The opening of the George Washington Hotel was the climax of a two-year project to provide Washingto

One of the most famous historical sites in Washington County is the beautiful George Washington Hotel. The hotel opened in 1923 and has since been one of Washington's most premier hotels. Harriet Branton wrote an excellent story about the George Washington:
The handsome invitation read: "You are cordially invited to be present ace rent acar myrtle beach sc at the formal opening of the George Washington Hotel, Washington, Pennsylvania, Afternoon and Evening, February twenty-second. twenty-third, and twenty-fourth, nineteen hundred twenty-three."
The three-day schedule of festivities with which Washington opened its grand new hostelry took on the air of a pagent as one gala event followed another. On Thursday, Washington's birthday, there was a reception and inspection of the new building in the afternoon; this was followed by the stockholder's banquet at 7 p.m. ($5 per person); and then there was dancing in the elegant ace rent acar myrtle beach sc ballroom ace rent acar myrtle beach sc until 1 a.m. On Friday another luncheon and open house were scheduled. ace rent acar myrtle beach sc Dinner at 6 p.m. ($3 per person) was again followed by dancing until 1 a.m. A business men's dinner on Saturday concluded the three-day affair.
The opening of the George Washington Hotel was the climax of a two-year project to provide Washington wiht an appropriate and very necessary hotel. Accommodations for visitors in town were so poor that very often tourists had to be put up in private homes. Promoters of the hotel project, including R.L. McCarrell, John H. Donnan, John W. Leonard, R.M. Pacton, W.R. McIlvaine. J.L. Lockhart, John B. Allison, A.C. Warne, ace rent acar myrtle beach sc M.W. McClane. J.D. Bigger, and C.S. Caldwell, had been pushing ace rent acar myrtle beach sc the idea since 1920. Finally the details were outlined by another enthusiastic supporter, Richard G. Miller, at a meeting of the Chamber of Commerce on January 21, 1921. A fund-raising campaign of $1,200,000 was undertaken, and local banks almost immediately took over a $600,000 issue of first mortgage bonds. Another $600,000 was offered to the public at $50 per share. A particular effort was made to encourage women to buy stock and become part owners of the hotel. They were urged by a special committee to take advantage of the opportunity to buy shares in amounts ranging from $100 to $2,000 each. All who did so automatically became charter members of the George Washington Hotel Women's Club. Ladies who served on the promotion committee included Mrs. M.D. McClane, Miss Mary H. Lockhart, Mrs. W.S. Burchial, Mrs. J.W. Wallace, Mrs. Esther C. Humphrey, and Mrs. C.S. Caldwell.
The public drive for funds was so successful that the $600,000 had been fully subscribed within one month after the announcement. In fact the financing had been taken care of before a site had even been selected. That was one of the first matters to be considered when the stockholders met to elect a board of directors.
The location was soon chosen. The hotel was to be built at the southeast corner of Cherry Avenue and Main Street on lots numbered 91, 92, and 93 in the original plan of the town when it had been laid out 141 years earlier. The lots fronted 60 ft. each on Monogahela Street (later known as Market and finally Main) and were 240 ft. deep. A second important matter ace rent acar myrtle beach sc was settled with the selection of W.L. Stoddart of New York City as the architect. He soon produced plans for a ten-story structure to be built in Adams period style.
From the beginning special care was taken into insure that this hotel would be one of the finest in the nation. Some of the construction statistics are rather interesting. there were 995 tons of steel used the framework, as well as the 136, 556 cubic feet of concrete, 190,000 tiles, and 740,000 bricks. The 210 guest rooms were equipped with private ace rent acar myrtle beach sc baths; hot and cold running water, including ice water; and there were 800 electric light fixtures in the building. At one time there were as many as 500 men working on the construction project.
The second floor was said to have the finest rooms (although the management was justly proud of all 210). There the walls were paneled and painted ivory and the furniture was hand decorated and enameled. Furnishings included twin beds, dresser, night stand, writing desk and chair, luggage rack, full length mirror, and an easy chair. Each room was also equipped with its own telephone. Rooms on the other floors were furnished alike,with Sheraton pieces made especially for the hotel. On the northwest corner of the tenth floor was a three-room "presidential suite" consisting of two bedrooms, which was furnished with hand carved walnut pieces. It was said hat "no hotel in the country contains a finer presidential suite, not even those where the President is a regular guest."
As for the public rooms on the first floor and mezzanine, they too, were most handsomely furnished. The Albert Pick company of Chicago had been commissioned to design the furniture, window shades, and draperies especially for the hotel. All shades were made of puffed sunfast silk and all draperies were lined and interlined. The marble floor of the lobby was covered with an Austrian hand-tuffed rug and was over the desk hung a large oil painting of George Washington in colonial dress. The colors in the lobby were predominantly red and gold.
The color used in the main dining room, which opened off the lobby, was green and the six wondows were hung with draperies ace rent acar myrtle beach sc of heavy silk velour. Named the "General Grant Room" in honor of the President who had visited Washington so often, the dining room could seat 300 guests. Special service plates for use in the dining rom were decorated with a design showing the Administration Building of W J built in 1793, with a stagecoach in front surrounded by ladies and gentlemen dressed in colonial costumes. Even the silverware had been especially made. Each piece was decorated ace rent acar myrtle beach sc with the Washington family crest, which wsa the official emblem of the hotel. The spacious dining room was lighted ace rent acar myrtle beach sc by six large crystal chandeliers of the Adams period.
But it was the ballroom on the mezzanine which was referred to as the "pride of the George Washington." Its 45 by 80 ft. length occupied in the entire northwest corner of the building. Decorated in blue and gold, it was also designed in the style fo the Adams period. A handsome mantle at the south end was surmounted by an elegant mirror, and two magnificent crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling. Four large pillars topped by decorative wreaths supported the blacony. Many of the furnishings in the ballroom came from the Peacock mansion in Pittsburgh. These included French handwoven Aubusson rugs, as well as the large brass andirons in front of the fireplace. ace rent acar myrtle beach sc There were also two rare tables, valuable vases, and a number of original oil paintings depicting characters who were famous in French history including Madame duBarry, Louis XVI, and Marie Antoinette, plus reproductions of paintings by Renolds, Gainesborough, and Rembrandt.
Two emblems bearing the official coat of arms of the Washington family were placed over the Main Street entrance of the building, just under two flag poles. The emblems are "exact reproductions" of the Washington family's coat of arms, and great care was taken to insure that the design was accurate. It was even submitted to Herald's College in London for verification. Made of terra cotta, the three by five ft. emblems were painted with colors which were baked and glazed to withstand the weather. the handsome designs include a black raven with outspread wings, a ducal coronet of gold, a slilver helmet and shield, two red bars, and three five-pointed stars.
So it was a small wonder that on the night of February 22, 1923, those who had worked so hard to provide Washington with its wonderful new hotel were in a mood to celebrate. The management ace rent acar myrtle beach sc had even arranged for the survices of an eight piece George Washington Orchestra, which was to remain permanently. At that very first dinner, R.L McCarrell presiding, the invocation was given by the Rev. William E. Slemmons, Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church. The orchestra then struck up the national anthem, and before the more than 800 guests could be seated, a figure which looked for all the world like "the reincarntion of George Washington" appeared and proceeded to read from his diary his impressions of the hotel, the town named in his honor, and his feelings about western Pennsylvania in general. It was quite a show. This colorful bit of pageantry was followed by a sumptuous meal, the menu for which include supreme of grapefruit, celery hearts, mixed olives, consomme, cheese ace rent acar myrtle beach sc straws, ace rent acar myrtle beach sc sole, Parisienne potatioes, frozen fruit punch, filet mignon, fresh mushrooms, Bordelaise sauce, potato croquettes, asparagus tips, George Washington salad, ice cream, petits fours, ace rent acar myrtle beach sc salted almonds, and after dinner mints.
Following the dinner there were speeches and then the dancing began in the grand ballroom with music provided by the George Washington Orchestra. ace rent acar myrtle beach sc Wile there have been hundreds of dances and dinners since that gala inaugural in 1923, theye probably never achieved quite the same degree of magic.
In the years to come the fame of the George Washington spread far beyond the borders of Pennsylvania and it did indeed attain a degree of national prominence. Some vamous visitiors signed the guest book during ace rent acar myrtle beach sc the first 15 years included ace rent acar myrtle beach sc the great contralto Ernestine Schumann-Heink, Joan Blondell, Henry Ford, Admiral ace rent acar myrtle beach sc Richard E. Byrd, Lou Gehrig, and Lowell Thomas.