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The Ellis Hotel, formerly known as the Winecoff Hotel, is located at 176
In April 1951, the hotel reopened as the Peachtree Hotel on Peachtree, and was now equipped with both
Winecoff Hotel Fire Documentary official website
A full-length documentary about the Winecoff Hotel Fire of 1946
Ellis Hotel official websiteWebsite for the book ''The Winecoff Fire: The Untold Story of America's Deadliest Hotel Fire''
*Maps for this location: {{Atlanta landmarks Skyscraper hotels in Atlanta Hotels established in 1913 Hotel buildings completed in 1913 Hotel buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Georgia (U.S. state) William Lee Stoddart buildings 1913 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) National Register of Historic Places in Atlanta Burned hotels in the United States
Peachtree Street
Peachtree Street is one of several major streets running through the city of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Beginning at Five Points (Atlanta), Five Points in downtown Atlanta, it runs North through Midtown Atlanta, Midtown; a few blocks afte ...
NW, in downtown Atlanta
Downtown Atlanta is the central business district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The largest of the city's three commercial districts (Midtown Atlanta, Midtown and Buckhead being the others), it is the location of many corporate and region ...
, Georgia, US. Designed by William Lee Stoddart
William Lee Stoddart (1868–1940) was an architect who designed urban hotels in the Eastern United States. Although he was born in Tenafly, New Jersey, most of his commissions were in the Southern United States, South. He maintained offices i ...
, the 15-story building opened in 1913. It is located next to 200 Peachtree, which was built as the flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...
Davison's
Davison's was an American department store chain founded in 1891 in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. It was a local institution, and competed with Rich's (department store), Rich's in the Atlanta market. Davison's expande ...
. It 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 ...
on March 31, 2009. The Ellis Hotel is best known for a fire that occurred there on December 7, 1946, in which 119 people died.
Fire
The Ellis Hotel (previously the Winecoff Hotel) is best known for a fire that occurred there on December 7, 1946, in which 119 people died. It remains the deadliest hotel fire in U.S. history, and prompted many changes inbuilding code
A building code (also building control or building regulations) is a set of rules that specify the standards for construction objects such as buildings and non-building structures. Buildings must conform to the code to obtain planning permis ...
s. Guests at the hotel that night included teenagers attending a Hi-Y and Tri-Hi-Y Youth-in-Government conference (Youth Assembly) sponsored by the State YMCA of Georgia, Christmas shoppers, and people in town to see ''Song of the South
''Song of the South'' is a 1946 American Live-action animated film, live-action/animated musical film, musical comedy-drama film directed by Harve Foster and Wilfred Jackson, produced by Walt Disney, and released by RKO Pictures, RKO Radio Pi ...
''. Arnold Hardy, a 24-year-old graduate student
Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of Academic degree, academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by higher education, post-secondary students who have ...
at Georgia Tech
The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...
, became the first amateur to win a Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...
in photography for his snapshot of a woman in mid-air after jumping from the 11th floor of the hotel during the fire. The jumper was Daisy McCumber, 41. She sustained multiple broken bones and eventually had a leg amputated. Under these circumstances, she still worked until her retirement. She died in 1992.
Reopenings
In April 1951, the hotel reopened as the Peachtree Hotel on Peachtree, and was now equipped with both fire alarm
A fire alarm system is a building system designed to detect, alert occupants, and alert emergency forces of the presence of fire, smoke, carbon monoxide, or other fire-related emergencies. Fire alarm systems are required in most commercial buil ...
s and automated sprinkler systems. In 1967, it was donated to the Georgia Baptist Convention for housing the elderly
Old age is the range of ages for people nearing and surpassing life expectancy. People who are of old age are also referred to as: old people, elderly, elders, senior citizens, seniors or older adults. Old age is not a definite biological sta ...
, and then repeatedly sold to a series of potential developers.
The gutted lobby served as a souvenir shop during the 1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
.
After over two decades of vacancy, a $23 million renovation
Renovation (also called remodeling) is the process of improving broken, damaged, or outdated structures. Renovations are typically done on either commercial or residential buildings. Additionally, renovation can refer to making something new, o ...
project began in April 2006. The project restored the building into a boutique
A () is a retail shop that deals in high end fashionable clothing or accessories. The word is French for "shop", which derives ultimately from the Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in anc ...
luxury hotel, called the Ellis Hotel after the street that runs along the north side of the building. It was reopened on October 1, 2007.
See also
* National Register of Historic Places listings in Fulton County, Georgia * Hotels in Atlanta * History of hotel fires in the United States * Skyscraper fireReferences
External links
Winecoff Hotel Fire Documentary official website
A full-length documentary about the Winecoff Hotel Fire of 1946
Ellis Hotel official website
*Maps for this location: {{Atlanta landmarks Skyscraper hotels in Atlanta Hotels established in 1913 Hotel buildings completed in 1913 Hotel buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Georgia (U.S. state) William Lee Stoddart buildings 1913 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) National Register of Historic Places in Atlanta Burned hotels in the United States