On April 1, 1923 construction began on the Fort Sumter Hotel, 1 King Street Charleston, located at the southernmost tip of the peninsula. Guests were accepted in April of 1924 and the formal opening of the hotel was May 6, 1924. This Spanish Colonial-style building was designed by G. Lloyd Preacher of Atlanta, Georgia and built at a cost of $850,000. In 1973 the hotel was purchased for redevelopment from Sheraton Hotels for the same amount of $850,000 and converted to a condominium, the Fort Sumter House.
History of the Fort Sumter Hotel
At the turn of the century, the waterfront area of Charleston had been neglected for years and was made up of broken-down, deteriorated commercial wharves and marshes. However, in 1909 the city began an ambitious project to fill the area consisting of 47 acres around the southern tip of the Charleston peninsula and create scenic Murray Boulevard with a promenade along the battery under the direction of Robert G Rhett, the fiftieth mayor of Charleston. The City as part of this project sold 191 lots for homes to be built, constructed the seawall and donated the land for the Fort Sumter Hotel to be built. Continue reading