Providence Biltmore Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Graduate Providence
Graduate Providence, seen in 2017
General information
Type	Hotel
Location	11 Dorrance Street, Providence, Rhode Island 02903, United States
Completed	June 6, 1922
Height
Roof	220 ft (67 m)
Technical details
Floor count	18
Design and construction
Architect	Warren & Wetmore
Other information
Number of rooms	294


Providence-Biltmore Hotel
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district Contributing property

Location in Rhode Island Show map of Rhode Island Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Location	Providence, Rhode Island
Built	1922
Architect	Warren & Wetmore
Architectural style	Federal, Beaux Arts
Part of	Downtown Providence Historic District (ID84001967)
NRHP reference No.	77000005
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	May 27, 1977
Designated CP	February 10, 1984

The Graduate Providence is an upscale hotel that opened in 1922 as the Providence Biltmore Hotel, part of the Bowman-Biltmore Hotels chain. It is located on the southern corner of Kennedy Plaza at 11 Dorrance Street in downtown Providence, Rhode Island. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977 and is a member of Historic Hotels of America, the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

History
Description
Images for kids
See also

History

Early history

The Providence Biltmore was constructed by the Bowman-Biltmore Hotels chain, founded by John McEntee Bowman and Louis Wallick. It was built in the neo-Federal Beaux-arts style and designed by the architectural firm of Warren and Wetmore, who also designed Grand Central Terminal. The hotel opened on June 6, 1922, and was the second-tallest building in the city after the Rhode Island State House, until the Industrial Trust Tower was finished six years later. Today, the Biltmore is the 9th-tallest building in the city.

The Biltmore was bought by Sheraton Hotels in 1947 and renamed the Sheraton-Biltmore Hotel. Providence was flooded by Hurricane Carol in 1954, and much of the lobby of the Sheraton-Biltmore was underwater; a plaque commemorates the high water mark today, eight feet up on lobby columns. Sheraton sold the hotel, along with seventeen other aging properties, to Gotham Hotels in 1968 and it became the Biltmore Hotel & Motor Inn.

Restoration

In 1975, Gotham Hotels closed the Biltmore. It remained vacant for four years. At one point, with the hotel facing demolition; Mayor Buddy Cianci helped with efforts to designate the hotel a landmark and assembled a group of local businessmen, including Bruce Sundlun of the Outlet Company, Michael Metcalf of The Providence Journal, G. William Miller of Textron, and Jim Winoker and Dominic Zinni of B.B. Greenberg Company, who purchased the hotel and implemented Federal tax credits to rehabilitate the building, reopening it in 1979 as the Biltmore Plaza Hotel. The Biltmore's external glass elevator was added during this rehabilitation, and served all 18 floors of the hotel (though it no longer runs). In 1983, the owners retained Dunfey Hotels to manage the property, and it was renamed Biltmore Plaza, A Dunfey Hotel. Soon after, Dunfey's owner, Aer Lingus, purchased the Omni Hotels chain, and the hotel was renamed the Omni Biltmore Hotel. By the 1990s, the Omni Biltmore was fully owned by The Providence Journal. They sold the hotel to the Grand Heritage Hotels chain in July 1995 for $7 million, and it was renamed the Providence Biltmore. The hotel was sold out of receivership on May 31, 2012 to Finard Coventry Hotel Management, for $16 million. Finard Coventry invested a further $10 million in renovations, and the hotel joined Curio - A Collection by Hilton, on December 16, 2014.

Graduate Providence

A small sign above the awning announces the new name.

In October 2017, the Biltmore was sold to AJ Capital Partners, a Chicago-based hotel and real estate firm, for $43.6 million. The hotel was renovated and renamed Graduate Providence on April 2, 2019, as part of AJ Capital's boutique chain of "Graduate" hotels, in college towns across the United States. The new owners have retained the hotel's iconic neon "Biltmore" sign.

Description

The hotel was originally built with 600 rooms; later, walls were knocked down and suites were created. It now offers 292 guest rooms.

The hotel contains banquet space of over 19,000 square feet (1,800 m²). The rooftop level Grand Ballroom offers expansive views of the city and Kennedy Plaza and can hold up to 750 guests; its event space is designed for functions such as wedding receptions, banquet service, and conferences.

It was the tallest and largest hotel in Providence for 71 years, until The Westin Providence (today known as the Omni Providence Hotel) was completed in 1993. the hotel was home to the largest Starbucks in New England from 2003-2019.