In conjunction with his upcoming book, Here Is Where: In Search of America's Great Forgotten History, we're following historian and Legacy Project founder Andrew Carroll as he drives, flies, walks, boats, buses, bikes, and hikes to seek out little-known historic sites in all 50 states. Bookmark all of his posts here.
Several weeks ago I mentioned my aversion to staying in "historic" hotels--until I spent a great night in Denver's Brown Palace, a building rich in regional and national history. Now I seek these hotels out whenever possible.
Last week I had a phenomenal stay at the Omni Parker House in downtown Boston, at the corner of Tremont and School streets. Founded in 1855, the Parker House boasts being "America's longest continuously operating hotel" and has hosted countless prominent individuals: Alexander Graham Bell, both Edwin and John Wilkes Booth, Charles Dickens, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Ulysses S. Grant, Martin Luther King Jr., Mary Todd Lincoln, Eleanor Roosevelt, and, of course, Boston's own Ben Affleck.
What most interested me about the hotel, however, was not its illustrious guests, but the individuals who have served there on staff.
About twenty-five years ago a budding opera singer who was studying at the New England Conservatory of Music worked the night shift as a telephone operator. Her name is Denyce Graves, now one of the world's most famous mezzo-sopranos.
Several weeks ago I mentioned my aversion to staying in "historic" hotels--until I spent a great night in Denver's Brown Palace, a building rich in regional and national history. Now I seek these hotels out whenever possible.Last week I had a phenomenal stay at the Omni Parker House in downtown Boston, at the corner of Tremont and School streets. Founded in 1855, the Parker House boasts being "America's longest continuously operating hotel" and has hosted countless prominent individuals: Alexander Graham Bell, both Edwin and John Wilkes Booth, Charles Dickens, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Ulysses S. Grant, Martin Luther King Jr., Mary Todd Lincoln, Eleanor Roosevelt, and, of course, Boston's own Ben Affleck.
What most interested me about the hotel, however, was not its illustrious guests, but the individuals who have served there on staff.
About twenty-five years ago a budding opera singer who was studying at the New England Conservatory of Music worked the night shift as a telephone operator. Her name is Denyce Graves, now one of the world's most famous mezzo-sopranos.
In the early 1940s a young man named Malcolm Little worked in the
restaurant as a busboy. He was arrested in 1946 for burglary and other
crimes (though not at the Parker House), went to prison, and became a
member of the Nation of Islam with a new name--Malcolm X.But by far the most surprising story concerns a baker, who, while in his early twenties, worked as a pastry chef in the Parker House's kitchen almost 100 years ago. Born in Vietnam in 1890, his name was Nguyen Tat Thanh, and he traveled throughout the United States in 1912 and 1913. He later returned to his homeland, became a revolutionary, and changed his name to Ho Chi Minh.
My only regret about my time at the Parker House was not being able to stay longer, but I'm in the final stretch of the 50-state journey so it's on to yet another destination....
Next week: The final blog--from New Orleans.
All photos and text © Andrew Carroll.
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