Charleston Hotel facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Charleston Hotel
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 Location in Louisiana
Location in the United States
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| Location | 900 Ryan Street, corner with West Pujo Street, Lake Charles, Louisiana |
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| Area | 0.14 acres (0.057 ha) |
| Built | 1929 |
| Built by | W.P. Weber & H.T. McClain |
| Architect | Joseph Finger and Livesay Williams |
| Architectural style | Classical Beaux Arts |
| NRHP reference No. | 82002762 |
| Added to NRHP | May 27, 1982 |
The Charleston Hotel is a very old and important building in Lake Charles, Louisiana. It is a famous hotel located at 900 Ryan Street, right on the corner with West Pujo Street. This historic building was officially added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 27, 1982. This means it is recognized as a special place that should be protected because of its history.
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The Charleston Hotel's Story
The Charleston Hotel has an interesting past. It was first planned to be an eight-story building. But when construction started in 1928, they decided to make it even taller! They added two more floors, making it a ten-story building.
Building a Skyscraper
Making the hotel taller also made it more expensive. The cost went up by $50,000, reaching a total of $600,000. This was a lot of money back then! The hotel was finished in 1929. At that time, Henry J. Geary was the mayor of Lake Charles. When it was completed, the Charleston Hotel became the very first skyscraper in the city.
What the Hotel Looked Like
The hotel had a special design. The bottom two floors were covered with cement that looked like large, cut stone blocks. The top eight floors were made with tan bricks. This style is called Beaux Arts, which is a fancy and grand way of designing buildings.
The very top of the hotel had a stone cornice, which is a decorative ledge. Some windows on the top floor had special columns called pilasters and detailed panels around them.
Inside, the hotel was just as impressive. It had a grand lobby that was two stories tall. There was also beautiful tile work and balconies on the upper level. The Charleston Ballroom was on the second floor. It had more Corinthian pilasters, which are a type of decorative column. In the past, people used to have weekly dances on the open roof garden.
The Hotel Today
As of 2014, the Charleston Hotel has been updated a lot. It has gone through a big renovation. Many of the old hotel rooms have been changed into shops. There are also spaces throughout the building for different events. This means the historic hotel is still a busy and important part of Lake Charles today.
