Hotel Kimball
Encyclopedia
The Kimball Towers Condominiums (originally called The Hotel Kimball and later The Sheraton-Kimball Hotel) are located in Springfield, Massachusetts
, at 140 Chestnut Street, in Metro Center's
Apremont Triangle Historic District
. Located between Bridge and Hillman Streets on a prominent bluff, the Kimball's main entrance sits across from the Apremont Triangle Park, named for the Springfield-based 104th Infantry Regiment - the first-ever United States military regiment decorated by a foreign power for heroism, (having received the croix de guerre
from France
.) The Kimball is famous as the site of the United States' first-ever commercial radio station, Westinghouse
's WBZA
, and also for hosting numerous, important guests throughout its years as a hotel, including several U.S. Presidents. During the 1980s, the Kimball Hotel was re-modeled and became The Kimball Towers Condominiums. SInce 1983, the Kimball has been protected by the Apremont Triangle Historic District
, which is on the National Registry of Historic Places. It celebrated its 100th anniversary on St. Patrick's Day, 2011.
, red-brick building was for decades "the leading hotel in Western Massachusetts
." On its opening in 1911, it was reviewed by the New York Times as "ranking with the finest [hotels] in the country. A magnificent hotel, modern and metropolitan in every appointment." During the 1940s, it was the first grand hotel purchased by Sheraton Hotels and Resorts
, then based in Springfield. It was renamed the Sheraton
-Kimball Hotel and remained a 4-star property until the early 1980s, when it began a long conversion into The Kimball Towers Condominiums.
Originally upon its opening in 1911, the Hotel Kimball featured "solid mahogany floors and chairs with upholstery of hand tooled-leather, bearing the Kimball coat-of-arms." Built in what was the affluent residential neighborhood of Chestnut and Bridge Streets, the Kimball offered 309 rooms, a dining-room capacity for 450, a 22 feet (6.7 m)-high grand ballroom for 350 guests, and, in 1912, room rates from "$1.50 to $3.50 per day". Proms, wedding receptions, conventions, banquets, and weekly Rotary and Kiwanis
meetings kept Kimball facilities fully booked for decades.
's WBZA
. From 1921 until the station later moved to Boston, Massachusetts, WBZ's standard broadcast identification was, "WBZA AM & FM, Hotel Kimball, Springfield." The radio station's headquarters in The Hotel Kimball lured the day's most popular entertainers to Springfield - a mid-sized, albeit very wealthy city - who were drawn by the hotel's reputation as much as the radio station's.
The Kimball is also famous for hosting U.S. Presidents like Calvin Coolidge
, Franklin D. Roosevelt
, Dwight D. Eisenhower
and John F. Kennedy
, among many movie actors, actresses, kings, and wealthy industrialists.
and the resulting white flight
of wealthy and upper-middle class Springfielders to Western Massachusetts
' suburbs had a detrimental effect on the city's Metro Center
and the Sheraton-Kimball Hotel, as it did on most U.S. cities and their urban hotels. During the 1970s and early 1980s, many gilded age
hotels like the Kimball were torn down in the United States. In 1983, the Kimball was spared the wrecking ball by the National Register of Historic Places, and soon after two developers who envisioned "The Kimball Towers" as Springfield's premier, luxury condominium address. In the late 1980s, mid-way through the renovation of the 309-room Hotel Kimball into the 132-room Kimball Towers, the developers filed for bankruptcy. Later they were sent to jail for a different development. For nearly a decade thereafter, the Kimball Towers were managed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
. Many of its units were left unfinished or bare by the developers, who had finished only the top three floors of the ten-story building, (floors 6, 7, and 8.) During the 1990s, many Kimball Towers units were sold to absentee landlords for well-below their market value because the building's financial future seemed uncertain.
During the new millennium, as Springfield's Metro Center
revitalized, the Kimball Towers became an increasingly attractive residence for artists, bohemians, and empty-nesters—people who were attracted to urban living without the typical high expense. During this time, the building achieved financial and managerial stability, which had eluded it since its days as the Sheraton-Kimball Hotel. As of 2011, the Kimball Towers is a primarily owner-occupied building.
The building celebrated its 100th anniversary on St. Patrick's Day, 2011, with a celebration and proclamation by Springfield's mayor.
The Kimball is perched atop a bluff, and thus features a section below the building's entrance gradient. That area features a little-known "secret garden" - a green oasis amidst the urban fabric of Springfield. To reach it, one must locate an obscure hallway in the back of first floor, which itself is decorated by examples of abstract-expressionist art, and then follow several flights of stairs down to the secret garden.
The Kimball's floor #2 (the building's third story) through #8 (the building's ninth story) feature similar condominium layouts. For example, Unit #204 is, essentially, similar to Unit #804. The Units #210-#810 are the only units in the building to feature Frankfurt kitchen
s. Only the top three floors -- #6, #7, and #8 were finished by the original condominium developer, who outfitted the units with luxury cabinets and left many of the original hotel's luxury features, e.g. doors and doorknobs.
Springfield, Massachusetts
Springfield is the most populous city in Western New England, and the seat of Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers; the western Westfield River, the eastern Chicopee River, and the eastern...
, at 140 Chestnut Street, in Metro Center's
Metro Center, Springfield, Massachusetts
Metro Center is the original colonial settlement of Springfield, Massachusetts, located beside a bend in the Connecticut River. As of 2011, Metro Center features a majority of Western Massachusetts' most important cultural, business, and civic venues...
Apremont Triangle Historic District
Apremont Triangle Historic District
Apremont Triangle Historic District is an historic district in Springfield, Massachusetts, located at the junction of Pearl, Hillman, Bridge, and Chestnut Streets in its Metro Center district...
. Located between Bridge and Hillman Streets on a prominent bluff, the Kimball's main entrance sits across from the Apremont Triangle Park, named for the Springfield-based 104th Infantry Regiment - the first-ever United States military regiment decorated by a foreign power for heroism, (having received the croix de guerre
Croix de guerre
The Croix de guerre is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was awarded during World War I, again in World War II, and in other conflicts...
from France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.) The Kimball is famous as the site of the United States' first-ever commercial radio station, Westinghouse
Westinghouse Broadcasting
The Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, also known as Group W, was the broadcasting division of Westinghouse Electric Corporation. It owned several radio and television stations across the United States and distributed television shows for syndication....
's WBZA
WBZ (AM)
WBZ is the call sign for an AM radio station in Boston, Massachusetts owned by CBS Radio, itself owned by the CBS Corporation. Originally based in and broadcast from Springfield, Massachusetts, WBZ was the first commercial radio station in the United States...
, and also for hosting numerous, important guests throughout its years as a hotel, including several U.S. Presidents. During the 1980s, the Kimball Hotel was re-modeled and became The Kimball Towers Condominiums. SInce 1983, the Kimball has been protected by the Apremont Triangle Historic District
Apremont Triangle Historic District
Apremont Triangle Historic District is an historic district in Springfield, Massachusetts, located at the junction of Pearl, Hillman, Bridge, and Chestnut Streets in its Metro Center district...
, which is on the National Registry of Historic Places. It celebrated its 100th anniversary on St. Patrick's Day, 2011.
The Hotel Kimball
Built in 1910 by wealthy businessman William Kimball, and formally opened on St. Patrick's Day, 1911, as The Hotel Kimball, the neo-classicalNeoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
, red-brick building was for decades "the leading hotel in Western Massachusetts
Western Massachusetts
Western Massachusetts is a loosely defined geographical region of the U.S. state of Massachusetts which contains the Berkshires, the Pioneer Valley, and some or all of the Swift River Valley. The region is always considered to include Berkshire, Franklin, Hampshire, and Hampden counties, and the...
." On its opening in 1911, it was reviewed by the New York Times as "ranking with the finest [hotels] in the country. A magnificent hotel, modern and metropolitan in every appointment." During the 1940s, it was the first grand hotel purchased by Sheraton Hotels and Resorts
Sheraton Hotels and Resorts
Sheraton Hotels and Resorts is Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide's largest and second oldest brand . Starwood's headquarters are in White Plains, New York.-Sheraton history:...
, then based in Springfield. It was renamed the Sheraton
Sheraton
Sheraton may refer to:*Sheraton Hotels and Resorts, a hotel chain*Sheraton, County Durham, a village in County Durham, in England*Sheraton Centre, a mall complex located in the parish of Christ Church, Barbados....
-Kimball Hotel and remained a 4-star property until the early 1980s, when it began a long conversion into The Kimball Towers Condominiums.
Originally upon its opening in 1911, the Hotel Kimball featured "solid mahogany floors and chairs with upholstery of hand tooled-leather, bearing the Kimball coat-of-arms." Built in what was the affluent residential neighborhood of Chestnut and Bridge Streets, the Kimball offered 309 rooms, a dining-room capacity for 450, a 22 feet (6.7 m)-high grand ballroom for 350 guests, and, in 1912, room rates from "$1.50 to $3.50 per day". Proms, wedding receptions, conventions, banquets, and weekly Rotary and Kiwanis
Kiwanis
Kiwanis International is an international, coeducational service club founded in 1915. It is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. Current membership is 240,000 members in 7,700 clubs in 80 nations...
meetings kept Kimball facilities fully booked for decades.
Westinghouse's WBZA
The Kimball is famous as the site of the United States' first-ever commercial radio station, WestinghouseWestinghouse
Westinghouse may refer to:In current companies:*Westinghouse Licensing, the brand management division of CBS Corporation, and its licensees:**Westinghouse Electric Company LLC, providing nuclear power related services....
's WBZA
WBZ (AM)
WBZ is the call sign for an AM radio station in Boston, Massachusetts owned by CBS Radio, itself owned by the CBS Corporation. Originally based in and broadcast from Springfield, Massachusetts, WBZ was the first commercial radio station in the United States...
. From 1921 until the station later moved to Boston, Massachusetts, WBZ's standard broadcast identification was, "WBZA AM & FM, Hotel Kimball, Springfield." The radio station's headquarters in The Hotel Kimball lured the day's most popular entertainers to Springfield - a mid-sized, albeit very wealthy city - who were drawn by the hotel's reputation as much as the radio station's.
The Kimball is also famous for hosting U.S. Presidents like Calvin Coolidge
Calvin Coolidge
John Calvin Coolidge, Jr. was the 30th President of the United States . A Republican lawyer from Vermont, Coolidge worked his way up the ladder of Massachusetts state politics, eventually becoming governor of that state...
, Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
, Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
and John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
, among many movie actors, actresses, kings, and wealthy industrialists.
The Kimball Towers
During the late 1960s, the construction of Interstate 91Interstate 91
Interstate 91 is an Interstate Highway in the New England region of the United States. It provides the primary north–south thoroughfare in the western part of New England...
and the resulting white flight
White flight
White flight has been a term that originated in the United States, starting in the mid-20th century, and applied to the large-scale migration of whites of various European ancestries from racially mixed urban regions to more racially homogeneous suburban or exurban regions. It was first seen as...
of wealthy and upper-middle class Springfielders to Western Massachusetts
Western Massachusetts
Western Massachusetts is a loosely defined geographical region of the U.S. state of Massachusetts which contains the Berkshires, the Pioneer Valley, and some or all of the Swift River Valley. The region is always considered to include Berkshire, Franklin, Hampshire, and Hampden counties, and the...
' suburbs had a detrimental effect on the city's Metro Center
Metro Center, Springfield, Massachusetts
Metro Center is the original colonial settlement of Springfield, Massachusetts, located beside a bend in the Connecticut River. As of 2011, Metro Center features a majority of Western Massachusetts' most important cultural, business, and civic venues...
and the Sheraton-Kimball Hotel, as it did on most U.S. cities and their urban hotels. During the 1970s and early 1980s, many gilded age
Gilded Age
In United States history, the Gilded Age refers to the era of rapid economic and population growth in the United States during the post–Civil War and post-Reconstruction eras of the late 19th century. The term "Gilded Age" was coined by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner in their book The Gilded...
hotels like the Kimball were torn down in the United States. In 1983, the Kimball was spared the wrecking ball by the National Register of Historic Places, and soon after two developers who envisioned "The Kimball Towers" as Springfield's premier, luxury condominium address. In the late 1980s, mid-way through the renovation of the 309-room Hotel Kimball into the 132-room Kimball Towers, the developers filed for bankruptcy. Later they were sent to jail for a different development. For nearly a decade thereafter, the Kimball Towers were managed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is a United States government corporation created by the Glass–Steagall Act of 1933. It provides deposit insurance, which guarantees the safety of deposits in member banks, currently up to $250,000 per depositor per bank. , the FDIC insures deposits at...
. Many of its units were left unfinished or bare by the developers, who had finished only the top three floors of the ten-story building, (floors 6, 7, and 8.) During the 1990s, many Kimball Towers units were sold to absentee landlords for well-below their market value because the building's financial future seemed uncertain.
During the new millennium, as Springfield's Metro Center
Metro Center, Springfield, Massachusetts
Metro Center is the original colonial settlement of Springfield, Massachusetts, located beside a bend in the Connecticut River. As of 2011, Metro Center features a majority of Western Massachusetts' most important cultural, business, and civic venues...
revitalized, the Kimball Towers became an increasingly attractive residence for artists, bohemians, and empty-nesters—people who were attracted to urban living without the typical high expense. During this time, the building achieved financial and managerial stability, which had eluded it since its days as the Sheraton-Kimball Hotel. As of 2011, the Kimball Towers is a primarily owner-occupied building.
The building celebrated its 100th anniversary on St. Patrick's Day, 2011, with a celebration and proclamation by Springfield's mayor.
Unique floor-plan
The Kimball Towers building has a unique floor-plan due to its varied history, first as a luxury hotel; then as home to the United States' first commercial radio station; and later, as the site of a condominium development. As of 2011, the Kimball's Grand Lobby looks much as it did when the building opened in 1911 - featuring marble columns and leather furniture. Behind it, however, the Grand Ballroom has fallen into disrepair - although it still features its original maple parquet floor and a dramatic balcony. The "Millennium Room" - originally part of the Kimball's famous Pickwick Lounge restaurant and bar -- has been renovated and now features regular art shows and entertainment by the building's many artists and musicians.The Kimball is perched atop a bluff, and thus features a section below the building's entrance gradient. That area features a little-known "secret garden" - a green oasis amidst the urban fabric of Springfield. To reach it, one must locate an obscure hallway in the back of first floor, which itself is decorated by examples of abstract-expressionist art, and then follow several flights of stairs down to the secret garden.
The Kimball's floor #2 (the building's third story) through #8 (the building's ninth story) feature similar condominium layouts. For example, Unit #204 is, essentially, similar to Unit #804. The Units #210-#810 are the only units in the building to feature Frankfurt kitchen
Frankfurt kitchen
The Frankfurt kitchen was a milestone in domestic architecture, considered the fore-runner of modern fitted kitchens, for it realised for the first time a kitchen built after a unified concept, designed to enable efficient work and to be built at low cost...
s. Only the top three floors -- #6, #7, and #8 were finished by the original condominium developer, who outfitted the units with luxury cabinets and left many of the original hotel's luxury features, e.g. doors and doorknobs.