The Bellevue-Stratford Hotel
The Bellevue | |
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Bellevue Stratford Hotel | |
![]() The Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in 1976 | |
Coordinates | 39°56′55.76″N 75°9′54.62″W / 39.9488222°N 75.1651722°W |
Built | 1902–04 |
Architect | G. W. & W. D. Hewitt Hewitt & Paist |
Architectural style | French Renaissance |
NRHP reference No. | 77001182[1] |
Added to NRHP | March 24, 1977 |
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Former names | Bellevue-Stratford Hotel, Fairmont Hotel, The Westin Bellevue-Stratford, Hotel Atop the Bellevue, Park Hyatt Philadelphia at the Bellevue, Hyatt at the Bellevue |
Alternative names | Bellevue-Stratford Hotel |
General information | |
Address | 200 S. Broad Street |
Town or city | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
Country | United States
Building details |
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Hotel chain | Hyatt |
The Bellevue-Stratford Hotel is a landmark building at 200 S. Broad Street at the corner of Walnut Street in Center City Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Constructed in 1904 and expanded to its present size in 1912, it has continued as a well-known institution for more than a century and is still widely known by that original, historic name. In 1988, the building was converted to a mixed-use development. It has been known since then as The Bellevue. The hotel portion is currently managed by Hyatt as The Bellevue Hotel.
History
George Boldt
Born Georg Karl Boldt in
In 1890, George Boldt was invited by
Construction
With his success at managing the enormous Waldorf Astoria, George Boldt decided to build a similarly large and luxurious hotel in his home town. He acquired the Stratford Hotel across Walnut on the southwest corner and commissioned the grand 19 floor Bellevue-Stratford Hotel, designed in the French Renaissance style by
Early years
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/91/Wrau-bellevue-stratford-interior.jpg/260px-Wrau-bellevue-stratford-interior.jpg)
From its beginning, the Bellevue-Stratford was the center of Philadelphia's cultural, social and business activities. It soon functioned as a sort of clubhouse for the Philadelphia establishment, not only a place where the rich and powerful dined and occasionally slept, but also the venue for their meetings and social functions.[citation needed] Charity balls, society weddings, club meetings and special family gatherings have all been held in the hotel's ballrooms and meeting rooms. The rich and famous, royalty and heads of state from all over the world, presidents, politicians, actors and famous writers have stayed within its walls. Fifteen U.S. Presidents, beginning with Theodore Roosevelt and ending with Ronald Reagan, have been guests at the hotel, which is respectfully called the "Grand Dame of Broad Street."[3][4]
Originally the western end of the building was only three stories high. In 1911, Boldt added extensions to the hotel and carried it to the full nineteen stories. It was completed in 1912 at a cost of $850,000.[citation needed]
In June 1919, the Bellevue was leased to T. Coleman du Pont, together with Lucius M. Boomer, president of Boomer-du Pont Properties Corporation. The ground and building were retained by George C. Boldt Jr. Boomer-du Pont offered the Boldt family $7,500,000 for the hotel. They refused, as the asking price was $10,000,000. In June 1925, the company backed by duPont, The Bellevue Company purchased the hotel for $6,500,000 from the heirs of George C. Boldt. It was said that $3,000,000 was paid in cash and a mortgage was taken over the property for $3,500,000.
In October 1926, Queen
During the 1920s through the 1940s, the noted global host Claude H. Bennett managed the now 735 room Philadelphia hotel. His son, Robert C. Bennett (
Decline
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/87/BellevueLobby.jpg/260px-BellevueLobby.jpg)
The Great Depression brought hard times to the Bellevue-Stratford, although it continued to be "Philadelphia's hotel." Gradually, through lack of income and attention, the hotel's glitter began to tarnish. During the 1940s and 1950s, the classic architecture and rich decorative details of the hotel were thought to be overpowering, anachronistic and even offensive.[6]
Noted hotelier Charles Todd managed the hotel after this period, bringing it back "into the black." He had managed the
The Bellevue-Stratford was the headquarters of the 1936 and 1948 National Conventions of the U.S. Republican Party and the 1948 Convention of the Democratic Party.
On October 30, 1963, President John F. Kennedy appeared at a campaign dinner for Philadelphia mayor James Tate at the Bellevue-Stratford, weeks before he was assassinated.[9]
The hotel gained worldwide notoriety in 1976, when it hosted a statewide convention of the American Legion. Soon after, a pneumonia-like disease killed 29 people and sickened 182 more who had been in the hotel.[10] The vast majority were members of the convention. The negative publicity associated with what became known as "Legionnaires' disease" caused occupancy at the Bellevue-Stratford to plummet to 4 percent, and the hotel finally closed on November 18, 1976.[11]
In 1977, Dr. Joseph McDade discovered a new bacterium, which was identified as the causative organism. It thrives in hot, damp places like the water of the cooling towers for the Bellevue-Stratford's air-conditioning system, which spread the disease throughout the hotel.
The empty building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.
Restoration
The Bellevue-Stratford was sold in June 1978 to the
The hotel reopened on September 26, 1979,
By the mid-1980s, the hotel was struggling to fill its hundreds of rooms. Philadelphia had lower hotel occupancy rates than other major East Coast cities at the time, and a lengthy conflict between city and state officials[11] over financing for a new convention center, which would eventually open in 1993, meant that demand for hotel rooms in Center City was even lower than expected.[13] The Westin Bellevue Stratford's occupancy rate was 55 percent, far below the 65–70 percent necessary to break even.[11] It had operated at a total cash loss[17] of $25 million from 1979 to 1985,[18] never once turning a profit since its restoration.[13] As a result, the hotel's owners announced in January 1986 that the hotel would close on February 2.[11]
A lawsuit by the union representing the hotel's 450+ employees[19] over the short notice given to its members, resulted in an agreement to keep the hotel open until April 2.[18] However, with The Westin Bellevue Stratford's advance bookings transferred to other hotels as a result of the closure announcement,[19] only two floors of guest rooms remained in use by that point,[20] with only 10 to 15 guests a night in the enormous building. The union finally accepted a settlement of $500,000, along with a promise that the renovated hotel would remain a union shop, and agreed to an earlier closing date.[18] The Westin Bellevue Stratford closed on March 7, 1986.[18]
Mixed-use conversion
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9f/Hyatt_at_the_Bellevue_entrance.jpg/260px-Hyatt_at_the_Bellevue_entrance.jpg)
The Rubin Company bought out Westin's stake in the hotel[11] and again undertook extensive work on the building, at a cost of $100 million, designed by architects from RTKL Associates Inc. in Baltimore and the Vitetta Group-Studio Four of Philadelphia.[21] The building's name was shortened to The Bellevue. The grand public areas on the ground floor were converted to 55,000 sq ft of retail space.[22] A huge atrium was cut into the lobby[23] and escalators were installed leading to an underground shopping area and food court. The parking garage adjacent to the hotel had a 70,000 sq ft fitness club[21] built on top of it to serve the complex. The hotel rooms on floors 3 to 11 were converted into 280,000 sq ft of office space,[22] entered through the original main entrance facing Broad Street, with the office portion opening on December 5, 1988.[21]
The hotel portion was condensed to 170 guest rooms on floors 12 to 18. The hotel was entered through a small foyer on the ground floor facing Chancellor Court, with the lobby and public rooms on the remodeled 19th floor. The two domed ballrooms on that floor (the South and North Cameo rooms), were turned into the
The hotel portion reopened on April 1, 1989[25] as the Hotel Atop The Bellevue, managed under a 10-year lease by Cunard Hotels & Resorts, the hotel division of the Cunard Line.[26] The hotel opened to protests by unionized former employees, because Cunard was not part of the agreement to rehire them and had not done so.[27] Cunard's hotel division proved financially unsuccessful and soon folded. Cunard terminated its lease on the hotel on February 7, 1993.[26] The long-planned new Pennsylvania Convention Center opened in July 1993, helping increase occupancy at hotels across Center City.[28]
Partial residential conversion
Ronald Rubin died in April 2021,[32] and in November 2021, his estate sold the entire Bellevue structure to Lubert-Adler Partners, for an undisclosed sum. They announced plans to completely renovate the property, at a cost of $100 million. They planned to convert the largely vacant office space on the lower floors to apartments, with 200-300 units to be built out, over time. The historic lobby level public areas, which most recently housed stores (now all closed), will be restored to their original function serving hotel guests, with three restaurants. On the Bellevue's rooftop, they planned to install an ice rink, which the hotel originally had, and a swimming pool. The adjoining Sporting Club at The Bellevue was also renovated, at a cost of $10 million,[33] and reopened in November 2023.[34]
In February 2024, it was announced that the hotel's grand ballroom and other function rooms would no longer be operated directly by the hotel business. Instead, since their reopening in April 2024, they have been operated by Cescaphe, a local events firm, under the name The Grand Belle.[35]
In May 2024, it was reported that the final arrangement of the mixed-use structure was: 155 residences, with twenty-four different layouts, on the former office floors 3, 4, 8, 9, 10, as well as on the former hotel floor 18; offices remaining on floors 5,6,7 and 11; hotel rooms on floors 12-17, with the hotel lobby returned to the ground floor and the 19th floor again used solely as function rooms.[36] The apartments began leasing in May 2024.[37] The hotel portion will reopen in November 2024.[38]
See also
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
- ^ "THE BELLEVUE-STRATFORD HOTEL" (PDF). Architectural Record. No. 3, Vol. XVII. March 1905. p. 270. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
The cooking equipment was furnished by the Duparquet, Huot & Moneuse Co.
- ^ Lepore, Carrie Fischer (2016-07-23). "Pennsylvania is Immersed in Presidential History". Governor Tom Wolf. Archived from the original on 2022-10-04. Retrieved 2023-01-15.
- ^ "The Grand Dame of Broad Street". 99% Invisible. 4 May 2016. Retrieved 2023-01-15.
- ^ "Queen Marie of Romania, Papers". Archived from the original on June 21, 2006. Retrieved June 30, 2006.
- ^ "The Bellevue-Stratford Hotel of Philadelphia".
- ISBN 9781496933348.
- ^ Pilon, Mary (13 February 2015). "Monopoly's Inventor: The Progressive Who Didn't Pass 'Go'". The New York Times.
- ^ "The Presidency: The Week", Time magazine, November 8, 1963, Web.
- ^ "Legionnaire disease". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
- ^ a b c d e "Bellevue Stratford Will Close Mounting Debts Are Blamed". Philadelphia Inquirer. 1986-01-23. Archived from the original on 2016-06-25. Retrieved 2016-06-17.
- ^ "Legionnaires' Disease – a History of its Discovery" (January 16, 2003)
- ^ a b c d Goldberg, Debbie (1986-01-27). "American Journal". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2016-06-17.
- ^ "Real Estate, Jewish Community Icon Ronald Rubin Dies". 21 April 2021.
- ^ "Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan on September 9, 1979, p. 41". Newspapers.com. 9 September 1979.
- ^ "Western International returns Bellevue Stratford Hotel to Philadelphia". UPI.
- ^ "New Plan For Bellevue Unveiled Shops, Offices To Be Added To The Hotel". Philadelphia Inquirer. 1986-02-12. Retrieved 2016-06-17.
- ^ a b c d "The 'Grande Dame' Takes Early Retirement". Philadelphia Inquirer. 1986-03-07. Retrieved 2016-06-17.
- ^ a b "The Final Days Of The Bellevue Debt Is Unwanted Guest On This Hotel's Register". Philadelphia Inquirer. 1986-01-29. Retrieved 2016-06-17.
- ^ "The Bellevue Dies – Quietly – Today". Philadelphia Inquirer. 1986-03-07. Retrieved 2016-06-17.
- ^ a b c d "New Look For An Old Landmark Bellevue Offices Will Open Today". Philadelphia Inquirer. 1988-12-05. Retrieved 2016-06-17.
- ^ a b "Philadelphia Hotel Is Facing 3d Revival". Chicago Tribune. 1988-10-08. Retrieved 2016-06-17.
- ^ "Inside Look A Makeover For The Historic Bellevue". Philadelphia Inquirer. 1988-03-06. Retrieved 2016-06-17.
- ^ a b Martin, Harold H. (1988-10-16). "The 'Grand Old Lady' Of Broad Street". Deseret News. Retrieved 2016-06-17.
- ^ "Hotel Atop The Bellevue Tosses A Gala Former Employees Don't Get Rehired". Philadelphia Inquirer. 1986-02-11. Retrieved 2016-06-17.
- ^ a b "Luxury Hotel In Philadelphia Ends Its Ties With Cunard". Chicago Tribune. 1993-02-07. Retrieved 2016-06-17.
- ^ "Hotel Workers Set Bellevue Protest On Jobs". Philadelphia Inquirer. 1989-04-01. Retrieved 2016-06-17.
- ^ "Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia | Convention Centers".
- ^ a b "Bellevue Renamed The Park Hyatt The New Management Takes Over On Sunday. Investors Hope To Cash In On The Hyatt Cachet". Philadelphia Inquirer. 1996-11-27. Retrieved 2016-06-17.
- ^ "The Unbound Collection by Hyatt to Develop New Hotel in Hollywood, CA". www.hotelnewsresource.com.
- ^ "New York firm takes a stake in the historic Bellevue building". Philadelphia Business Journal. 27 March 2019.
- ^ Adelman, Jacob (13 April 2021). "Developer and ex-mall CEO Ronald Rubin, a father of modern Center City, dies at 89". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
- ^ "Lubert-Adler buys the Bellevue, plans to invest $100M for apartments, new restaurants, rooftop pool and skating rink". Philadelphia Business Journal. 19 November 2021.
- ^ "A Look Inside the New and Improved Sporting Club at the Bellevue". November 2023.
- ^ "Cescaphe Takes over the Iconic Ballroom at the Bellevue Hotel". 26 February 2024.
- ^ "The Bellevue 4.0 Nears the Finish Line". 29 May 2024.
- ^ "The Bellevue PHL". Facebook. Archived from the original on 16 June 2024.
- ^ "Historic Downtown Philadelphia, PA Luxury Hotel". hyatt.com. 24 March 2019. Archived from the original on 1 May 2019.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- The Bellevue Hotel – official website
- The Grand Belle events space - official website
- The Residences at The Bellevue - official website
- BBC Article about the search for the cause of Legionnaire's Disease
- The disaster that struck the Bellevue Stratford Hotel Archived 2009-06-08 at the Wayback Machine
- The Bellevue Memorabilia Collection, 1884–2005, including photographs, brochures, programs, drawings and other materials, are available for research use at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
- Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. PA-1226, "Bellevue-Stratford Hotel"
- The application for the National Register[permanent dead link]
- Bellevue-Stratford Hotel data from the Philadelphia Architects and Buildings (PAB) project of the Athenaeum of Philadelphia