Omni Parker House facts for kids
| Omni Parker House Hotel | |
Quick facts for kids  Omni Parker House hotel in October 2010 |
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| Hotel facts and statistics | |
|---|---|
| Location | Boston, Massachusetts |
| Address | |
| Opening date | 1855 (original hotel), 1927 (current building) |
| Management | Omni Hotels |
| No. of rooms | 551 |
The Omni Parker House is a famous historic hotel in Boston, Massachusetts. The first Parker House Hotel opened its doors on October 8, 1855. This makes it the longest continuously running hotel in the United States.
The hotel has grown and changed a lot since it first opened. New parts and floors were added over the years. The hotel's founder, Harvey D. Parker, managed it until 1884. After him, several different owners and companies have run the hotel. Today, the Omni Parker House is part of Historic Hotels of America. This is a special program that recognizes important historic hotels.
History of the Hotel
The 1800s
The Parker House hotel opened in 1855. It was founded by Harvey D. Parker. The hotel is located on School Street near Tremont Street in Boston. This area is close to the government buildings in Massachusetts. Because of its location, the hotel has always been a popular spot for politicians.
The hotel was also home to a group called the Saturday Club. This club met once a month. Many famous writers and thinkers were members. These included authors like Ralph Waldo Emerson, James Russell Lowell, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
The famous writer Charles Dickens lived at the Parker House for five months in 1867 and 1868. He even performed his famous story "A Christmas Carol" there for the first time. The hotel still has the door from Dickens' room and a mirror he used.
The Parker House also started a new way of charging for hotel rooms. It was called the European Plan. Before this, most American hotels included meals in the room price. They also served meals only at certain times. The Parker House changed this. They charged only for the room. Guests could then buy meals separately whenever they wanted.
In 1865, actor John Wilkes Booth stayed at the hotel. This was just eight days before he was involved in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.
The Parker House is famous for inventing some well-known foods. It created the Boston cream pie, which is now the state dessert of Massachusetts. It also invented the Parker House roll. The hotel even made up the word "scrod". This word is used for the freshest and youngest white fish caught that day.
In 1876, a composer named Jacques Offenbach visited the hotel. He was inspired by the Parker House rolls. He even sang a little tune about them. Later, he used this tune in his opera, The Tales of Hoffmann.
When founder Harvey Parker passed away in 1884, he left a lot of money. He gave $100,000 to Boston's new Museum of Fine Arts. This money helped start its Print Department.
Later, in 1891, J. Reed Whipple took over the hotel. He wanted to make sure the hotel had the freshest food. So, he started his own large farm in New Hampshire. This farm had dairy cows, pigs, and chickens. He even helped build a railroad track to bring fresh food to the hotel every day.
The 1900s
The original Parker House building was taken down in the 1920s. A new, modern building was built in its place in 1927. This is mostly the building you see today. One part of the old hotel stayed open until the new building was finished. This allowed the hotel to say it was "America's oldest operating hotel."
James Michael Curley was a very famous mayor of Boston. He was often seen at the Parker House. This was partly because the old City Hall was right across the street. The hotel's bar, The Last Hurrah, is named after a book about Mayor Curley's life.
John F. Kennedy also has strong ties to the hotel. He announced he would run for Congress at the Parker House in 1946. He also had his bachelor party there in 1953. Later, when he was a Senator, he proposed to his future wife, Jackie Bouvier, at a table in Parker's Restaurant inside the hotel.
In 1968, Dunfey Hotels bought the Parker House. They worked to make the hotel a popular place again. They also started a group called the New England Circle in 1974. This group brought people together to talk about important community issues. In 1983, Dunfey Hotels bought Omni Hotels. The Parker House then became part of the Omni brand.
The 2000s
Today, the Omni Parker House has 551 rooms and suites. In 2009, AAA named it one of the top 10 historic hotels in the U.S. The hotel is still a member of the National Trust for Historic Preservation's Historic Hotels of America program.
Famous Workers
Many famous people worked at the Parker House before they became well-known.
- Ho Chi Minh, who later became a leader in Vietnam, worked as a baker at the hotel from 1912 to 1913.
- Malcolm X, a famous civil rights leader, worked as a busboy at the hotel in the 1940s.
- Emeril Lagasse, a well-known chef, was a Sous Chef in the Parker kitchens from 1979 to 1981.
See also
In Spanish: Omni Parker House para niños
