The historic Francis Marion Hotel at 387 King St., Charleston, South Carolina, is one of the tallest buildings in Charleston. The hotel, named for Revolutionary War hero Francis Marion, was built by local investors at a cost of $ 1.5 million from plans by renowned New York architect William Lee Stoddart. The hotel was built in 1924 by Marion Square Realty Co., a group led by former Charleston Mayor T.T. Hyde. The original ownership group was formed on March 13, 1920. When the hotel opened on 7 February 1924, Francis Marion was the largest and grandest hotel in Carolinas.
In 1952, this hotel became the first air-conditioned hotel in Charleston.
The Jack Tar Hotels Corp bought the hotel in 1954. The hotel underwent a major renovation in 1955-1956 which included the manufacture of Swamp Swamp Room, a ground floor restaurant named after Francis Marion. During the work, the ground floor of the exterior is converted into red granite.
In 1961, the hotel announced plans to build a three-story parking deck on the north side of the hotel on King Street in accordance with a plan drawn by Augustus Constantine. The plan is never finished.
From his retirement as Citadel president from 1965 to 1975, General Mark W. Clark lived with his wife at the penthouse hotel.
In 1976, the hotel was not well developed, and its owners were considering selling it. At that time, the hotel accounted for about 25% of all hotel rooms on the peninsula. In 1975, the owners considered turning the hotel into a home for the elderly.
In 1977, a group of investors considered buying a hotel from Jack Tar Hotels, Inc. The owners at the time had considered renovating the hotel, and City of Charleston had considered building a parking garage beside the hotel as part of the deal. However, the cost of returning the building as a first class destination, about $ 3 million, is too high.
In December 1984, Hospitality Associates of Charleston bought the hotel for $ 8.5 million. The hotel is operated first as the Francis Marion Ramada Hotel and then as the Radisson Francis Marion Hotel . The Hospitality Association borrows heavily from Prudential Insurance Corp. and also from the original owner Dr. Julian Youmans who had acquired the hotel in 1981. Beginning in April 1986, the Charleston Hospitality Association began to fall behind in the payment of its debt. In 1988, Prudential Insurance Corp bought a hotel with a $ 6 million public sale. Hospitality Associates of Charleston, the previous owner, can not continue to pay payments to successful bidders.
In 1989, shortly after Hurricane Hugo hit Charleston, a group of investors bought the hotel for $ 3.2 million. The new owners have a $ 12 million recovery plan, but the economic downturn prevents them from financing the plan. Mayor Joseph P. Riley intends to use the hotel as a landmark to encourage renovations over King St. (area between Calhoun St. and Cannon St.). He lobbied local banks to finance the plans, and the banks eventually contributed $ 5.5 million in financing; the city itself rose more than $ 4 million.
In 1991, Charleston City considered buying the hotel for $ 3.42 million and leased it to the College of Charleston for student housing.
The hotel was carefully restored in 1996 with a $ 12 million award from the award-winning National Trust for Historic Preservation. It reopened as The Francis Marion Hotel - Clarion Hotel . The hotel underwent a second phase renovation in 1997, for $ 2 million, and its name was changed to The Westin Francis Marion on June 18, 1998. The hotel left Westin on January 1, 2003 and has operated independently. Since a long time ago. The hotel currently has 226 guest rooms and suites.
Video Francis Marion Hotel
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
0 Comments