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Peabody Hotel has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places with the following information. Note: some of this data may have become outdated since the listing date. View full NRHP data →
- National Register ID
- 77001290
- Date Listed
- 19770914
- Name
- Peabody Hotel
- Address
- 149 Union Ave.
- City/Town
- Memphis
- County
- Shelby
- State
- Tennessee
- Category
- building
- Creators
- Ahlschlager, Walter W.
- Level of Significance
- state
- Years of Significance
- 1925
- Areas of Significance
- COMMERCE; ARCHITECTURE; SOCIAL HISTORY
National Register Significance Summary
The Hotel Peabody, located in downtown Memphis and known to generations of travelers and local residents as "the South's Finest-One of America's Best," was for over fifty years the symbolic center of the social, cultural, and commercial life of the MidSouth region. Completed in 1925, it was the largest and most elegant hotel in the south and represents the area's finest example of the opulence, grandeur, and complexity which characterized the era of the grand hotel.
In 1923 ground was broken for the new twelve-story, 625 rooms, $5 million structure which was to occupy the entire block between Union Avenue, Second and Third Streets and an un-named alley between Union and Gayoso Streets. Built to replace the old Peabody which had stood at Main and Monroe Streets since 1869, both hotels were named for financier George Peabody, who had been a close friend of founder Robert Campbell Brinkley.
With its grand opening ball in 1925, the new hotel quickly established a reputation as the center of social life for the entire region... more →
National Register Description Summary
The Hotel Peabody, completed in 1925, occupies the entire block bounded by Union Avenue, Second and Third Streets and an un-named alley in downtown Memphis. Designed by the architectural firm of Walter W. Ahlschlager, Inc., it was the largest and most elegant hotel in the South and for fifty years was the symbolic center of the social, cultural, and commercial life of the Mid-South region.
Architecturally, the Peabody represents the finest example in the region of the opulence, grandeur, and complexity which characterized the era of the grand hotel. Rising 12 stories on its 320' x 190' site, the building contains 625 guest rooms, has a total volume of 5,750,000 cubic feet; and was constructed at a cost of $5 million.
The overall building style may be best described as Italian Renaissance Revival. Wrapping around the northeast, southeast, and northwest sides is a two-story base faced with grey terra cotta block and crowned with a buff terra cotta balustrade and decorative urns. Five metal entrance marquees, two on Union Avenue and one on each of the other sides, mark the entrances into the main lobby... more →