Legacy Ventures restores one of Atlanta's most historic hotels

October 5,2017

Source: Amy Wenk, Atlanta Business Chronicle

A veteran Atlanta hospitality developer has thoughtfully restored one of the city’s most historic hotels.

Legacy Ventures has spent about $16 million to renovate downtown’s DoubleTree hotel. While it will remain branded a DoubleTree by Hilton, it will be called by its original name, The American Hotel.

Opened in 1962 by Dr. Marvin Goldstein, it was Atlanta’s first integrated hotel. That important legacy is now brought back to life in the hotel’s new design.

“It’s incredibly timely to be relaunching a hotel that stands for a lot of inclusiveness,” said David Marvin, founder and president of Legacy Ventures, calling the property a throwback to a time when Atlanta was a leader in the Civil Rights Movement. “It was the first hotel welcoming to all guests.”

Even though the Ku Klux Klan marched outside the hotel when it opened, it found early success.

Through the years, a host of prominent people stayed there, including Richard Nixon, Pearl Bailey and Elvis Presley. Sports teams, including the Milwaukee Braves, stayed at The American because it was integrated and they could stay together. Gov. Jimmy Carter held his first reception as a presidential candidate there.

“It will be one of Atlanta’s greatest hotels,” Goldstein told Atlanta Business Chronicle nearly twenty years ago on the day before he died. ( Read the full article here.)

Today, the hotel at 160 Ted Turner Drive sits between Peachtree Street and one of the country’s largest convention centers. Downtown is currently seeing around $2 billion in new investment, making it a prime location for a refreshed, experience-rich hotel.

“I think people are interested in learning about history and they will find the mid-century modern design theme to be really fun, hip and edgy, and in many ways, timeless,” Marvin said.

Read the complete article at the link above.