I've looked and can't find a thing about it! The only things I find are about a hotel in New Orleans, and one in Detroit which was built in the 1920s. I'm afraid this elegant structure is another of those that 20th century American mod freaks have destroyed. One of the things I loved best about Europe is that they rarely demolish anything. They build everything extremely well and then just keep using it. There are buildings that were there many years before Columbus that are still in use today. The insides are remodeled, but the exterior stays the same. When we were there, in the 80s, there was a lot of scrubbing of old buildings going on, to remove soot buildup from centuries of heating with coal. They came out as good as new! I don't know why we can't do that here!

[This short-lived hotel, whose main deficiency was a dearth of private bathrooms, was demolished in 1920 and replaced by a bank. Its history can be traced right here on Shorpy, in both the photo captions and the comments. - Dave]

I think I would rather stay at the Metropole where all the windows have awnings.

Why the selective positioning of window shades on some windows and not others? More permanent residents or offices?