10 Historic Hotels on the East Coast

All along the Eastern Seaboard, historic hotels bring new life to old buildings. Along with great amenities they also have fascinating stories to tell about their past lives. Check in and check them out!

The Beekman Hotel

New York City

The Beekman is housed in lower Manhattan’s historic landmark Temple Court skyscraper, originally constructed in 1883. Edgar Allan Poe penned some of his work here during the 19^th century, when it was the site of the Mercantile Library Association and a theater. This AAA Four Diamond-Designated historic hotel features exquisite architectural details, including a stunning nine-story Victorian atrium, as well as restaurants by celebrity chefs Tom Colicchio and Daniel Boulud. The Beekman is also close to downtown attractions like the One World Trade Center Observatory.

The Liberty Hotel

Boston

Housed in Boston’s former Charles Street Jail, built in 1851, the Liberty Hotel is a light-filled AAA Four Diamond-Designated hotel with a 90-foot-high atrium and soaring red brick walls. Check out the historic hotel’s details, like metal walkways and the courtyard that was the jail’s exercise yard. You won’t want to break out of the Liberty; its lux amenities include a lounge for hotel guests only, perched atop one of the catwalks. The hotel also hosts live jazz and blues music, art exhibitions, fashion shows and top DJs.

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The Langham

Boston

The grand 1920s building that was formerly Boston’s Federal Reserve Bank is now the AAA Four Diamond-Designated Langham Hotel. Close to popular Boston attractions like Faneuil Hall and the Freedom Trail, the hotel boasts the Bond restaurant and lounge, with impressive 25-foot-high ceilings and crystal chandeliers, as well as an indoor pool and a spa.

Ocean House

Westerly, R.I.

This AAA Five Diamond-Designated historic hotel (and home to Rhode Island’s only Five Diamond restaurant) has hosted celebrities and bigwigs since it opened in 1868 as an oceanfront summer retreat. There’s plenty for guests to enjoy including a spa, food and wine classes, croquet, shuffleboard, a putting green and a private white-sand beach.

Hotel Providence

Providence, R.I.

Another AAA Four Diamond luxury boutique hotel, Hotel Providence comprises two historic 19^th-century buildings in Rhode Island’s lively theater district. One part of the hotel, the Lederer Building, was built in 1897 and housed the offices of musicians, clothing designer and artists, while the hotel’s Westminster Building once served as a dormitory for Johnson & Wales University students.

Lokal Hotel

Philadelphia

A boutique hotel in Philadelphia’s Old City, Lokal Hotel is situated in an historic building where soldiers’ hats were made during the Civil War. The hotel has six units and is designed for people who like privacy and exploring on their own, with no front desk. It’s smack dab in the middle of all the coolness that is the Old City, with boutiques, cafes and restaurants galore nearby.

The Sagamore Pendry

Baltimore

This historic hotel opened in Baltimore’s Fells Point neighborhood in 2017 in the renovated Recreation Pier building, built in 1914. Once one of the busiest points of entry for immigrants in the U.S., the building also served as the set for movies and TV shows. The hotel is decked out with cool modern art by local artists, and boasts an outdoor waterfront pool, an Italian restaurant and a whiskey bar.

The Line

Washington, D.C.

Looking for historic hotels with awesome architecture in the nation’s capital? In D.C.’s Adams Morgan Neighborhood, The Line occupies a 110-year-old neoclassical building, formerly the First Church of Christ, Scientist. The hotel showcases live music five nights a week, a live radio show broadcasting from the lobby and 3,000 works of art by women. Three restaurants serving a local and multicultural range of dishes, a coffee shop and two bars round out the offerings in this gorgeous historic building, which features vaulted ceilings and stained-glass windows.

The Kimpton Cardinal

Winston-Salem, N.C.

One of the coolest historic hotels in the Southeast, the Kimpton Cardinal occupies an art deco skyscraper that was once the headquarters of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. and the architectural inspiration for New York City’s Empire State Building. While visiting this AAA Four Diamond-Designated hotel, check out the historic details, like the gilded tobacco leaf motif on the ceiling in the lobby and the art deco designs on the elevator doors. On the lower level you’ll find a modern recreation area with basketball courts, a bowling alley, shuffleboard, pingpong and pool tables and a tube slide.

Graylyn International Conference Center

Winston-Salem, N.C.

Built in the 1930s as the estate of Bowman Gray, former president of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., Graylyn International Conference Center feels like your own private castle on lush, sprawling grounds. Be sure to search out the hotel’s elaborate Persian card room, and the library’s hand-carved 300-year-old oak paneling that once covered the walls in King Edward VII’s Paris office. Look for the bullet hole in the paneling that a spurned girlfriend is said to have created when she shot at the king and missed him. There’s also a fantastic indoor art deco pool, and an ice cream room on every floor where guests can indulge in free frozen treats any time of the day or night.

Have you ever stayed at a historic hotel? Tell us about it in the comments.

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Featured image: The Beekman Hotel, New York City