Biltmore Research Paper
The Biltmore had its reveled opening on June 6, 1922. The Providence Journal at the time said it would be “the most elaborate social event ever to be held in the city” The owners at the time of the opening were John Bowman and Louis Wallick. They wanted to open a state of the art luxury hotel. The layout of the building is something of the creativity of the famous architect team of Warren and Whitmore. They are the men responsible for New York’s Grand central Station. The building has a unique V shape, which allows visitors to each have a room on the outsides of the building with windows and natural lighting. The prized jewel of Providence at the time when it opened boaster 600 rooms, many different shops and services, rooftop gardens and
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chicken coops, six eating establishments, and almost any other amenity you could think of at the time..
Even after the money flow and glittering glamour of the roaring twenties, the Biltmore was still a social epicenter of Providence.
During the thirties and forties, the Biltmore hosted many talented acts as the Big Band era was in full swing. Even a performance by Esther Williams, a record setting swimmer at the time who performed an aquacade, who had the dance floor filled with water and made into a live aquarium with fish, graced the great Biltmore.
One of the features the Biltmore gave to its guests in the thirties and forties was the Bacchante Girls. In the Bacchante Room, these girls would be the servers, who could be summoned at the push of a button. Known for being the most beautiful women around, they would wear costumes that featured a low cut top, see through skirt and the whole room had a glass floor with pink under lighting to highlight the Bacchante Girls’ legs.
The Biltmore had suffered some catastrophe including a 1938 flooding where the water was 8 feet high in the lobby. There are commemorative markings in the lobby today that mark the historical event. In the 1970’s the hotel underwent a 7.5 million dollar restoration project to keep up with the times, add two levels of luxury housing, and yet still maintained the charm of its original 1922
form.
Under new ownership since those day of old, the Biltmore, having just celebrated its 90th birthday this past year, will continue redefine itself in the luxury hotel world and maintain its identity in doing so. It has architectural, cultural, and historic significant and is still loved by the entire city. The Biltmore renovated most recently in 2006. The first floor gained the addition of McCormick and Schmick’s, Starbucks, and Golden Gate Florist. This progress has kept the Biltmore as alive as ever as the renovations ran them around 14 million dollars.
Works Cited
"Check AvailabilityModify/Cancel Reservations." Historic Hotels of America. National Trust for Historic Preservation, n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2013.
"History." Downtown Providence Accommodations. Providence Biltmore, n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2013.
chicken coops, six eating establishments, and almost any other amenity you could think of at the time..
Even after the money flow and glittering glamour of the roaring twenties, the Biltmore was still a social epicenter of Providence.
During the thirties and forties, the Biltmore hosted many talented acts as the Big Band era was in full swing. Even a performance by Esther Williams, a record setting swimmer at the time who performed an aquacade, who had the dance floor filled with water and made into a live aquarium with fish, graced the great Biltmore.
One of the features the Biltmore gave to its guests in the thirties and forties was the Bacchante Girls. In the Bacchante Room, these girls would be the servers, who could be summoned at the push of a button. Known for being the most beautiful women around, they would wear costumes that featured a low cut top, see through skirt and the whole room had a glass floor with pink under lighting to highlight the Bacchante Girls’ legs.
The Biltmore had suffered some catastrophe including a 1938 flooding where the water was 8 feet high in the lobby. There are commemorative markings in the lobby today that mark the historical event. In the 1970’s the hotel underwent a 7.5 million dollar restoration project to keep up with the times, add two levels of luxury housing, and yet still maintained the charm of its original 1922
form.
Under new ownership since those day of old, the Biltmore, having just celebrated its 90th birthday this past year, will continue redefine itself in the luxury hotel world and maintain its identity in doing so. It has architectural, cultural, and historic significant and is still loved by the entire city. The Biltmore renovated most recently in 2006. The first floor gained the addition of McCormick and Schmick’s, Starbucks, and Golden Gate Florist. This progress has kept the Biltmore as alive as ever as the renovations ran them around 14 million dollars.
Works Cited
"Check AvailabilityModify/Cancel Reservations." Historic Hotels of America. National Trust for Historic Preservation, n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2013.
"History." Downtown Providence Accommodations. Providence Biltmore, n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2013.