The Hilton Fort Worth is one of 24 hotels named a member of the Historic Hotels of America, the Washington, D.C.-based group announced on Nov. 18. Originally built in 1921 as the Hotel Texas, the Hilton Fort Worth is best known as the location for President Kennedy’s last speech. Hotels nominated and accepted into the Historic Hotels of America program range in age from 51 to 389 years old. These new additions represent historic hotels from 14 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. The oldest new member hotel dates to 1625. Six of the hotels were adapted from a previous use including a former bank and courthouse. Of the 24 new members, five have reported hauntings from friendly ghosts. Historic Hotels of America is the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation for recognizing and celebrating historic hotels. H
istoric hotels inducted into Historic Hotels of America members YTD in 2014 include:
Le Méridien Tampa (1905) Tampa, Florida Listed in the National Register of Historic Places, converted to a hotel from century old federal courthouse Hilton Hawaiian Village® Waikiki Beach Resort, Honolulu (1961) Waikiki Beach, Hawaii The Drake Hotel (1920) Chicago, Illinois Listed in the National Register of Historic Places Hilton Chicago (1927) Chicago, Illinois Hilton Orrington/Evanston (1927) Evanston, Illinois Seelbach Hilton (1905) Louisville, Kentucky Listed in the National Register of Historic Places Hilton Baton Rouge Capitol Center (1927) Baton Rouge, Louisiana Hilton New Orleans/St. Charles Avenue (1926) New Orleans, Louisiana Southern Hotel (1907) Covington, Louisiana, converted from the Grand Lodge of Louisiana’s Masonic Temple The Westin Portland Harborview (1927) Portland, Maine Hilton Boston Downtown/Faneuil Hall (1928) Boston, Massachusetts, converted from Boston’s first Art Deco skyscraper office building Hilton President Kansas City (1926) Kansas City, Missouri Hilton St. Louis Downtown at the Arch (1888) St. Louis, Missouri, converted from former Merchant Laclède National Bank and office building. Hilton Santa Fe Historic Plaza (1625) Santa Fe, New Mexico, converted from 300 year old hacienda Hilton Manhattan East (1931) New York, New York Chateau at the Oregon Caves National Monument (1935) Cave Junction, Oregon Designated by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior as a National Historic Landmark Abraham Lincoln Reading Hotel (1930) Reading, Pennsylvania Caribe Hilton San Juan (1949) San Juan, Puerto Rico The Condado Plaza Hilton (1963) San Juan, Puerto Rico Condado Vanderbilt Hotel (1919) San Juan, Puerto Rico Hilton Fort Worth (1921) Fort Worth, Texas Airlie (1892) Warrenton, Virginia, converted from picturesque farm Capital Hilton (1943) Washington, DC The Edgewater (1948) Madison, Wisconsin