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}} The Seelbach Hilton is a historic hotel in Louisville, Kentucky, founded by Bavarian-born immigrant brothers Louis and Otto Seelbach. It opened in 1905 as the ''Seelbach Hotel'', envisioned by the Seelbach Brothers to embody the old-world grandeur of European hotels in cities such as Vienna and Paris. To do so in early 20th century Louisville, they employed a French Renaissance design in constructing the hotel.〔Johnson, ''The Seelbach'', 18.〕 Louis was already a restaurant owner in Louisville when his brother Otto joined him from Germany around 1890, forming the Seelbach Hotel Co.〔Johnson,''The Seelbach'', 14–16.〕 The Company began construction on the hotel in 1903. The hotel was quickly regarded among the finest hotels in the United States and throughout its long history has been frequented by many notable Americans — for instance F. Scott Fitzgerald, who took inspiration from the Seelbach for a hotel in ''The Great Gatsby''. The hotel is part of the Hilton Hotels & Resorts chain. == History == Louis Seelbach and his brother Otto emigrated from Frankenthal, Germany, a small, rural town in Bavaria. Louis Seelbach arrived in Louisville in 1869 at age 17, shortly after reaching the United States. He worked in the first Galt House for a time upon his arrival, but after turning 22 in 1874, he realized that he had greater ambitions. He opened the Seelbach Bar & Grill that same year, and quickly built it into a flourishing enterprise. The success of the restaurant in Louisville's quickly expanding population and economy allowed Louis Seelbach to bring his brother Otto from Germany to help open the first Seelbach Hotel in 1891 above the bar & grill on 6th and Main.〔Johnson, ''The Seelbach'', 14.〕 The brothers were intent on building Louisville's first grand hotel: a hotel reflecting the opulence of European hotels. They purchased a piece of property at the corner of 4th and Walnut (now Muhammad Ali Blvd) Streets, broke ground in December 1903, and opened the doors on May 1, 1905, just in time for the Kentucky Derby.〔Johnson,''The Seelbach'', 16–18〕 On the opening day, over 25,000 people visited the hotel. The Seelbach hosted a gala that evening, with dinner parties in each of the 150 rooms.〔Johnson, ''The Seelbach'', 17.〕 The structure incorporated marble from Italy, Germany and France, along with wood from the West Indies and Europe.〔Johnson, The Seelbach, 20.〕 The hotel attracted large numbers of patrons in its first two years, and, luckily, the Seelbach Realty Company – formed in 1902 before the property purchase – had been planning from opening day to expand the hotel. On January 1, 1907, the second phase opened, raising the number of rooms to 500. The lower two floors of the ten-story structure were faced with stone, while the upper floors were brick. Work included enclosing the rooftop garden to allow it to be used as a winter garden.〔Johnson, ''The Seelbach'', 34.〕 This new and improved Seelbach regularly hosted guests of the Kentucky Derby. In 1925, Louis, president of the Seelbach Hotel Co., died, creating a need for new management. On April 1, 1926, Chicago-based businessman Abraham M. Liebling bought the hotel for approximately $2,500,000.〔Johnson, ''The Seelbach'', 39–40.〕 In 1929, he sold the hotel to the Eppley Hotel Company for $2,000,000.〔Johnson, ''The Seelbach'', 50.〕 Mr. Eppley, of Omaha, Nebraska, owned many hotels throughout the Midwest, but eventually sold The Seelbach Hotel and all his other properties in 1956 to the Sheraton Hotel Corporation (now Sheraton Hotels and Resorts) as part of a $30,000,000 deal. This made the Seelbach part of the second largest hotel sale in all of US history. The hotel became the ''Sheraton-Seelbach Hotel'' and later the ''Sheraton Hotel''. Sheraton sold the property in the mid 1970s and it regained the Seelbach name. Following a severe national economic slump in 1975, it was forced to close its doors after the owners went bankrupt. For a few years, it lay dormant. In 1978, Louisville native and Hollywood television actor, Roger Davis, intervened and restored the Seelbach. The work began in early 1979 and continued until the grand re-opening on April 12, 1982.〔Johnson, ''The Seelbach'', 56–68.〕 National Hotels Corporation, a subsidiary of Radisson Hotels and DoubleTree Hotels managed of the property which had regained much of its former reputation. The hotel has changed hands a number of times after its re-awakening. When MeriStar Hospitality Corp bought the hotel in 1998 and it became The Seelbach Hilton. The Seelbach is jointtly owned by Interstate Hotels & Resorts and Investcorp and operates under the Hilton flag. In 2009, the hotel finished its most recent renovation at a cost of $12 million. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Seelbach Hotel」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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