Hotel Latham
Hopkinsville, Christian County, Kentucky
Marker Inscription
Hotel Latham. Erected on this site, 1894, and named for Hopkinsville native and philanthropist, John C. Latham, Jr. Structure was Italian Renaissance style. It became a well-known tourist stop, social and civic center. Among its famous guests: Vice President Charles Curtis, William J. Bryan, John Philip Sousa, Ethel Barrymore, and Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker. Hotel burned, 1940.
Erected by Kentucky Historical Society
The Story
Built in 1894 and named for hometown philanthropist John C. Latham, Jr., this Italian Renaissance hotel became Hopkinsville's grand social and civic center and a celebrated stop for travelers. Its guest register read like a roster of turn-of-the-century America, from Vice President Charles Curtis and orator William Jennings Bryan to bandmaster John Philip Sousa, actress Ethel Barrymore, and aviator Eddie Rickenbacker. Fire destroyed the landmark in 1940.
Why it matters
The Latham captures the Gilded Age ambition of small American cities, whose grand hotels served as the stages where local pride met the celebrities and statesmen of the wider nation.
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Related people
- · John C. Latham, Jr.
- · Charles Curtis
- · William Jennings Bryan
- · John Philip Sousa
- · Ethel Barrymore
- · Eddie Rickenbacker
Themes & tags
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