Copley Plaza Hotel
Encyclopedia
The Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel is a Forbes three-star, AAA four-diamond hotel in downtown Boston, Massachusetts owned by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts
. It stands on Copley Square
, by the John Hancock Tower
.
and named in honor of John Singleton Copley
, an American painter. The total cost was $5.5 million.
The hotel's architect was Henry Janeway Hardenbergh
, who also designed other hotels, including the Willard Hotel in Washington D.C. and the Plaza Hotel
in New York City
, the Copley Plaza's sister hotel. The seven floor hotel is constructed of limestone
and buff brick in the Beaux-Arts style. The E-shaped building is supported by pilings driven to a depth of 70 feet (21.3 m) below the street level.
It opened in 1912, and the Mayor of Boston, John F. Fitzgerald
, presided over a reception of over 1,000 guests. Rooms had been booked as early as 16 months in advance.
in 1973, when it regained its former name. John Hancock sold the hotel in 1989 to a subsidiary of Harvard University
. In the mid-1990s, Harvard brought in Wyndham Hotels & Resorts
to manage the Copley Plaza and it became The Wyndham Copley Plaza. Fairmont Hotels and Resorts then bought the hotel from Harvard in September 1996 and it was renamed The Fairmont Copley Plaza. Fairmont sold the hotel to FelCor Lodging Trust Inc. in 2010 as part of a movement away from direct real estate ownership, but continues to manage it.
The hotel is known for these industry firsts: the first hotel completely air-conditioned in Boston
, the first hotel with an international reservations system, and the first to accept credit cards.
, who survived by hanging from a third-story window. His hand was partially paralyzed from the fire. Film director Rob Cohen
was also caught in and rescued from the fire.
Frederick Kerry (born Fritz Kohn), the paternal grandfather of John Kerry
, committed suicide
with a gunshot to the head in the restroom of this hotel in 1921.
The Copley Plaza Hotel has been host to many famous people. Every U.S. President since William Howard Taft
, and royalty from Greece
, Thailand
, Abyssinia
, Saudi Arabia
, Iran
, Belgium
, Denmark
, and the United Kingdom
have visited the hotel. Celebrities including Tony Bennett
, Lena Horne
, Dorothy Lewis
, Frank Sinatra
, and Luciano Pavarotti
have also been guests, and Elizabeth Taylor
and Richard Burton
chose the Copley Plaza for their second honeymoon.
Fairmont Hotels and Resorts
Fairmont Hotels & Resorts is a Canadian-based operator of luxury hotels and resorts. Currently, Fairmont operates properties in 18 countries including Canada, the United States, Mexico, Bermuda, Barbados, United Kingdom, Monaco, Germany, Switzerland, Egypt, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, the...
. It stands on Copley Square
Copley Square
Copley Square is a public square located in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, named for the donor of the land on which it was developed. The square is named for John Singleton Copley, a famous portrait painter of the late 18th century and native of Boston. A bronze statue of...
, by the John Hancock Tower
John Hancock Tower
The John Hancock Tower, officially named Hancock Place and colloquially known as The Hancock, is a 60-story, 790-foot skyscraper in Boston. The tower was designed by Henry N. Cobb of the firm I. M. Pei & Partners and was completed in 1976...
.
Construction and opening
The Copley Plaza was built on the original site of the Museum of Fine ArtsMuseum of Fine Arts, Boston
The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts, is one of the largest museums in the United States, attracting over one million visitors a year. It contains over 450,000 works of art, making it one of the most comprehensive collections in the Americas...
and named in honor of John Singleton Copley
John Singleton Copley
John Singleton Copley was an American painter, born presumably in Boston, Massachusetts, and a son of Richard and Mary Singleton Copley, both Irish. He is famous for his portrait paintings of important figures in colonial New England, depicting in particular middle-class subjects...
, an American painter. The total cost was $5.5 million.
The hotel's architect was Henry Janeway Hardenbergh
Henry Janeway Hardenbergh
Henry Janeway Hardenbergh was an American architect, best known for his hotels and apartment buildings.-Life and career:...
, who also designed other hotels, including the Willard Hotel in Washington D.C. and the Plaza Hotel
Plaza Hotel
The Plaza Hotel in New York City is a landmark 20-story luxury hotel with a height of and length of that occupies the west side of Grand Army Plaza, from which it derives its name, and extends along Central Park South in Manhattan. Fifth Avenue extends along the east side of Grand Army Plaza...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, the Copley Plaza's sister hotel. The seven floor hotel is constructed of limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
and buff brick in the Beaux-Arts style. The E-shaped building is supported by pilings driven to a depth of 70 feet (21.3 m) below the street level.
It opened in 1912, and the Mayor of Boston, John F. Fitzgerald
John F. Fitzgerald
John Francis "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald was an Irish-American politician and the maternal grandfather of three prominent United States politicians—President John Fitzgerald Kennedy and Senators Robert Francis Kennedy and Edward Moore Kennedy.-Early life and family:Fitzgerald was born in...
, presided over a reception of over 1,000 guests. Rooms had been booked as early as 16 months in advance.
Ownership
The hotel was bought by Sheraton Hotels in the early 1950s and operated as the Sheraton-Plaza Hotel until Sheraton sold it to John Hancock InsuranceJohn Hancock Insurance
John Hancock Financial is a loose term for a United States insurance company which existed, in various forms, from its founding on April 21, 1862, until its acquisition in 2004 by the Canadian insurance company Manulife Financial. It was named in honor of John Hancock, a prominent patriot...
in 1973, when it regained its former name. John Hancock sold the hotel in 1989 to a subsidiary of Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. In the mid-1990s, Harvard brought in Wyndham Hotels & Resorts
Wyndham Hotels & Resorts
Wyndham Hotels and Resorts is a group of chains of hotels and resorts located mainly in the United States and Canada, but also in Mexico and the Caribbean.-History:...
to manage the Copley Plaza and it became The Wyndham Copley Plaza. Fairmont Hotels and Resorts then bought the hotel from Harvard in September 1996 and it was renamed The Fairmont Copley Plaza. Fairmont sold the hotel to FelCor Lodging Trust Inc. in 2010 as part of a movement away from direct real estate ownership, but continues to manage it.
Features
The entrance hallway has been called Peacock Alley since the 1920s. The 5000 square feet (464.5 m²) lobby has a 21 feet (6.4 m) high gilded coffered ceiling with matching Empire style crystal chandeliers and Italian marble columns. Much of the classical architecture and decor have been preserved, including the back-to-back "P" monogram.The hotel is known for these industry firsts: the first hotel completely air-conditioned in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, the first hotel with an international reservations system, and the first to accept credit cards.
Events
On March 29, 1979, a disgruntled former employee set multiple fires in both the Copley Plaza and the nearby Sheraton Boston hotels. The fire at the Copley Plaza, which was occupied by 430 people at the time, injured 30 people and killed 1. Among those injured was media mogul Sumner RedstoneSumner Redstone
Sumner Murray Redstone is an American media magnate. He is the majority owner and Chairman of the Board of the National Amusements theater chain...
, who survived by hanging from a third-story window. His hand was partially paralyzed from the fire. Film director Rob Cohen
Rob Cohen
Robert "Rob" Cohen is an American film director, producer and writer.-Early life:Cohen was born in Cornwall, New York. He was raised and spent his childhood in the Town of Newburgh and graduated from Newburgh Free Academy in 1967...
was also caught in and rescued from the fire.
Frederick Kerry (born Fritz Kohn), the paternal grandfather of John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
, committed suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
with a gunshot to the head in the restroom of this hotel in 1921.
Guests
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States...
, and royalty from Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, Abyssinia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
, Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
have visited the hotel. Celebrities including Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....
, Lena Horne
Lena Horne
Lena Mary Calhoun Horne was an American singer, actress, civil rights activist and dancer.Horne joined the chorus of the Cotton Club at the age of sixteen and became a nightclub performer before moving to Hollywood, where she had small parts in numerous movies, and more substantial parts in the...
, Dorothy Lewis
Dorothy Lewis
Dr. Dorothy Otnow Lewis is an American psychiatrist specializing in the study of serial killers and people with Dissociative Identity Disorders , formerly known as Multiple Personality Disorder. Dr...
, Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, and Luciano Pavarotti
Luciano Pavarotti
right|thumb|Luciano Pavarotti performing at the opening of the Constantine Palace in [[Strelna]], 31 May 2003. The concert was part of the celebrations for the 300th anniversary of [[St...
have also been guests, and Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
and Richard Burton
Richard Burton
Richard Burton, CBE was a Welsh actor. He was nominated seven times for an Academy Award, six of which were for Best Actor in a Leading Role , and was a recipient of BAFTA, Golden Globe and Tony Awards for Best Actor. Although never trained as an actor, Burton was, at one time, the highest-paid...
chose the Copley Plaza for their second honeymoon.