When did the Read House Hotel open its doors?
The Read House Hotel opened its doors on New Year's Day 1872. John T. Read converted a three-story office building into a 45-room hotel known as the Read House Hotel that year.
Questions about The Read House Hotel
Short answers, pulled from the story.
Who built the original Crutchfield House on the site of the Read House Hotel?
Thomas Crutchfield Sr., a future mayor of Chattanooga, built the first hotel on the site in 1847. Railways brought constant business and imports to the town allowing the establishment to prosper under his ownership until he died in 1850.
What happened to the original Crutchfield House during the Civil War?
Confederate General Samuel Jones converted the building into a military hospital in 1862. Union forces occupied Chattanooga on the 9th of September 1863 and later the structure served as a hospital for soldiers wounded at the Battle of Chickamauga before it caught fire and burned down in 1867.
Which famous criminal stayed in Room 311 of the Read House Hotel?
Al Capone resided in Room 311 during his federal trial in the early twentieth century. Custom iron bars were added to the windows of that specific room for security and these bars remain installed to this day despite the passage of decades.
When did Avocet Hospitality Group purchase The Read House Historic Inn & Suites?
Avocet Hospitality Group of Charleston South Carolina purchased the hotel on the 30th of August 2016. A $27 million renovation moved the main entrance from Broad Street back to Martin Luther King Jr Blvd and the hotel finally reopened in 2018 simply as The Read House.