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By Madelyn Miller

There are all kinds of things to celebrate this year. But there was ever anything that deserved a heartfelt toast, it was the end of Prohibition.

During the 1920s, the United States was a nation of contradictions.  Under the Volstead Act of 1920, alcohol was illegal.

Ironically, tales of the "roaring `20s" evoke images of flappers, gangsters, bootleggers and speakeasies -- the exact opposite of what proponents of Prohibition, America's grand social experiment, hoped to accomplish. Here are a few stories of the times from the Historic Hotels of America.

The Bootlegging Bellhop

According to hotel lore, Skinny, an enterprising young bellhop at the Lafayette Hotel in Marietta, Ohio, appeared to be living well above his means.  This aroused suspicion on the part of the hotel staff.  The key to Skinny's success became clear during a flood that covered the lower lobby of the hotel and sent pint bottles of moonshine floating up the main staircase of the hotel. After all, this was the early 1930s and the era of Prohibition.

It seems that Skinny purchased gallons of illegal moonshine for $5 apiece. In a remote cubbyhole under the main lobby stairs he would re-bottle the concoction and sell it for $2.50 a pint.  Skinny often served as the hotel's elevator operator and while ferrying customers down to dinner, he would collect their room keys and the appropriate "tip."  He would leave the bottle of liquor in the guest's room and would return the guest's key on the return trip in the elevator.

The plan worked well until the flood.  The floating bottles were taken to the hotel's owner and general manager, who quickly identified the contents of the bottle.  As an example to other employees, Skinny was relieved of his duties at the Lafayette Hotel.  Several months later Skinny was quietly rehired.  It is not clear if Skinny continued his entrepreneurial ways.

A Dry Establishment

What is most interesting about Prohibition at The Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge, Mass., is that it created no change at all. The inn, which was founded in 1773, operated dry for about 100 years.  After the 21st Amendment was passed, the inn began serving alcohol.

News of the change was not well received by some frequent guests.  One customer wrote, "As you have gone into the rum business, I shall not come to your hotel anymore."  Another woman noted that the change was revolting to the old regulars and that she had seen a lot of "cheap" people at the inn who were drawn by the bar and its enticements.

Hollywood's Rendezvous Spot

During Prohibition, The Georgian Hotel in Santa Monica became the rendezvous point for up-and-coming Hollywood studio executives and celebrities including Clark Gable and Carol Lumbard, who sought secluded weekends away from the Los Angeles.  The Georgian provided a stage for martinis, jazz and notoriousfigures including Bugsy Siegel and Fatty Arbuckle.

Sonoma County Red Wine

The bars at the Hotel La Rose in Santa Rosa, Calif., have continuously served Sonoma County red wine since the hotel opened in 1907.  During Prohibition, the main bar was used until federal authorities closed it down and fined the owners $125 for drinking homemade Sonoma County red wine.  The owner then opened a second bar in the hotel that the federal authorities also raided.
The owner reopened the first bar.  This cycle continued throughout Prohibition.

The Windy City

The Regal Knickerbocker Hotel in Chicago was built in 1927 during Prohibition and is located in the former territory of the infamous George "Bugs" Moran.  The hotel's elevators were programmed so that only one went to the Penthouse floor. Rumor was that the rooftop ballrooms were built for casino use with controlled access. There is a secret doorway from the Penthouse floor down a flight of stairs to guest rooms. Presumably, this was an escape in case of a raid.

Water Into Wine

The foundation of the Hotel del Coronado in Coronado, Calif., that opened in 1888, has huge concrete cisterns with three foot thick walls.  They were designed to hold rainwater.  Rumor has it that one of these cisterns became a wine vault.  In the 1950s, columnist Neil Morgan wrote that, "...the night that Prohibition was voted in [John D.] Spreckels, then owner of the hotel, backed a truck up to the wine vault and took the entire stock of liquor to his home."

More Prohibition Tidbits

During Prohibition, The Menger Bar at The Menger Hotel in San Antonio was disassembled and put into storage.  Following Prohibition, it was reassembled piece by piece in its current location.

At The Oxford Hotel in Denver the granite baseboards of the Governor Room were hollowed out and used as secret storage areas for private liquor stashes.  The baseboards remain hollow today.

Tunnels from the basement wine cellar of Le Pavillon in New Orleans lead two blocks down into another building.  The tunnel was used as a private entrance for dignitaries but it is believed that the tunnels were also used during Prohibition.

Historic Hotels of America

Historic Hotels of America (HHA) is a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.  HHA has identified 127 hotels that have faithfully maintained their historic integrity, architecture and ambience.  To be selected for this prestigious program, a hotel must be at least 50 years old, listed or eligible for the National Register of Historic Places or recognized as having historic significance.

A directory of member hotels can be purchased for $3 by sending a check to Historic Hotels of America, National Trust for Historic Preservation, 1785 Massachusetts Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C.  20036.  Rooms at any of the member hotels can be reserved by calling 800-678-8946.  When reservations are made through this number, three percent of the cost is returned to the nonprofit National Trust for Historic Preservation.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

http://historichotels.nationaltrust.org

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