New Alcazar Hotel facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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New Alcazar Hotel
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Early 20th Century drawing of the Alcazar Hotel
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| Location | 127 Third Street, Clarksdale, Mississippi, U.S. |
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| Built | 1914-1915 |
| Architect | Charles O. Pfeil |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival/Classical Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 94000646 |
| Added to NRHP | June 24, 1994 |
The New Alcazar Hotel, also known as the Alcazar Hotel, is a historic building in Clarksdale, Mississippi. It was once a very famous hotel in the South. Many important guests stayed there, including the famous writer Tennessee Williams. The hotel also had a restaurant and other businesses. For 40 years, the WROX radio station even broadcast from inside the hotel!
Contents
A Look Back: The Alcazar Hotel's Story
The first Alcazar Hotel was built in 1895. Sadly, it was destroyed by a fire in 1947. A new hotel was then built by architect Charles O. Pfeil from Memphis. It was finished by 1915.
Modern Features of the New Hotel
The new hotel was called the "most modern hotel in Mississippi." It had a beautiful glass dome skylight. The building was four stories tall. It also had eleven spaces for shops on the ground floor. Many important Clarksdale businesses operated there. In 1938, the hotel was updated. Each room got its own private bathroom. Around 1948, a new floor called a mezzanine was added. This was between the first and second floors.
Music and Radio at the Alcazar
In the 1940s, a young Ike Turner worked at the hotel. He operated the elevator as a pre-teen. Later, he became a deejay at WROX radio. This radio station was located right inside the hotel!
Many famous musicians visited WROX. They performed live and were interviewed there. These included Elvis Presley, Muddy Waters, Ike & Tina Turner, and B.B. King. They were often interviewed by Early Wright. He was the first black deejay in Mississippi.
A Time of Change: Civil Rights
The Alcazar Hotel and its coffee shop were once for white customers only. The hotel was owned by the Clarksdale King Anderson Company. After the Civil Rights Act of 1964 became law, things were supposed to change. This law made it illegal to refuse service to people because of their race.
However, the hotel owners told their staff to still refuse service to Black people. In July 1964, a Black man named Reverend George W. Trotter III tried to get a room. A Black woman named Mrs. Vera Mae Pigee tried to get service at the coffee shop. Both were refused because of their race.
To avoid serving Black customers, the owners closed the hotel and coffee shop the next day. A few weeks later, they opened a private club called the Regency Club. This club was only for white people. It worked with the hotel owners to use the hotel, coffee shop, and staff. In December 1965, a court ruled against these unfair actions. The court stopped the hotel from working with the club to avoid serving everyone.
The Hotel Today
The Alcazar Hotel eventually closed its doors. The building was then used for other businesses. The WROX radio station moved out of the building in the 1990s.
In 1994, the hotel was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This means it is recognized as an important historic site. In 2009, the Mississippi Heritage Trust listed it as one of the 10 Most Endangered Historic Places in Mississippi. This meant it was at risk of being lost. There have been plans to fix up the building. As of 2017, the building has been repainted and protected from the weather. It is still empty, waiting for its next chapter.
