The Cavalier Hotel is a historic hotel building at 4200 Atlantic Avenue in

Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach (colloquially VB) is the most populous city in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. The city is located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in southeastern Virginia. It is the sixth-most populous city in the ...

. The seven-story building was designed by Neff and Thompson with a Y-shaped floor plan and was completed in 1927. Most of its hotel rooms featured views of the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

, and all had private bathrooms. The hotel also featured dining facilities and opportunities for shopping, as well as amenities such as swimming pools that are now common features of modern hotels. Entertainment, sports figures, and other celebrities who stayed at the Cavalier included F. Scott Fitzgerald,

Zelda Fitzgerald Zelda Fitzgerald (; July 24, 1900 – March 10, 1948) was an American novelist, painter, and socialite. Born in Montgomery, Alabama, to a wealthy Southern family, she became locally famous for her beauty and high spirits. In 1920, she marri ...

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was an American comedian, actor, entertainer and producer with a career that spanned nearly 80 years and achievements in vaudeville, network radio, television, and USO Tours. He appeared ...

Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was an English and American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 19 ...

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. Possessing a strong contralto voice, she was celebrated for her emotional depth and versatility across film, stage, and concert performance. ...

Doris Day Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress and singer. She began her career as a big band singer in 1937, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, "Sentimental Journey ...

Bette Davis Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress of film, television, and theater. Regarded as one of the greatest actresses in Hollywood history, she was noted for her willingness to play unsympatheti ...

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and social activist. A global cultural icon, widely known by the nickname "The Greatest", he is often regarded as the gr ...

, President Harry Truman, and

President Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, Carter served from 1971 to 1975 ...

. Other U.S. Presidents staying overnight at the Cavalier included

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was the 31st president of the United States, serving from 1929 to 1933. A wealthy mining engineer before his presidency, Hoover led the wartime Commission for Relief in Belgium and ...

Dwight Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

, and

Lyndon Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after assassination of John F. Kennedy, the assassination of John F. Ken ...

. On Memorial Day weekend in 1929, shortly before the stock market crash, the famed Cavalier Beach Club opened on the oceanfront at the bottom of the Cavalier Hotel and drew big dance bands such as

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader, known as the "King of Swing". His orchestra did well commercially. From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing bi ...

Cab Calloway Cabell "Cab" Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American jazz singer and bandleader. He was a regular performer at the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he became a popular vocalist of the Swing music, swing era. His niche ...

Glenn Miller Alton Glen "Glenn" Miller (March 1, 1904 – December 15, 1944) was an American big band conductor, arranger, composer, trombonist, and recording artist before and during World War II, when he was an officer in the United States Army Air Forces ...

, and

Lawrence Welk Lawrence Welk (March 11, 1903 – May 17, 1992) was an American accordionist, bandleader, and television impresario, who hosted ''The Lawrence Welk Show'' from 1951 to 1982. The program was known for its light and family-friendly style, and the ...

, and other performers, including

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

and

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phra ...

. The hotel was built during the period of prosperity known as the

Roaring Twenties The Roaring Twenties, sometimes stylized as Roaring '20s, refers to the 1920s decade in music and fashion, as it happened in Western world, Western society and Western culture. It was a period of economic prosperity with a distinctive cultura ...

, and was a major element of the development of Virginia Beach as a resort area. The hotel was operated successfully until 1942, when it was commandeered by the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

as a training center during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. It was returned to its owners in 1945, but the lost years hurt the business. The property was used as a private club for a time in the 1950s and 1960s, and eventually reopened as a hotel. The hotel was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 2014. The hotel property was sold in 2013 under court order and the new owners began an extensive renovation and restoration of the structure with an anticipated opening of summer 2016. Due to unanticipated repairs, the owners announced in April 2016 that the opening would be delayed until 2017. The additional demolition and work added $24 million to the original $50 million estimate. Work completed in late 2017 and the facility opened in spring 2018 with 62 rooms and 23 suites, down from the original 135. The hotel also retained 21 of its original . On what had been vacant land north of the hotel, the owners constructed a housing development. In 2015, they demolished the Cavalier Oceanfront Hotel, across Atlantic Avenue, and began constructing a new hotel, scheduled to open in 2020. They also have plans for a third hotel in the complex. The Cavalier Hotel officially opened Wednesday, March 7, 2018, with a "Grand Reveal" event at the historic property. The ''

Virginian-Pilot ''The Virginian-Pilot'' is the daily newspaper for Hampton Roads, Virginia. Commonly known as ''The Pilot'', it is Virginia's largest daily. It serves the five cities of South Hampton Roads as well as several smaller towns across southeast Virgi ...

'' reported that "About 100 people gathered at dusk on the brick pathway as lights illuminating the hotel were switched on. After four years of restoration work that cost $81 million, the “Grande Dame” is back."

Gallery

Cavalier Hotel, Virginia Beach, Virginia LCCN2017711076.tif, Aerial view from the southeast in 1985 Cavalier Hotel, Virginia Beach, Virginia LCCN2017711088.tif, The Cavalier Oceanfront in 1985; demolished in 2015 Cavalier Hotel 2018b.jpg, North façade in 2018 Cavalier Hotel night 2018.jpg, Hotel at night in 2018 Cavalier Hotel interior 2018.jpg, Great room in 2018 Cavalier Hotel, Virginia Beach, Virginia LCCN2017711073.tif, Pool in 1985

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Hotel buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Renaissance Revival architecture in Virginia Hotel buildings completed in 1927 Buildings and structures in Virginia Beach, Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Beach, Virginia Brick buildings and structures in Virginia

Gallery

See also

References