Hotel John Marshall opened in 1929 as “The Finest Hotel in the South,” and for decades reigned as the premier venue for political events. Seven presidents, from FDR to Ronald Reagan, attended functions at the John Marshall. Virginia’s outgoing governor traditionally met the governor-elect at the hotel on inauguration day.
In 1985, L. Douglas Wilder celebrated his victory as the first African-American to become lieutenant governor in the same room where, as a Virginia Union University student in the late 1940s, he’d waited table for whites only.
The 16-story limestone, brick, and terra cotta hotel closed in 1988. It re-opened in 1999 with limited capacity, but ended its hospitality career in 2004. In 2007 new owners began a $70 million remodeling. The building reopened as The Residences at the John Marshall in 2011.
- Name: Hotel John Marshall
- Location: 101 North 5th Street
- Year Completed: 1929
- Architect: Marcellus E. Wright Sr.
- Style: Classical Revival, Art Deco
- Wikipedia: Hotel John Marshall
- Google Map
Gallery: Hover over photos for captions; click to view images in lightbox
All images copyright © Kenneth Grant / photos taken October 2019 with Canon 5D Mark iv