Over 400 people were in attendance and dined on delicacies of the time, including turtle soup. On July 23, 1925, a banquet was held in the new ballroom to celebrate the public grand opening of the Hawthorne Hotel. The celebration continued with private parties for stockholders and contractors. After the parade, Frank Poor and Mayor George Bates raised the American flag for the first time atop the roof of the new hotel. On July 21, 1925 a parade was held that included the Salem Cadet Band, Salem Chamber of Commerce, Salem Rotary Club, and other local organizations. The statue was purchased and dedicated in December 1925. The Hawthorne Memorial Association’s chairman, Judge Alden White, suggested the hotel be named in honor of Nathaniel Hawthorne, as it was situated near so many significant places from the author’s time in Salem.Įarlier than expected, the Hawthorne Hotel opened to much fanfare, which kicked off with a multi-day celebration. Inspired by the success of the hotel’s fundraising, an additional $10,000 was raised for the Hawthorne Memorial Association, which was looking to buy a statue of Nathaniel Hawthorne by Bela Lyon Pratt from the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, with plans to place it on the newly completed Hawthorne Boulevard, adjacent to the hotel. Hygrade Lamp Company supplied light bulbs and Naumkeag Steam Cotton Co, provided sheets. Shortly before the hotel’s completion, an additional $90,000 was raised to expand the ballroom and reduce the hotel’s mortgage. The Franklin Building was razed and construction began on the hotel in June 1924 with contractors Pitman and Brown and architect Phillip Horton Smith, of Smith and Walker, in Boston. The Franklin Building, sitting at the corner of Essex Street and Washington Square was offered by the Salem Marine Society with the condition that a room would be built for exclusive use by the society. By the end of the week long campaign, the total raised was $527,000.įollowing the fundraiser, planning for the new hotel began with location proposals. On the first day alone, $500,000 was raised, more than half of the original $750,000 goal. Results were also advertised in the committee’s “Ho! Tell!” literature. Daily meetings continued there to discuss sales results, which were posted on a large billboard in Town House Square. A rally was held at the Salem YMCA on Jto celebrate the beginning of the fundraiser. The volunteers were divided into 16 competitive teams. of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, which was brought in to manage the campaign. In July of that year, fundraising for the new hotel kicked off with a group of 175 volunteer businessmen, all strategically trained to sells stocks by the Hockenbury Co. Incorporated on August 27, 1923, the Salem Hotel Corporation began with a 52-member committee consisting of Salem business owners and philanthropists who all believed in the importance of building a hotel in the city. At the time, Salem was bustling with tourists and businessmen, who were unable to find lodging and would therefore leave the city, stifling Salem’s economy. Following this meeting, the Rotary Club appointed Frank Poor of the Hygrade Lamp Company (Sylvania) to assist Hooper in drawing up a proposal. It was then that George Hooper, Salem Laundry owner, lobbied the importance of building a hotel in Salem. The Hawthorne Hotel in Salem, Massachusetts came to be as the result of a community effort begun on at a Salem Rotary Club meeting. The Hawthorne Hotel by Jen Ratliff on T08:39:39-04:00 | Comments
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