WASHINGTON, D.C. May 22, 2024 ——— Historic Hotels of America®, an official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, is pleased to announce The 2024 Top 25 Historic Hotels of America Best of Adaptive Reuse list. A popular and creative approach to historic preservation, “adaptive reuse” saves unused historic buildings from demolition by rehabilitating and renovating them for a new purpose. Travelers can visit many historic inns, resorts, and hotels in the United States today because their owners chose to reimagine historic buildings in sustainable and creative ways. At Historic Hotels of America, adaptive reuse hotels offer travelers an immersive, authentic, and fun way to experience their next trip.
Released during Preservation Month, The 2024 Top 25 Historic Hotels of America® Best of Adaptive Reuse list spotlights 25 richly preserved historic buildings that were not originally built to be hotels. Historic Hotels of America guests can spend the night in former factories where Ghirardelli chocolate and world-class cork products were produced, or make a historic Masonic temple their home base while exploring New Orleans. One historic hotel featured on the list is a former junior high school that embraces its past with “hall pass” guestroom keycards and signature cocktails like the Prom Queen. Another historic hotel featured on the list is a former train station that curates train-car-themed suites, named after ticketing agents who once worked there. These hotels are living proof that historic buildings can serve contemporary needs while preserving their timeless character.
This month, the nation’s leading preservation nonprofit is shining a spotlight on the ways in which history and heritage are preserved in the United States, and on the people who are doing this important work. The theme this year honors “People Saving Places.” For more information, please visit HistoricHotels.org and sign up for Discover & Explore to stay up to date on news and special offers.
Fairfield Inn & Suites Madison Historic Eagle Cotton Mill (1884)
Madison, Indiana
Former Cotton Mill
Located on the banks of the Ohio River, Fairfield Inn & Suites Madison Historic Eagle Cotton Mill was built in 1884 as a cotton mill. Local builders Robert Rankin and James White constructed the Eagle Cotton Mill in 1884 to bolster Madison’s manufacturing economy. They used money raised through local subscriptions to purchase and relocate equipment from a Pennsylvania mill, and by the turn of the twentieth century, the mill was the city’s major industrial plant, with 400 employees producing muslin, canvas, and twine. The mill ceased operations during the Great Depression, and the building housed other manufacturing operations for another 50 years, producing shoes, canvas military goods, ice cream carts for vendors, and refrigerators. Despite its prime location, the building fell into disrepair, and was even listed on Indiana Landmarks’ 10 Most Endangered places list in 2013 and 2014. Preservation-minded investors soon saved the building, carefully renovating and restoring it. On the outside, the façade remains mostly the same, as a masonry company repaired more than a million original bricks, and new windows were installed within the original frames. Inside, the building retains its original wooden beams, where visitors can see where factory workers carved their names, and the names of their loved ones, into the wood. Original wood from the mill’s historic stairs was repurposed and installed as a statement wall behind the lobby bar. Complementing these historic features, the interior design and artwork highlight the building’s history. When the Fairfield Inn & Suites Madison Historic Eagle Cotton Mill opened, it won the Indiana Landmarks Renaissance Award, recognizing its physical and subsequent economic revitalization. Fairfield Inn & Suites Madison Historic Eagle Cotton Mill was inducted into Historic Hotels of America in 2023.
View The 2024 Top 25 Historic Hotels of America® Best of Adaptive Reuse Press Release Historic Hotels of America.
“Historic hotels preserve the past to serve the present, making them a beacon of sustainability, as well as fantastic destinations for solo travelers searching for new experiences, couples in need of a romantic getaway, and families setting out to make lifelong memories,” said Lawrence P. Horwitz, Executive Vice President, Historic Hotels of America and Historic Hotels Worldwide. “Historic Hotels of America applauds forward-thinking investors and hoteliers who see potential in historic buildings, as well as the guests who choose to stay at historic hotels. At Historic Hotels of America, the ‘people saving places’ are the guests, hotel staff, and the hotels’ communities, who support these special places throughout the year.”