The year was 1922. F. Scott Fitzgerald
spun tales of beautiful flappers and dashing aristocrats.
Crowds danced to the hot licks of cool jazz musicians like
Louis Armstrong. Secret Speakeasies and backyard stills sprung
up in the wake of Prohibition. Women swooned at the images
of Rudolph Valentino and Douglas Fairbanks on the silver
screen. The discovery of King Tut’s tomb gave the public
a glimpse of the awesome riches of ancient Egypt.
In Rhode Island, the opening of the Providence Biltmore
Hotel epitomized this year of glitter and glamour. A front-page
story in the June 6, 1922 edition of the Providence Journal
reported on the banquet and ball that would officially open
the Biltmore, predicting that it would be “the most
elaborate social event ever to be held in the city.” Over
1,000 people attended the party, including local officials
and several prominent New York City hoteliers. For the occasion,
the building was illuminated from top to bottom with more
than 25,000 lights.
The original owners, New York entrepreneurs John Bowman
and Louis Wallick, envisioned the Biltmore as a state-of-the-art
luxury hotel. It was designed by New York architects Warren
and Wetmore, whose other commissions included Grand Central
Station. The building’s unique V-shaped design afforded
all guests an outside room.
The 600-room hotel included a drugstore, printing shop,
carpentry and upholstery shop, and a photo lab. The Biltmore
of the 20s also featured rooftop gardens and chicken coops.
Guests were offered a choice of six different restaurants.
Shortly after its opening, the Journal hailed it as the “new
tourist and social center of Providence.”
The Hotel continued to be Providence's hot spot during the
Big Band era of the 1930s and 40s. The Biltmore's Garden
Room swung to the sounds of such famous orchestra leaders
as Benny Goodman and Jimmy Dorsey. The dance floor was once
turned into an aquarium, complete with live fish, for a performance
by Esther Williams. For Sonia Henie’s ice show, the
floor was frozen solid.
It was also the era of the Biltmore’s famous Bacchante
Girls. Known throughout the country for their beauty and
poise, these were the waitresses in the Biltmore’s
hip Bacchante Room. The dining area was very intimate, with
dimmed lights and mirrored walls. Seating sections were called “banquettes,” which
were designed to hold between two and eight people. When
one wanted to be served, one pushed a button to summon a
Bacchante Girl. She would appear in her costume, which featured
a diaphanous, see-through skirt. The bar area had a glass
floor which was under lit with pink lighting, a feature which
showcased the girls’ beautiful legs.
The stately building has weathered the worst of the notorious
New England weather. It has survived numerous hurricanes,
including the famous storms of 1938 and 1954. The 1954 hurricane
flooded the building, with water pouring down into the elevator
shafts. Couches floated through the Falstaff Room, drifted
out into the lobby and just stopped short of the revolving
doors. A plaque, high up on the lobby columns, commemorates
the high water mark.
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