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.
Following the mansion's demolition, construction began on a hotel at the site.[8][1] The state government still owned the land,[9][10] as well as the newly constructed hotel building.[11][12] 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.[13] The building, designed by Atlanta-based architect G. Lloyd Preacher,[14] was named the Henry Grady Hotel, after noted Atlanta journalist Henry W. Grady.[9] 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.[15][16][17][18] 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".[19] The hotel was completed before Thanksgiving[20] in 1924,[8][1] with an estimated cost of $1 million.[21]
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.[12] 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.[47] 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.[48] 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.[49]
Civil Rights protesting
During the civil rights movement of the 1960s, the hotel was targeted by protestors because of its policy of racial segregation.[50] 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.[51] After two of the students refused to leave the premises, they were arrested.[51] The other students who were not arrested staged a lie-in in the lobby that was later given national coverage in the magazine Jet.[52] Additionally, the Committee on Appeal for Human Rights led a picketing protest outside the hotel.[53] The hotel eventually desegregated following the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.[54]
In 1967, Georgia State RepresentativeTom 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.[13] 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.[13] Additionally, the government could make more money in taxes from the property than it could from the lease.[13] After some debate, it was decided to allow the building to stand until its current lease expired in 1972.[13] On Labor Day of that year, the hotel was demolished by dynamite.[13] In its place, the John C. Portman-designed Peachtree Plaza Hotel was constructed.[55][56][57] This new hotel, which was completed in 1976,[6] was at the time of its construction the tallest hotel building in the world.[28]
Architecture
The Henry Grady Hotel was located in downtown Atlanta, on the same city block as Davison's flagship department store,[58][59][60] which was completed in the 1920s.[61] The hotel had 13 floors, though in an example of triskaidekaphobia, the 13th floor was actually labeled the 14th floor.[20][note 1] Additionally, no room numbers ended in "13".[20] The hotel had 550 bedrooms and was finished with a stone and red brick façade, with the front entrance having a glass-covered veranda.[6] 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.[63]
^Several sources, including Atlanta historian Franklin Garrett and the Henry Grady Hotel entry on Emporis, state that the building had 13 floors.[20][6] However, other sources state that the hotel had 11 floors,[59] 12 floors,[15] and 14 floors.[62]
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