Hotel John Marshall - Richmond, VA

The Hotel John Marshall, on 5th Street between Franklin and Grace in Downtown Richmond, Virginia, originally opened on October 30, 1929 – the day after the Wall Street crash that signaled the beginning of the Great Depression. The 16 story building was designed in a neoclassical style by architect Marcellus E. Wright Sr, and the construction was funded by Thomas Gresham of Richmond Hotels, Inc. It cost $2 million to build (around $17 million when adjusted for inflation), and had 418 guest rooms, 500 bathrooms, 2 restaurants, a ballroom near the lobby, and another on the 16th floor. 

Early newspaper advertisements called it “The Finest Hotel in the South.” It’s named after Chief Justice John Marshall, whose house- turned museum is located a few blocks away. By the 1940s, the hotel was at its peak. It had a daily staff of 400 and fed over 1,500 people in its restaurants. Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan all attended political functions at the hotel. However, none of them stayed the night. Stars of stage and screen also frequented the John Marshall. Elvis Presley, Elizabeth Taylor and Vincent Price were just a few that stayed at the hotel.

The hotel expanded in 1954, adding a wing on its north side, and again in 1963 to add a meeting hall. On October 17, 1973, Ralph Carattini, an escapee from a nearby federal prison, barricaded himself in Room 738 with a rifle for four hours. He fired into the street, but didn’t injure anyone. Police forced the door down and found Carattini dead by his own hand.

The John Marshall could not keep up with the more modern hotels and business declined. The hotel closed on May 31, 1988. An auction was held a few weeks later, and 60,000 pieces of hotel memorabilia, including chandeliers, dinnerware, and furniture, were sold. They kept seven employees on to maintain the empty building. 

On September 30, 1997, Gilbert Granger, the former mayor of Williamsburg, Virginia, purchased the hotel for $3.16 million. He reopened it with only a dozen rooms available in 1999. More rooms reopened over time, eventually reaching 75 of the 418. It was not a successful venture and was costing Granger around $50,000 a month. The John Marshall closed again on January 1st, 2005. Virginia Atlantic Development Inc. purchased the building that same year and partnered with Dominion Realty Partners on a $70 million remodel. 

They restored the lobby to its original 1930s appearance, as well as remaking the iconic rooftop sign, which had become rusted over the years. In 2011, the building reopened as the Residences at The John Marshall, a luxury apartment building.