 1 painter, 5 bellboys, 2 parlor maids, 11 waiters, 1 waitress, 1 busboy, 2 captains, 1 porter, 1 yardman, 1 fireman, 1 watchman, 15 kitchen help, and 11 pantry help.

In 1931 the hotel was taken over by the Stafford Hotel Apartment Company which ran the hotel until at least 1960. That year, with the new ownership, extensive alterations were commenced on the hotel, with the entire hotel being repainted and refurbished, and the entire lobby and dining room were greatly enlarged and completely redecorated. At least a portion of the original hotel furnishing we disposed of at this time.

 Main Lobby

circa 1946

The hotel was again remodeled and redecorated in 1934, with the bar/grill being rechristened the Hunt Room by Manager Morton A. Grant. Only the old mahogany bar top remained of the former furnishings. The room was now bright and snappy with pastel shades and mirror finishes. The bar, which accounted for 40 to 50 percent of the profits of the hotel, was formerly a dreary wood paneled bar. It opened September 6, 1934 as the Hunt Room Cocktail Lounge, S. Dickson Wright manager at the time. At it's opening it was called a "classic mirror bar in our new Grecian Hunt Room." This bar remained through at least 1948. The remodeled dining room also opened that day.

Original Grecian Hunt Room

The hotel was again redecorated in 1935 and underwent another refurbishing in 1936. The later refurbishment resulted in the lobby being decorated in pink and silver. One of the famous guests at this time was F. Scott Fitzgerald who checked in on December 26, 1936 into room 409 and ran up a $22.35 bar and restaurant bill.

Hunt Room Cocktail Lounge

By 1944, few of the original furnishings remained, a few coffee pots, several silver trays, and several old prints of hunt scenes that once adorned the bar. However, brought back to sight about that time was the original marble mosaic floor in the foyer which had been covered by carpets for many years. But gone was the plate glass wall separating the dining room from the foyer. That wall was removed when the dining room was moved to the second floor. Gone also was the tiny circular elevator that operated in the rear corner of the foyer. This disappeared when a new elevator was placed in the well made by a circular staircase which was once the pride of the hotel especially because of its wrought iron railing. Still remaining at this time was the marble and tile lined cellar. Also still in operation was the boiler room under the bed of Washington Place with a manhole though which coal was fed to the boiler room. As mentioned above, tiny bar with its with black leather covered furniture, and adjoining barbershop of thimble size, had all disappeared and the entire space given over to a large modern lounge.

Typical Bedroom

In 1946 the 52-year-old marquee was removed, an old iron canopy which was held in place by huge chains and reached from the building to the curb line.

By 1960 the bar had been rechristened the Coach Room Bar. In 1962 the lobby was remodeled, enlarged, repainted and new lighting was installed. At this time the dining room and the banquet rooms were repainted, and new lighting and new wall to wall carpets installed. The following year the lobby corridors were remodeled was well as the hotel rooms, the later being enlarged and redecorated. They also converted the first floor Mount Vernon Room into a dining room, which was enlarged, redesigned, and relighted.

The hotel finally closed on January 15, 1973 after nearly 79 years in business, being taken over by the Facilities Management Corporation. Later that month the hotel was "gutted." Cleaned out in a few hours in what was described in the newspapers of the days as a "loot riot" and "ten story flea market." Solid brass chandeliers sold for $45, bathtubs for $10, room numbers for $2. Other items included marble topped night stands, framed pictures, lamps and Sheraton style dressers with inlaid wood décor and glass tops.

Today the building still stands, now used for apartments, little if any of the interior design features remaining.