Built in 1885, Lewis Ginter put in funds to build The
Jefferson hotel so that Richmond could have a Five Star hotel. Obviously,
Ginter would consider the hotel a success considering twelve US Presidents,
including Harrison, McKinley, Wilson, Coolidge, Taft, both Roosevelts (Theodore
and Franklin Delano), Truman and Reagan, both Bushes (George H. W. and George
W.) and Obama have been guests at The Jefferson Hotel. Other celebrities
includes Elvis have stayed at the hotel. When Elvis stayed in 1956, he brought
his own television and the hotel manager was shocked that Elvis ate his bacon
with his fingers. There is even a legend that Bill "Bojangles"
Robinson was discovered by his life-long agent while dancing across the dining
room at The Jefferson Hotel.
Yesterday, my life-long friend,
Babushka, and I went to The Jefferson for a Christmas lunch. The hotel is lovely any ol' day of the year but during the Christmas season it is
beautifully decorated with hundreds of flowers, thousands of Christmas lights, and a large Christmas tree. The hotel becomes that much more festive with an entire agenda of performances.
We enjoyed such delicacies as sweet
potato soup with roasted marshmallow croutons, and pumpkin ginger ale. She even
tried the egg nog crème brûlée but since I’m not a fan of mushy food I went
with the chocolate cake.
The decorations included the whimsical gingerbread
display that included 300 pounds of gingerbread, 400 pounds of royal icing, 75
pounds of fondant, 20 pounds of rock candy, 40 pounds of marshmallows for snow.
There are several more ingredients that were added to this list but oy! my
teeth hurt just thinking about all of this.
The hotel is quite popular today but it also has an
interesting history. While The Jefferson hotel was supposed to open on November
1, 1895, at the last minute it was realized that November 1 was a Friday, and
it was considered bad luck to start anything on a Friday. Instead, the hotel
was opened on Halloween :p
In 1901 there was a fire in which the statue of
Thomas Jefferson was rescued from the building only to have his head bumped on
the cobblestones. He was taken to Edward Valentine’s art studio where his
head was reattached.
Alligators
once resided in marble pools in the Palm Court Lobby. Richmonders would vacation in Florida and
bring the baby alligators home as pets.
As they outgrew sinks and bathtubs, residents would bring them to live
at The Jefferson. The last alligator
died in 1948. There is still a great deal of alligator motifs throughout the
hotel.
That is so bizarre about the alligators! And that people had them as pets. Great post on the history of this place.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful hotel! And I love all the crazy facts like friday being unlucky, and the alligators!
ReplyDeleteOMG it is Magnificent and what a Delightful way to spend the Holidays! I Adore Historic Architecture and especially those that have been so Well Preserved and Appreciated. Now I'm thinking of roasting Marshmallows to plop in my Soup and Impress the Family... I think the Grandkids will think me a Genius for that Touch! *Winks* Happy New Year from the Arizona Desert... Dawn... The Bohemian
ReplyDeleteWow, that place sounds amazing. I love the story about the alligators.
ReplyDeleteI'll add another WOW! How amazing?!
ReplyDeletehappy New Year.
Jane :)
What splendor! All those decorations! And that fact about alligators seem almost unbelievable. :D Babushka is an interesting name/nickname, does your friend have Eastern European or Russian heritage?
ReplyDelete