100 Block of West Franklin Street
This spectacular building was built in the Beaux-Arts style and designed by the noted New York architecture firm of Carrere & Hastings, who also designed Richmond’s Commonwealth Club. It was commissioned by tobacco giant Major Lewis Ginter, who wanted Richmond to have a grand hotel entering into the twentieth century. A terrible fire in 1901 partially destroyed the Hotel Jefferson; however, it was rebuilt with numerous interior changes, including a new grand staircase. The Hotel was once famous for its small pools of live alligators, which surrounded Edward Valentine’s statue of Thomas Jefferson in the Upper Court.
{Photo Credits: Interior and stained glass shots, Richard Cheek for Historic Richmond Foundation; Exterior shot, Jefferson Hotel National Register Nomination, VA Department of Historic Resources}
Tags: Alligators, Beaux-Arts, Carrere and Hastings, Historic Richmond Hotel, Jefferson Hotel