Providence Biltmore
The Providence Chamber of Commerce launched a public campaign in 1921 to fund the construction of a new luxury hotel. One thousand eight hundred citizens contributed money to pay for the building costs. This collective effort created the Providence Biltmore Hotel, which opened on the 6th of June 1922. The architectural firm Warren and Wetmore designed the structure in neo-Federal Beaux-arts style. They were also responsible for designing Grand Central Terminal in New York City. The hotel rose as the second-tallest building in Providence after the Rhode Island State House. It held that position until the Industrial Trust Tower finished construction six years later.
Hurricane Carol flooded Providence in 1954, leaving much of the lobby underwater. A plaque now commemorates the high water mark eight feet up on the lobby columns. Sheraton Hotels had purchased the property in 1947 and renamed it the Sheraton-Biltmore Hotel. In 1968, Sheraton sold the hotel to Gotham Hotels along with seventeen other aging properties. Financial mismanagement followed quickly. By 1975, lawsuits over tens of thousands of dollars of unpaid utility bills forced Gotham Hotels to close the building. It sat vacant for four years before any new life could be breathed into the structure.
Mayor Buddy Cianci helped efforts to designate the hotel as a landmark to prevent demolition. A group of local businessmen including Bruce Sundlun and Michael Metcalf purchased the property. They utilized Federal tax credits to fund the restoration project. The hotel reopened in February 1979 as The Biltmore Plaza under Boston hospitality management firm Hotels of Distinction. An external glass elevator was added during this renovation to serve all eighteen floors. That elevator no longer runs today. Ownership shifted again when Dunfey Hotels took over management in 1983, renaming it Biltmore Plaza, A Dunfey Hotel. Omni Hotels eventually reorganized Dunfey, leading to the name Omni Biltmore Hotel by the 1990s.
The Providence Journal fully owned the Omni Biltmore by the 1990s before selling it to Grand Heritage Hotels in July 1995. The sale price reached seven million dollars. Financial trouble returned when the hotel sold out of receivership on the 31st of May 2012 for sixteen million dollars. Finard Coventry Hotel Management bought the property and invested another ten million dollars in renovations. The building joined Curio, A Collection by Hilton on the 16th of December 2014. In October 2017, AJ Capital Partners acquired the hotel for forty-three point six million dollars. They renovated the space and renamed it Graduate Providence on the 2nd of April 2019. Hilton Worldwide purchased the Graduate Hotels brand in May 2024, operating the location as Graduate by Hilton Providence while AJ Capital retains ownership of the structures.
The original design included six hundred rooms with a large banquet hall. Walls were later knocked down to create suites, reducing the total count to two hundred ninety-two guest rooms today. The rooftop level Grand Ballroom offers expansive views of Kennedy Plaza and can hold up to seven hundred fifty guests. It hosted wedding receptions, banquet service, and conferences throughout its history. For seventy-one years, this was the tallest and largest hotel in Providence until The Westin Providence opened in 1993. The property also housed the largest Starbucks in New England from 2003 through 2019 before that location closed.
The hotel features prominently in the 2004 film The Last Shot directed by Jeff Nathanson. Anne Fletcher's 2007 movie 27 Dresses also used the location for filming. Showtime episodes of Brotherhood aired between 2004 and 2007 were shot entirely within the building. Literature references include Brown University collegiate reunions in The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger. Jeffrey Eugenides mentioned the hotel multiple times in his book The Marriage Plot set at Brown in 1982. Author Amanda Quay Blount published Meet Me At The Biltmore in 2022 to chronicle the hotel's storied past alongside Providence's highs and lows. Television series NOS4A2 featured the hotel as a scene in July 2020 on AMC.
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Common questions
When did the Providence Biltmore Hotel open to the public?
The Providence Biltmore Hotel opened on the 6th of June 1922 after a public campaign launched by the Providence Chamber of Commerce in 1921. One thousand eight hundred citizens contributed money to fund the construction costs for this neo-Federal Beaux-arts structure designed by Warren and Wetmore.
What happened to the Providence Biltmore during Hurricane Carol in 1954?
Hurricane Carol flooded Providence in 1954, leaving much of the lobby underwater with water reaching eight feet up the columns. A plaque now commemorates this high water mark on the lobby columns following the damage caused by the storm.
How many guest rooms does the current Graduate Providence hotel have today?
The building currently has two hundred ninety-two guest rooms after walls were knocked down from the original six hundred room design to create suites. The rooftop level Grand Ballroom can hold up to seven hundred fifty guests for events.
Who purchased the property when it was sold out of receivership on the 31st of May 2012?
Finard Coventry Hotel Management bought the property when it sold out of receivership on the 31st of May 2012 for sixteen million dollars. They invested another ten million dollars in renovations before the building joined Curio, A Collection by Hilton on the 16th of December 2014.
Which movies and television shows used the Providence Biltmore location for filming?
The hotel features prominently in the 2004 film The Last Shot directed by Jeff Nathanson and Anne Fletcher's 2007 movie 27 Dresses. Showtime episodes of Brotherhood aired between 2004 and 2007 were shot entirely within the building while the television series NOS4A2 featured the hotel as a scene in July 2020 on AMC.