Grove Park Inn
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| Grove Park Inn | |
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| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
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| Location: | Asheville, Buncombe County, North Carolina |
| Coordinates: | Coordinates: |
| Built/Founded: | 1913 |
| Architect: | Fred Loring Seely |
| Architectural style(s): | Arts and Crafts |
| Added to NRHP: | April 3, 1973 |
| NRHP Reference#: | 73001295 |
| Governing body: | Private |
The Grove Park Inn is a historic resort hotel on the western slope of Sunset Mountain within the Blue Ridge Mountains, in Asheville, North Carolina. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the hotel is an important example of the Arts and Crafts style. It also features a modern day spa addition.
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[edit] History
The Grove Park Inn was conceptualized by Edwin Wiley Grove with the help of his son-in-law Fred Loring Seely. Grove owned a pharmaceutical company in St. Louis and believed the climate of Asheville, North Carolina would have health benefits and the ideal location for a resort.
Completed in 1913, the hotel was outfitted with furnishings from the Roycrofters of East Aurora, New York, one of the most important designers and manufacturers of Arts and Crafts furniture, metal work and other accessories. The hotel was built of rough granite stones and the expansive lobby is noted for its enormous granite fireplaces and expansive porch with its scenic overlook.
During World War II, the hotel was used first as an internment center for Axis diplomats and then was used by the Navy as a rest and rehabilitation center for returning soldiers. In 1944-45, the hotel was an Army Redistribution Station where soldiers rested and relaxed before being assigned to other duties. The Philippine Government functioned in exile from the Presidential Cottage on the grounds during the war.
The resort has been expanded over the years and continues to be a popular tourist attraction. It has accumulated a significant collection of Arts and Crafts decorative items and hosts an important Arts and Crafts conference once a year.
[edit] Golf course
The golf club at the Grove Park Inn predates the hotel. It first opened for play in 1899, and was redesigned in 1924 by Donald Ross. Now owned by the resort, the par-70 course is a member club that is also open to the public and guests.
[edit] Famous guests
The hotel has hosted numerous celebrities over the years including William Jennings Bryan (who spoke at the hotel's opening), Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Harvey Firestone, Elbert Hubbard, Woodrow Wilson, John D. Rockefeller, Gen. John J. Pershing, Charles Schwab, William Howard Taft, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Herbert Hoover, Dwight Eisenhower, Enrico Caruso, Harry Houdini, Al Jolson, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Bobby Jones, Wiley Post, Will Rogers, Bill Tilden, Billy Graham and many others.
In January 2008, the mayor of Detroit, Kwame Kilpatrick, stayed at the resort with a woman that was not his wife. Kilpatrick, and the woman who called herself Carmen Slowsky received a couples massage session described on the resort's website as "incredibly romantic." This event added to a brewing scandal involving past infidelity, perjury, and the misuse of public funds that would break two days after the pair left the resort.[1][2]
[edit] Citations
- ^ Boyd, Leslie. "Detroit mayor’s reported tryst saddens King event organizers", online, Asheville Citizen-Times, 2008-01-26. Retrieved on 2008-01-30.
- ^ Schmitt, Ben; M.L. Elrick and Zachary Gorchow (2008-01-30). Posh N.C. resort confirms mayor's massage for two. detnews.com. The Detroit Free Press. Retrieved on 2008-01-30.
[edit] Sources
- The Grove Park Inn Story, 1984
- Johnson, Bruce E. Built for the Ages: A History of the Grove Park Inn, Grove Park Inn and Country Club: Asheville, NC, 1991
