American history is carried forward in many forms — from official monuments and museums to entire communities. But there is a surprising amount of history in our nation’s hotels, too. From inns in Maryland that existed before they had a country to call their own to midcentury modern grooviness on the Jersey shore, here are some of the U.S.’ most historic hotels.
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Built during the Civil War by two brothers-in-law, the Malaga Inn‘s origins began as a set of townhomes. It’s also reported to be one of the most haunted hotels in Alabama. Today, the property features 39 guest rooms, many of which open onto a courtyard with flowers, fountains, and ambient outdoor lighting.
This 20-room hotel is in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve — at 13.2 acres, America’s largest national park. McCarthy is rich with historical lore, having been known for being a “Sin City” while its ghost town sister city, Kennicott, just over 4 miles away, was more of a “Company Town.”
Historic doesn’t have to mean drafty rooms and ghost-town destinations — this 1929 property was once a Spanish Colonial Revival villa, but is now home to spa treatments, award-winning cuisine, and incredible desert views.
Built for around $300,000, the Eureka Springs newspaper called the Crescent “America’s newest and most luxurious hotel,” replete with Edison lamps, electric bells, steam heating, a hydraulic elevator, and more.
The Golden State is chock full of historic hotels, but few can claim Albert Einstein as a past guest. This small hotel — made up of two Italianate-style mansions — hosted one of history’s great geniuses, as well as celebrities such as Clark Gable, Carole Lombard, and Shirley Temple.
Author Louis L’Amour used the Strater’s Room 222 — directly above the Diamond Belle Saloon — to work on many of his books because the small-town saloon’s “honky-tonk music helped set the mood for his novels of the Old West.” Today it rents out 88 rooms and has a restaurant, the saloon, and a “spiritorium,” a bar serving apps and cocktails.
The Goodwin was originally an upscale apartment building — J.P. Morgan lived here during visits to his birthplace. Eventually converted to a boutique hotel, hotel, the Goodwin retains its original and striking English Queen Anne terra-cotta facade.
The Italian Renaissance-inspired Hotel Du Pont opened after more than two years of work by French and Italian craftsmen who “carved, gilded and painted this exceptional landmark to life.” Taking up an entire city block, the property was also home to the chemical company DuPont’s offices, and a playhouse.
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Positioned close to Lafayette Square and St. John’s Church, this luxury hotel has had famous guests including Ethel Barrymore, Amelia Earhart, Sinclair Lewis, and Charles Lindbergh. It also opened Washington D.C.’s first air-conditioned dining room in 1930.
Florida: Casa Monica Resort & Spa
krblokhin/istockphotoSt. AugustineFounded: 1888Check prices and availabilityThe Casa Monica is in the oldest continuously inhabited European-established town in the contiguous United States, and an example of Moorish Revival and Spanish Baroque Revival architecture. Other than a period when it served as the local courthouse, it has always operated as a hotel.
jewhyte/istockphotoHonoluluFounded: 1901Check prices and availabilityThe Moana, on Oahu’s Waikiki Beach, was the first hotel in Waikiki and has reportedly hosted the likes of Agatha Christie, Amelia Earhart, Lucille Ball, Frank Sinatra, and Joe DiMaggio. A defining feature of the hotel is a 75-foot courtyard banyan tree planted in 1904.
The stately Blackwell hotel started life as a 1904 mansion and remain a private house until 1984. In addition to 10 guest suites, it offers guests a pool table, gazebo, and wrap-around porch.
West BadenFounded: 1850Check prices and availability
Over the course of its history, the West Baden Springs has operated as a college and seminary. Today, the hotel — known for its 200-foot atrium dome — is on the National Register of Historic Places and is a National Historic Landmark.
Hotel Manning by Sector001 ((CC BY-SA))KeosauquaFounded: 1899Check prices and availability
Bordering the Des Moines River, this hotel’s architectural style, Steamboat Gothic, mimics 19th-century riverboats. It opened in the late 1890s with an orchestra and more than 300 guests in attendance.
MarionFounded: 1886Check prices and availability
After a rocky history, the Elgin Hotel was nearly demolished in 1974 but was saved by a lack of funding for a follow-up project. Remodels around 2006 and again in 2016 have restored the property to its former glory, and it now includes a second-floor bed and breakfast, fitness center, library, and game room.
Kentucky: Historic Boone Tavern Hotel
Historic Boone Tavern Hotel by Parkerdr ((CC BY-SA))BereaFounded: 1909Check prices and availability
Named after Daniel Boone at the suggestion of the then-Berea College president’s wife, the Boone Tavern Hotel has hosted the likes of the Dalai Lama, Henry Ford, President and Mrs. Calvin Coolidge, Eleanor Roosevelt, Maya Angelou, and Robert Frost.
Grand Hotel, Mackinac Island, View From The Lake by Dehk ((CC BY))Mackinac IslandFounded: 1887Check prices and availability
Located on an island in Lake Huron, the Grand Hotel has seen guests such as Mark Twain, Christopher Reeve, Jane Seymour, and Christopher Plummer. The property’s front porch, once the longest in the world, was restored in 2017.
Wikimedia CommonsRed WingFounded: 1875Check prices and availability
This hotel southeast of Minneapolis — awarded the Best Small Historic Hotel Award in 2019 from Historic Hotels of America — has had just three owners over 145 years. The St. James‘ current operator? The Red Wing Shoe Co.
The Cottonwood Hotel by JonClee86 ((CC BY-SA))OmahaFounded: 1916Check prices and availability
The 1916 Kimpton Cottonwood, in Omaha’s popular Blackstone District, reopened recently after a renovation. It’s a gorgeous example of Second Renaissance Revival architecture that, before its latest reimagining, hosted the likes of presidents John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon.
Sue Stokes/shutterstockTonopahFounded: 1907Check prices and availability
This self-dubbed “jewel of the desert” opened in 1907 as one of the first luxury hotels in Nevada and a social destination in the booming mining town. The Mizpah was renovated in 2011 after being closed for 12 years and today offers 52 rooms, a full bar, dining in The Jack Dempsey Room, and gaming in the lobby.
Wikimedia CommonsWildwood CrestFounded: 1957Check prices and availability
With its opening just six decades ago, the Caribbean might not be the most historic hotel on this list, but what it lacks in decades it more than makes up for in midcentury modern authenticity. It’s a certified Doo Wop property and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
There’s no shortage of historic hotels to choose from in New York, but The Beekman wins points being the location of Shakespeare’s New York debut of “Hamlet,” plus a rest stop for Ralph Waldo Emerson, Mark Twain, Henry David Thoreau, and Edger Allen Poe.
AshevilleFounded: 1913Check prices and availability
In the hip city of Asheville, the Omni Grove Park Inn was designed in the Arts and Crafts style of architecture and has hosted many notable guests, including 10 presidents, from William Howard Taft to Barack Obama. Its features include a spa, pools, trails, dining, and more.
Wikimedia CommonsFullertonFounded: 1889Check prices and availability
In its more-than-130-year history, the Carroll House has always served as a hotel — but has also seen uses such as beauty parlors, restaurants, cream stations, and lumber business come and go. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1994 and serves as one of Fullerton’s greatest pieces of living history.
Oklahoma CityFounded: 1911Check prices and availability
Named for its founder, the 14-floor Skirvin once sat abandoned for nearly 20 years but was reopened in 2007 after a painstaking $50 million restoration and renovation.
Ashland Springs Hotel by Joe Mabel ((CC BY-SA))AshlandFounded: 1925Check prices and availability
Opened in 1925 as the nine-story Lithia Springs Hotel near the Rogue River Valley, the Ashland Springs is known for its light-filled two-story lobby, terrazzo flooring, and combination of Gothic, Beaux-Arts, and Arts and Crafts styles of architecture.
Wikimedia CommonsDeadwoodFounded: 1895Check prices and availability
This self-proclaimed “jewel of downtown Deadwood” was built in 1895 and named after the county’s first sheriff, Seth Bullock. The Bullock’s 28 rooms were restored in 1990 and, like many historic hotels, there are rumors this one is haunted — by Sheriff Seth himself.
csfotoimages/istockphotoNashvilleFounded: 1894Check prices and availability
One in a line of historic train stations transformed into a jaw-dropping hotel (see also: Denver and St. Louis), the turret- and tower-heavy Gothic facade of Nashville’s Union Station is worth the visit alone, but inside visitors will find plenty more to gawk at, including a 65-foot barrel-vaulted lobby ceiling, stained glass windows, three limestone fireplaces, and more.
The Cavalier Hotel by Serge Melki ((CC BY))Virginia BeachFounded: 1927Check prices and availability
The seven-story Cavalier has seen many notable names on its guest book, including F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, Bob Hope, Judy Garland, Elizabeth Taylor, Bette Davis, Doris Day, Muhammad Ali, and presidents Harry Truman and Jimmy Carter. Now part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection, it underwent an $81 million renovation to reopen in 2018.
The Blennerhassett is a combination of Victorian, Queen Anne, and Romanesque Revival architectural styles and has seen three renovations over the course of its history: in the mid-1940s, early 1980s, and, most recently, a $10 million restoration from 2002-2006. The hotel is now registered as a Parkersburg historical landmark and with Historic Hotels of America.
Yellowstone National ParkFounded: 1904Check prices and availability
Built in 1903-1904, the Old Faithful Inn is considered the largest log structure in the world. Its jaw-dropping, multistory lobby features a huge stone fireplace and rough-hewn log columns. While most of its guest rooms aren’t as historic in appearance as the hotel’s origin date would suggest, there are “old house” rooms that offer a rustic simplicity with a few modern amenities.
Kris is a veteran writer, editor, and graphic designer. She’s worked for newspapers including the Rocky Mountain News, and as managing editor for Dallas-based Advocate Magazines and Modern In Denver magazine. Over the course of her career