Colonnade Ballroom

Ascending the Grand Staircase, you get a sense of the elegant setting in which the guests of the mid-1800s found themselves.

The Staircase, which is original to the building, was carefully protected and restored during the 2007 renovation. By restoring it where it stood, it was grandfathered in and was allowed to stay.  If it had been removed for restoration, current fire code would have required that the 3-story staircase would have to be reconfigured and enclosed. What a loss that would have been!

The skylight above is original to the building and provides wonderful light to the central staircase. Its original glass panes have been carefully restored, and a plexiglass panel was installed above it for protection. As you walk around the hotel you will notice many windows with original lead glass.  We were able to restore about 80% of the glass during the renovation.

The antique hats in the display cases represent the eras of the hotel’s existence.  As you can see from the photos around the hotel, no well-dressed lady or gentlemen would be seen without a hat!

In the 1800s, the rooms across the stairs were guest suites. The suite to the right was where President James Buchanan stayed for nearly 30 summers. It was his “summer White House” while he was president. Since the 2007 renovation, these rooms are now meeting rooms and the suites are in the spa wing.

The Colonnade Ballroom was originally the hotel’s main dining room.

In 1962, President Dwight Eisenhower was the guest of honor at a Republican fundraiser here with 500 people in attendance. In President Eisenhower’s honor, the ballroom on the floor above was renamed the Eisenhower Ballroom.

During the 2007 renovation, engineers were challenged by the Ballroom’s enormous double columns. They weren’t supported from below in the normal way but were hung from above. The floor, ceiling, and roof structure needed to be completely restored, so the columns could be supported from below.

To allow more dining choices, this space was converted into the Colonnade Ballroom and other spaces in the hotel were renovated to be used as restaurants. The Colonnade Ballroom now welcomes guests for meetings, weddings, and special events. Easter brunch and Thanksgiving dinner are popular with families.

If weather permits, please step out onto the Veranda.

From the main dining room there was once a bridge called the Colonnade that extended all the way over to the Magnesia Spring. The “lower Colonnade” provided a covered outdoor area where guests could relax, play cards, and socialize.

Guests who were here to “take the waters” would go across the bridge to the springs before each meal and drink two glasses of spring water. In this way, they were getting all the healing minerals from the water and flushing toxins from their systems.  Today, we drink clean water as a natural part of a healthy lifestyle, but this was radical for people of the 1800s!

The wrought iron around the Veranda – except for the entrance to the bridge – is all original iron. The Veranda is a great place to take keepsake photos, just like the guests here did 100 years ago. Some things never change!

The pillars here on the Veranda were constructed from 23-foot-tall white pines found on the property. Most of them are original but there are 4 that were replaced during the renovation. If you tap on them, you can identify the original ones and the newer hollow ones!

The Veranda is a great place to view the lighting of the trees during our traditional Grand Illumination.

Heading back inside, go straight across to Constitution Hall, originally the Anderson dining room. It can be used as a pre-function space for conventions, weddings, meetings, dinners, and special events!

Looking up the hill out the back window, you can see a grey-green building. This was built as the Manager’s Cottage. It now houses Sales, Human Resources, Accounting, and the Executive Offices.

The building to its left is the Barclay Building. Completed in 1924, it was originally a 5-story building with the penthouse, suites, and guestrooms in it. When Presidents Reagan and Eisenhower stayed here, they both stayed in suites on the top floor of the Barclay. In planning for the 2007 renovation, engineers determined that the three top stories were not structurally sound so they were removed. Today the building houses our cafeteria, housekeeping, and engineering departments.

Please continue your tour.