A Journey to Pasaquan

<>The Windsor Hotel<>

After our visit to the other-worldly realm of Pasaquan, our motorcoach
delivered us to an incredibly different time and place. We spent our evening in the Victorian splendor of the great Windsor Hotel in Americus, Georgia.

Built in 1892 to attract winter visitors from the north, the Windsor Hotel is a five-story imposing structure complete with towers, balconies, and a three-story open atrium lobby. It occupies nearly an entire city block. Fifteen years ago the Windsor underwent a $5.8 million restoration which returned the historic landmark to its original grandeur.

Atlanta architect Gottfried L. Norrman created the hotel’s original fanciful design, invoking the spirit of Henry Flagler’s grand St. Augustine hotels, which had just been completed in the late 1880s. Norrman’s five-story brick edifice originally had 100 rooms and ten stores on the street level, and it was constructed at a cost of nearly $150,000. The original 1890 architect’s etching is located just outside the Grand Victorian Dining Room.

Norrman, who also designed several notable buildings in Jacksonville, blended different architectural styles in designing the hotel, with a Romanesque tower, a Flemish stepped roof, and a variety of Queen Anne style details. In the interior, the three-story atrium lobby is Moorish. Distinctive features include the arches, wrought-iron opera box railings, geometric patterns in the oak flooring, and hand-carved floral patterns in the balusters. Off the interior balcony are the Ladies Tea Parlor, the Dayton Room, and Floyd’s Bar.

The hotel’s building material was produced by a local brickyard, just a few blocks from the hotel site. Construction began in September 1890, and thousands attended the grand opening on June 16, 1892. The hotel was named for John Windsor, one of the leading capitalists in Americus.

The Windsor Hotel, 1916

In her time, the Windsor has had such noteworthy guests as heavy-weight boxing champion John L. Sullivan, three-time Democratic presidential nominee William Jennings Bryan, American labor leader Eugene V. Debs, New York Governor and soon-to-be President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1928), aviation pioneer Charles Lindbergh, actors Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronin, and President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn. Even gangster John Dillinger is reputed to have stayed here.

It operated as a hotel until the 1950s and later was converted to apartments. Finally, in the early 1970s, the Windsor closed her doors after 82 years. Sumter County had lost its biggest industry, and downtown Americus was dying.

The owners of the shuttered Windsor Hotel donated it to the City of Americus in 1978, and city leaders and merchants led a decade-long crusade to restore the hotel, making it the centerpiece for downtown revitalization. The building’s restoration pulled the town together. Nearly $6 million dollars was spent to restore the original Victorian features of the hotel and add all the modern conveniences. The restoration began in October 1990, and the hotel reopened in September 1991.

All the wood in the lobby is golden oak. The marble on the lobby floor is the original and was removed during restoration, cleaned, and then replaced piece by piece. The mahogany phone booth, the clock on the second-floor lobby, and the tile floor in The Grand Dining Room are all original to the hotel.

Listed as one of the Historic Hotels of America and on the National Register of Historic Places, the restored Windsor is a 1993 National Trust for Historic Preservation Award winner. It features round tower suites and 53 period style rooms with all-modern amenities. No guest rooms in the Windsor are exactly the same, so each room has its own warmth and style. All rooms do have twelve-foot ceilings with ceiling fans, as well as individually controlled heating and air conditioning. Each room is equipped with remote control television with premium movies, in-room coffee makers, and remote high-speed Internet service. Room service, valet, and bell service are available.

In addition to savoring the charm and elegance in this magnificent hotel for your overnight stay, we dined in the Windsor’s Grand Victorian Dining Room. A sumptuous meal was enjoyrd on Saturday night, amid all of the dining room’s turn-of-the-century trappings, including chandeliers, columns, and fireplaces with ornate mantels. We also enjoyed a continental breakfast there on Sunday morning.

Special Thanks to the Steering Committee of the
BGHS Class of 1970-1971-1972 and Friends Reunion: