A HISTORIC RETROSPECTIVE OF THE COPLEY SQUARE HOTEL'S STORIED PAST.

The late 1800s

In the late 1880s, commercial development is just beginning in Back Bay along Huntington Avenue and only extends one block to Exeter Street. The Copley Square Hotel is the first hotel to be built in the area, opening on July 4, 1891, and anchoring what was then the furthermost corner of Back Bay.

The early 1900s

Presidential candidate William McKinley bases his New England election headquarters in the Copley Square Hotel. He will serve as the U.S. President from 1897 to 1901.

In 1912 the Boston Red Sox move from the Huntington Grounds, now part of the Northeastern University campus, to Fenway Park. Two years later, "Babe" Ruth joins the team. When playing in Boston the famous ballplayer stays at the Copley Square Hotel, the nearest lodging to the ball field.

In 1920 the Eighteenth Amendment is enacted, bringing Prohibition to the United States. The Copley Square Hotel becomes home to a basement speakeasy, accessed via a ladder through a secret entry within the lobby level drug store. The hotel opens a bar when Prohibition is repealed in 1933.

In the early 1930s the Copley Square Hotel is almost sold to the nearby Christian Science Church. To spiff up the property, all new plumbing and baths are installed.

The late 1900s

In 1948, The Saunders Family leases the hotel after poor management and shady business dealings cause the property to fall on hard times. After purchasing the property in 1951, immediate improvements include new wallpaper, carpeting, and - innovative for the day - leased black and white televisions. The Massachusetts Turnpike does not yet exist and Route 9 is the main artery into Back Bay. With little money for advertising, the hotel implements a marketing program targeting gas stations to distribute discount cards to motorists.

Better management, new service standards, and property improvements pay off. Within just a few years the Copley Square Hotel's room rate rises from $4/night for a single room and $6/night for a double, to $8/night for a single room and $10/night for a double.

In 1948 the popular Grill Room restaurant closes in the basement level of the hotel.

The hotel becomes a fashionable late night spot for after-theatre entertainment when the Backstage Room opens in 1949.

The legendary jazz club Storyville, founded by music impresario George Wein, opens in the Copley Square Hotel in 1948. Until it closes nine years later, Storyville will bring some of the biggest names in jazz to the Copley Square Hotel, including Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Sarah Vaughn, Ella Fitzgerald and more. Boston Red Sox great Ted Williams is a regular patron, and the only gentleman to break the jacket and tie dress code.

Storyville is originally located on the basement level of the hotel, but due to popular demand, moves to a more spacious site located off the lobby in 1952 in what was formerly The Music Box, a revolving bar and entertainment venue. The relocation makes it possible for Mahogany Hall, a Dixieland jazz club, to open in the vacated spot.

Still wildly popular, Storyville eventually closes in 1957 so George Wein can focus his attention on another pet project - launching the Newport Jazz Festival.

In 1950, the great Brinks Robbery sees armed gang members get away with $1.5 million, leaving few clues behind. Suspect "Specs" O'Keefe claims the Copley Square Hotel bar as his alibi, having misled the bartender regarding his arrival time there. Justice prevails, and O'Keefe is arrested before the statute of limitation runs out for the crime.

By the late 1950s, elevator operators are being displaced by automated equipment. The Copley Square Hotel has the distinction of being the last hotel in Boston to boast an elevator operator.

The Copley Square Hotel becomes one of the first hotels to lease out space to another restaurant company when Holocaust survivor Edith Ban relocates her fledgling restaurant, Café Budapest, to the hotel's basement in 1965. An exotic Hungarian menu, gypsy violins and the restaurateur's flamboyant personality create a recipe for success, and Café Budapest soon ranks as one of the city's leading restaurants, drawing notables like author Phillip Roth.

A time capsule containing then current stock prices for Fortune 500 companies is buried within a hotel column during the late 1980s, to be sealed for 50 years.

As recently as 1993, a limited number of accommodations with shared bathrooms and shower rooms are an option for guests seeking lower rates. The space is later reconfigured and remodeled to provide guest rooms with private baths.

Café Budapest closes in 2000 after 35 years of continuous operation.

Today

In January 2007, the Saunders Hotel Group sells the hotel to Capstar Hotel Company, and the property undergoes an 18 million dollar reinvention to reemerge in January 2009 as an urban chic boutique hotel for today's travelers. Hotel is managed by Interstate Hotels & Resorts.

Historic Distinctions

Oldest continually operating hotel in Boston until its closing in 2008 for renovations; although the Parker House claims this distinction, it was torn down in the mid-1920s and reopened in 1927.

1st hotel to lease television sets in the United States

1st hotel in Boston to offer in-room coffeemakers

One of the first hotels to lease out restaurant space to another company

Hotel guests received hot Boston Baked Beans delivered to their room within half hour of arrival

Last Boston hotel to have an elevator operator

Research Resources

Jeff Saunders - Hotel Memorabilia; 1913 Copley Square Hotel Reference/ Famous Golfers - Hotel Guests; Bildner, Phil, The Greatest Game Ever Played, Putnam Publishing Group, c2006. 1952 - 1957, Storyville Founder/ Jazz Impresario Autobiography Wein, George, Myself Among Others: A Life in Music, Da Kapo Press, ©2003; Massachusetts Lodging Association Library