On August 19th, 1912 the Copley Plaza opened its doors for business. Over 1,000 people attended the opening and the hotel cost $5.5 million to build. It was built on the former site of the Museum of Fine Arts and took around 2 years to build.
All of the following information is from Wikipedia.
- Designed by Henry Janeway Hardenbergh, the Copley Plaza hotel was named in honor of the American painter, John Singleton Copley.
- The hotel is 7 floors high and constructed with limestone and buff brick in the Beaux-Arts style.
- The mayor of Boston, John F. Fitzgerald (grandfather of JFK) presided over the opening and rooms booked as much as 16 months in advance.
- The hotel was first owned by Sheraton, then John Hancock Insurance, Harvard University, Wyndham, and in 1996 it was purchased by Fairmont Hotels Group.
- The hotel is known for its industry firsts: first hotel to be completely air-conditioned in Boston, the first hotel with an international reservations system and the first to accept credit cards.
- It has been host to every US President since William Taft; royalty from Greece, Thailand, Belgium, Denmark, and UK. It has also had its share of celebrities over the years: Tony Bennett, Lena Horne, Frank Sinatra, Paul Newman, and Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton chose the hotel for their second honeymoon.
It’s a pretty cool place to work. So when I found out that they were planning a party for the hotels 99th birthday (and to kick off the next year that will lead up to its centennial) I definitely wanted to attend to take some pictures and to celebrate too.
We had some delicious tea sandwiches, scones and desserts, along with some tea.
They were also showing a slideshow of the hotel’s past. Another cool fact I learned was that the hotel had elevator operators during WWII and they were all over 65 years old so that the younger gentleman could be available to fight.
The cake they had was so delicious. It was vanilla and chocolate and the frosting was whipped cream so it wasn’t very sweet. I also nibbled on a ham and cheese tea sandwich, blueberry scone and a chocolate covered strawberry. Everyone was also given a “100” pin to wear over the next year.
I cannot wait for the festivities to come this year! Fenway Park is also turning 100 in April so there may be a joint thing with them.
Do you like celebrating birthdays? What’s your most memorable birthday?
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
That place has quite the history! Pretty cool that it’s hosted every president since Taft
I just read your page about your job and saw all the people that you’ve met since you’ve been a concierge- your job sounds so cool!
The party looks fun and the cake delicious! I’ve always wanted to stay at that hotel. It’s so beautiful and has such a rich history. Glad you enjoyed the party!
Thanks for sharing such interesting history about the FCP!
I like celebrating my birthday
This looks like a fabulous event. Great shots of the interior too, and of course the food