Английская Википедия:Henry Grady Hotel

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The Henry Grady Hotel was a hotel in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The building, designed by architect G. Lloyd Preacher, was completed in 1924 at the intersection of Peachtree Street and Cain Street, on land owned by the government of Georgia that had previously been occupied by the official residence of the governor. The hotel, which was named after journalist Henry W. Grady, was owned by the state and leased to operators. During the mid-1900s, the hotel typically served as the residence of state legislators during the legislative sessions, and it was an important location for politicking, with President Jimmy Carter (who had previously served in the Georgia State Senate) later saying, "[m]ore of the state's business was probably conducted in the Henry Grady than in the state capitol". In the late 1960s, the government decided to not renew the building's lease when it expired in 1972, and it was demolished that year. The land was sold to developers and the Peachtree Plaza Hotel was built on the site. At the time of its completion in 1976, it was the tallest hotel building in the world.

History

Background and construction

The Henry Grady Hotel was constructed in downtown Atlanta,Шаблон:Sfn at the intersection of Peachtree Street and Cain StreetШаблон:Sfn (now known as Andrew Young International Boulevard).Шаблон:Sfn The site had previously been the location of a Victorian GothicШаблон:Sfn mansion built in 1869 by architect William H. Parkins for businessman John H. James.Шаблон:Sfn That building and the land was later sold to the government of Georgia and was used as the official residence for the governor of Georgia between 1870 and 1921, housing seventeen governors during this time.Шаблон:Sfn Governor Hugh Dorsey was the last to live in the mansion, and after Thomas W. Hardwick became governor in 1921, he took up residence in the Georgian Terrace Hotel.Шаблон:Sfn In 1923, the building was demolished.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn

Following the mansion's demolition, construction began on a hotel at the site.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn The state government still owned the land,Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn as well as the newly constructed hotel building.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn As a result, state taxes were not required to be paid by the operators of the building, but the government would generate revenue from it by leasing the hotel to private hotel managers.Шаблон:Sfn The building, designed by Atlanta-based architect G. Lloyd Preacher,Шаблон:Sfn was named the Henry Grady Hotel, after noted Atlanta journalist Henry W. Grady.Шаблон:Sfn The building was erected during a construction boom that was going on in the city and was one of several large hotels built during this time, which included the Hotel Ansley, the Atlanta Biltmore Hotel, and the Winecoff Hotel.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:SfnШаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn In an article published by the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce during the hotel's construction, they stated that the Grady would be "one of the largest and most centrally located hotels in the city".Шаблон:Sfn The hotel was completed before ThanksgivingШаблон:Sfn in 1924,Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn with an estimated cost of $1 million.Шаблон:Sfn

The hotel proved to be a popular locale within the city. In its first few decades, it hosted meetings for the Atlanta League of Women VotersШаблон:Sfn and served as the headquarters for radio station WATL.Шаблон:Sfn It was a popular venue for many of the big bands that visited Atlanta in the early 1900s,Шаблон:Sfn including the Coon-Sanders Original Nighthawk Orchestra.Шаблон:Sfn Starting in 1949,Шаблон:Sfn performers Dick Van Dyke and Phil Erickson had a five-year residency at the hotel.Шаблон:Sfn

Political importance

However, the hotel was probably most notable for its connections to Georgian politics, with historian Floyd Hunter calling the hotel "politically famous".Шаблон:Sfn In the early 1900s, the Kimball House hotel had served as the lodging for state legislators while they were staying in Atlanta, Georgia's capital city.Шаблон:Sfn However, by 1930,Шаблон:Sfn the Henry Grady Hotel had become many politicians' Atlanta residences during the legislative sessions,Шаблон:SfnШаблон:SfnШаблон:SfnШаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn and as a result, a great deal of politicking took place in the building.Шаблон:Sfn Influential politician Roy V. Harris had a suite in the building,Шаблон:Sfn with former Governor Herman Talmadge later describing it as a smoke-filled room.Шаблон:Sfn During the three governors controversy of 1947, both Talmadge and Melvin E. Thompson, who both claimed to be the legitimate governor, had their offices located in the hotel.Шаблон:Sfn In the 1960s, the hotel served as the campaign headquarters for Lester Maddox in his 1966 gubernatorial campaign,Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn and the American Independent Party held their Georgia meeting at the hotel as part of George Wallace's 1968 presidential campaign.Шаблон:Sfn Additionally, the National Knights of the Ku Klux Klan had held a meeting and established a national committee in the hotel in 1960.Шаблон:Sfn

Файл:Henry grady hotel.jpeg
The Henry Grady Hotel (right), looking south down Peachtree Street, Шаблон:Circa

According to U.S. President Jimmy Carter, "[m]ore of the state's business was probably conducted in the Henry Grady than in the state capitol".Шаблон:Sfn Supporting this statement, a Georgia State Senator E. F. Griffith once said, "I don't believe the people of Georgia will ever know what's going on ... until they put loudspeakers in the Henry Grady Hotel and a few microphones under certain beds or behind the furniture".Шаблон:Sfn As an example, in 1946, Atlanta Mayor William B. Hartsfield first proposed plans for what would become the Downtown Connector roadway.Шаблон:Sfn Noted individuals who had suites in the hotel included businessman J. B. Fuqua, who stayed there to be closer to Georgian politicians,Шаблон:Sfn and Steadman Vincent Sanford,Шаблон:Sfn who served as the president of the University of Georgia and, later, the chancellor of the University System of Georgia.

In addition to its importance as a place of politicking, multiple individuals have made note of illicit acts and the atmosphere of debauchery that existed in the hotel while the politicians were there. During the Prohibition era in the 1930s, legislators would have couriers deliver illegal corn whiskey from Habersham County and Rabun County to the hotel.Шаблон:Sfn In a 1992 autobiography, Carter made note to an annual party that politicians held at the hotel on the first day of the legislative session.Шаблон:Sfn In a 1997 biography of Governor Zell Miller, biographer Richard Hyatt included a brief summary of such a party at the hotel on January 6, 1961, the first day of that year's legislative session, with legislators drinking alcohol, gambling, and holding a raffle among themselves for a chance to spend the night with a prostitute.Шаблон:Sfn Journalists for local newspapers, such as Bill Shipp of The Atlanta Constitution, would sometimes publish accounts of ongoings in the hotel, but many considered the topic off-limits and were largely uncritical of the events unfolding there.Шаблон:Sfn

Civil Rights protesting

During the civil rights movement of the 1960s, the hotel was targeted by protestors because of its policy of racial segregation.Шаблон:Sfn On March 13, 1963, several African American students from the Atlanta University Center attempted to get seats at a restaurant in the hotel's lobby, but were denied based on their race.Шаблон:Sfn After two of the students refused to leave the premises, they were arrested.Шаблон:Sfn The other students who were not arrested staged a lie-in in the lobby that was later given national coverage in the magazine Jet.Шаблон:Sfn Additionally, the Committee on Appeal for Human Rights led a picketing protest outside the hotel.Шаблон:Sfn The hotel eventually desegregated following the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.Шаблон:Sfn

Demolition

Файл:Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel, Atlanta, GA (47421274332).jpg
The Peachtree Plaza Hotel was constructed on the site of the Henry Grady Hotel.

In 1967, Georgia State Representative Tom Murphy, who was also a member of the State Properties Control Commission, argued that the hotel should be demolished and the land sold for private development.Шаблон:Sfn In his argument, he stated that the hotel was old and any operator of the building would be unlikely to fund renovations for the state-owned property.Шаблон:Sfn Additionally, the government could make more money in taxes from the property than it could from the lease.Шаблон:Sfn After some debate, it was decided to allow the building to stand until its current lease expired in 1972.Шаблон:Sfn On Labor Day of that year, the hotel was demolished by dynamite.Шаблон:Sfn In its place, the John C. Portman-designed Peachtree Plaza Hotel was constructed.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn This new hotel, which was completed in 1976,Шаблон:Sfn was at the time of its construction the tallest hotel building in the world.Шаблон:Sfn

Architecture

The Henry Grady Hotel was located in downtown Atlanta, on the same city block as Davison's flagship department store,Шаблон:SfnШаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn which was completed in the 1920s.Шаблон:Sfn The hotel had 13 floors, though in an example of triskaidekaphobia, the 13th floor was actually labeled the 14th floor.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Refn Additionally, no room numbers ended in "13".Шаблон:Sfn The hotel had 550 bedrooms and was finished with a stone and red brick façade, with the front entrance having a glass-covered veranda.Шаблон:Sfn In 1942, there were plans to add a 32-floor extension to the hotel that would have made it the tallest building in the city, though this plan never came to fruition.Шаблон:Sfn

See also

Notes

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References

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Sources

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Further reading

External links

Шаблон:Commons

Шаблон:Atlanta landmarks

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