I love this ad for the Hermitage Hotel, published in in 1911, while the grand old hotel was still new in downtown Nashville. Look at the profusion of cars, pedestrians, horse-drawn carriages, and people on horseback on the corner of Union and 6th. The only thing missing is one of those bicycles with a giant front wheel.
The Hermitage Hotel opened in 1910, the year before this ad was published, with 250 luxurious rooms. It was host to presidents, dignitaries, and entertainers. In the 1940s, the hotel’s in-house orchestra introduced singer Dinah Shore to America over radio station WSM.
The city’s downtown and the hotel fell on hard times in the 1970s, and the hotel was closed. It reopened in the 80s and has since been renovated to restore its former glory, and is now the only AAA 5-Diamond rated hotel in the State of Tennessee.
Below is my black and white photograph of the Hermitage beautiful Beaux-Arts style exterior decor. I love the care and attention to detail they employed in architecture in those days.
Black and white photograph of Nashville’s beautiful Hermitage Hotel
Source: Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermitage_Hotel)
Complete text of the ad
Hotel Hermitage
Complete in all details. Inspection invited.
Rates, $1.50 and upward.
Special attention given to Five O’Clock Teas, After Theatre Suppers, Banquets and all other social functions.
Timothy Murphy, Manager