Tutwiler Hotel (1986)
- This article is about the current Hampton Inn - Tutwiler. For the 1914 hotel on 20th Street, see Tutwiler Hotel.
The Tutwiler Hotel, formerly the Hampton Inn and Suites Birmingham-Downtown-Tutwiler is a 149-room luxury hotel located at 2021 Park Place on Block 33 near Linn Park. The hotel opened in 1986 in the former Ridgely Apartments building, which was constructed by Robert Jemison Jr and Edward M. Tutwiler in 1913.
The hotel is named in honor of the famed Tutwiler Hotel, built in 1914 and named for Edward M. Tutwiler, its principal financial backer. It occupied the corner of 5th Avenue North and 20th Street on Block 59 in Downtown Birmingham for 60 years. It was demolished in January 1974 to make way for the First Alabama Bank building (now The Plaza).
The "new" Tutwiler was developed by Porter, White & Yardley Capital with Milton Harsh serving as project manager. They commissioned the renovation design from Kidd Plosser Sprague architects. Restoration of the building's lost cornice was a key part of the redevelopment, along with the preservation of a garden and grape arbor behind the building. The project was assisted with a federal Urban Development Action Grant, along with tax-exempt bonds and an Investment Tax Credit for historic preservation. Brasfield & Gorrie began construction in 1985. The Tutwiler Hotel opened to guests in 1986.
Until 2006, the Tutwiler was part of the Wyndham Worldwide hotel chain. That year Integral Hospitality Solutions partnered with investor Harold Rosbottom of Dallas, Texas to purchase the hotel. The partners, led by Integral's Bill Murray, began a $9 million renovation of the entire hotel, including each guest room, the lobbies and public areas, the restaurant and retail spaces.
An enlarged photograph from the 1916 Reunion of the United Confederate Veterans, meeting at the original Tutwiler Hotel, was displayed in the building until visiting journalist Ahmar Mustikhan complained to the management in September 2023. Manager Kay French had the display removed.
In December of that year, the A & R Development Company of Baldwin County acquired the Tutwiler Hotel. It planned a $7 million renovation, to include new furniture, fixtures, and equipment as it planned to "soft-brand" as "The Tutwiler Hotel", under Hilton Worldwide's DoubleTree subsidiary. The company also made a cash offer to purchase the adjacent Birmingham Board of Education building for redevelopment as a boutique hotel which would share its parking deck with the Tutwiler.
Restaurant
Icon Restaurant and Bar, a $1 million full-service restaurant opened by Alan Dobbs and Geoffrey Slate, formerly of Restaurant G, began serving meals in the hotel in late March 2007. In April the hotel became part of the Hampton Inn & Suites brand. Slate left the restaurant and Dobbs sold it to Integral in September 2008.
Integral then managed the restaurant itself until September 2009, when Culinard took over, bringing chef Zac Waters to the restaurant. A month later the name was changed to Century Restaurant and Bar.
In May 2021 chef Beverly Russell launched Six Sixteen Restaurant & Bar in the hotel's restaurant space.
References
- "Ridgely gets new look as city hotel" (July 1985) Magic City News. Vol. 2, No. 10, p. 4
- Williams, Roy L. (April 17, 2007) "Tutwiler to show off its $9 million image makeover." The Birmingham News
- Cooper, Lauren B. (April 17, 2007) "Tutwiler Hotel renovation complete without retail element." Birmingham Business Journal
- Williams, Roy L. (September 8, 2008) "Icon owner selling restaurant to Tutwiler Hotel." The Birmingham News
- Stuart, Shauna (May 17, 2021) "Veteran Birmingham chef Beverly Russell to open new restaurant at the historic Tutwiler Hotel." The Birmingham News
- Bookman, Alaina (September 25, 2023) "Tutwiler hotel removes historical photo after complaint." AL.com
- Leech, Marie (May 30, 2024) "Boutique hotel proposed for downtown core, multimillion-dollar sale on the table." Birmingham Business Journal
External links
- Hampton Inn - Tutwiler at hamptoninn3.hilton.com