Divine Lorraine Hotel
Photo cred:seedsgallery.com
If you were raised in Philly, you have seen the Divine Lorraine Hotel plenty of times. It's that huge abandoned building adorned with graffiti located on Broad and Fairmount; it’s been an eyesore since I can remember. I always wondered what it looked like before and if squatters lived in it once it closed down. I also wondered why the city never tore it down or why someone never bought it and renovated it. I dreamt if I had the money, I would turn it into an apartment building or better yet back to a hotel. However, I'm happy to say someone has finally stepped up to revive the Divine Lorraine Hotel.
6abc.comAccording to phillyhistory.org, the hotel known as the Lorraine Apartments and the Lorraine Hotel. It was designed by architect Willis G. Hale and built between 1892 and 1894. Philadelphia’s wealthy residents once resided in the apartments. In 1948 the building was sold to Father Divine, civil rights leader and the leader of the Universal Peace Mission Movement. Father Divine then renamed it the Divine Lorraine Hotel. It was the first hotel in Philadelphia to be racially integrated. “Divine’s followers ran the hotel after his death until its sale in 2000.”
6abc.comAccording to the Inquire, recently Billy Procida a real estate lender from NJ agreed to lend $31.5 million to start renovations on the building. He will partner with Eric Blumenfeld of EB Realty Management Corp. Blumenfeld plans to turn the old hotel into an apartment building with “126 rental apartments and 21,000 square feet of commercial space”. He also plans to apply for a $5 million state grant from Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP). They apartments are said to start at $1400 but I'm sure with most rentals in the area and property taxes going up in Philly, it may be a little more when the project is complete. I'm excited to see how everything turns out!!
6abc.com
This is great! I always wished I could have seen what it was like when it was open and running and beautiful. It's a shame such a beautiful example of architecture sat vacant for that long. They should do something with it, it's a piece of Philadelphia history!!!
ReplyDeleteThis is great! I always wished I could have seen the Divine Lorraine when it was up and running. It's a shame such a beautiful piece of architecture sat for that long. NEXT UP...... The Uptown Theater!!!! I hope.
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