Finch Hotel, 184 East Main Street, Spartanburg

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS SC-870. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

The Franklin Hotel, located on East Main Street in downtown Spartanburg, South Carolina, is signifi- cant both in local history and architecture. It was one of the leading hotels of the city during the early and mid-twentieth century and its archi- tectural design and details are excellent represen- tations of the period after World War I. Construc- ted between and for W. T. Finch, the hotel was built during a period of expansion and pros- perity for Spartanburg. The luxuriousness of the hotel was well-known and it was the center for community social occasions. FINCH HOTEL (Franklin Hotel) HABS No. (page 2) PART I. HISTORICAL INFORMATION A. Physical History 1.

Date of erection: The construction dates are clearly outlined in court testimony given by the building's Architect, Staten Peyton Tinsley. The Architect, Contractor, Subcontractors and Mo~tgage Holder had to sue the Owner on November 15, The following is the Architect 1 s 11 Itemized Statement": - To drawing, preparing and furnishing the plans and specifications by Tinsley, Architect, for the construe~ tion of the New Hotel Finch on East Main Street, and for repairs to and connecting the old Hotel Finch on South Liberty Street therewith. From May to February - To supervising the work done by Willard-Boggs and Company, Contractors, in build- ing the New Hotel Finch on East Main Street, and in repairing and connecting therewith the old Hotel Finch on South Liberty Street.

From May to October - To supervising the work and installation of the heating plant by E.L. Stallings Contractor. From June 21, to November 14, - To supervising the work of John s. Forrest, Plasterer. From February 17, to May 15, - To supervising the inside trim work as done by C. v. Tinsley et.al. From May, to February 17, - To supervising the work of Whit Houston, Superintendent of Construction. From the first of the year, up until the year, - To supervising the work of construction of the elevators by the Otis Elevator Company. From June 1, to April 8, - To supervising the installation of the conduits and electric wiring by the Brill Electric Company.

To preparing the plans and supervising the tile work by the Campbell Tile and Mantel Company during the years, and To preparing plans and specifications and for supervising the work as done by the R.O. Pickens Roofing Company from March 12, to August 24, FINCH HOTEL (Franklin Hotel) HABS No.

(page 3) To supervising the painting as done by Haynes, Painter, from September 1, to October 29, The above work was done by me as Architect and as General Supervisor in charge of the erection and construction of the New Hotel Finch Building on East Main Street and in the repairs to and connecting up with the old Finch Hotel Building on South Lib- erty Street, under a contract, and for which the said Fin1~) is due me, the said Tinsley, the sum of------$10,000.00." Contemporary newspaper account tells us: a. By March "The cement frame of the new building is complete and work on the brick walls will start within a short time. . it ( ) 2 is likely the new part of the Hotel will be completed by early fall. b.

On August 20, "Work on Finch Annex still held up." This article states that the Hotel is up to the third floor and if a brick masons' strike had not stopped the work, the Hotel would be complete ( ) 3 in January of but that i t will be the summer before completion. 2. Architect: Staten Peyton Tinsley( 4 )was a local Spartanburg Archi- tect (born October 20, died October 23, buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Spartanburg). Mr. Tinsley is listed in the Spartanburg City Directory as an Architect from until His wife, Sue B. Tinsley, is listed in the City Directory as the widow of Tinsley. In his testimony during a law suit, in Spartanburg County Court of Common Pleas on February 15, Mr.

Tinsle~ ytated he was the Architect of the building and began plans in 5 He also stated he was owed and had not been paid any money for his services. His last day on the job was the 29tg)of October when he said the building was 80% to 90% finished. 3. Original and Subsequent Owners: In Finch purchased a tract of land on East Main in order to enlarge the Hotel he operated on an adjacent tract. The original Finch Hotel w1~ loca- ted at 123 South Liberty Street and began operation in ) Finch mortgaged himself heavily to Frank Hodges, a local businessman and continued to try to finish the Hotel project. The unfinis~91 Hotel was sold at Public Auction to Frank Hodges for Hodges later named the building "The Franklin Hotel" and operated the Hotel for over forty years.

The Hotel was sold to the Caine Company of Greenville, in the and became a b~ffi1ing house with eighty of its two hundred rooms occupied in In August the City of Spartanburg purchased the Hotel and the structure is slated for demolition in September to make room for a high rise office complex. FINCH HOTEL (Franklin Hotel) HABS No. (page 4) 4. Builder, Contractor, Suppliers: See Section'.l (Date of Erection) for a list of persons supervised during construction. 5. Alterations and Additions: The building contains only one major architectural alteration. Originally the central ceiling bay of the first floor Lobby opened into the second floor sitting rooms. A handrail between the four central columns formed a balcony.

This feature seems to have been removed at an early date as the floor tile used to infill matches the original closely. Walls were placed between the two western columns and the southern columns to form two separate sitting rooms. B. Historical Context The Finch Hotel (Franklin), located on East Main Street in downtown Spartanburg, South Carolina, was one of the leading hotels of the City during t~IlTarly and mid-twentieth century. Constructed between and 'the hotel was erected during a period of rapid com- mercial and industrial growth. The luxuriousness of the hotel was well known and it became the center of social occasions. The hotel was so costly to build that the owner, Finch (born September 9, died May 20, forced to sell the hotel in order to pay off construction costs.

Finch, a native of Spartanburg, built a hotel in on South Liberty Street. A description of this hotel can be found in a folder marked "Hotels" in the Spartanburg County Library. Mr. Finch is described thus: "He has by his note- worthy energy and enterprise made and gained an excellent reputation in all circles for his kind, courteous and genial attention to his guests." Between and the early under the ownership of Frank Hodge, the Franklin Hotel was a leading social center for the comunity. The first floor contains a commodious dining room and on the sixth floor a bailroom was located. These spaces were the for many civic and school dances as well as other celebrations.

Nearby Converse College had a leading school of music in the Southeast, and noted symphony and opera companies who played at the college would stay at the Franklin. National, state and local political leaders also were guests at the Franklin during these years. After the fortunes of the hotel declined with the lessening of railroad traffic and decreasing business activity on Main Street. The Franklin was sold to a Greenville Company and it became used as a home for the elderly. In the hotel closed its doors to guests. De- terioration of windows and doors later provided accommodations to flocks of pigeons and an occasional barn owl. FINCH HOTEL (Franklin Hotel) HABS No. (page 5) PART II. ARCHITECTURAL INFORMATION A. General Statement 1.

Architectural character: This structure is a prime example of creative eclectic architecture married to functional commer- cial architecture. The front facade exhibits Greek doric columns of colossal size surmounted by a metoped and trigiyphed entabla- ture three times smaller than would be proper if classically pro- portioned. The fourth through sixth floor front facade is a mixture of Renaissance and Venetian architectural details with a heroic scaled bracketed dentliculated cornice above. The other three facades are purely functional commercial in style. 2. Condition of fabric: The building is in a bad state of dis- repair. The original sixth floor cornice has been removed because it threatened life safety. Windows and interior wall finishes are badly deteriorated. B.

Description of Exterior 1. The building is tee-shaped and measures long. The first quarter of the building is 50' wide and then narrows symmetrically to in width. 2. Foundation: Unknown. 3. Walls: The walls are reddish brown brick. The north elevation is three bays in width and contains many terra cotta decorative ele- ments. This facade is dominated by a large two-story portico supported by Doric columns and features an entablature with triglyphs and metopes and a stepped parapet. The columns are fluted and sheathed with glazed terra-cotta tiles. The first floor has an original rounded arch entry- way with double doors, sidelights and a fanlight. The arched entryway is composed of terra-cotta tiles with a keystone.

The fanlight con- tains multi-colored stained glass with the letter "F" placed in the center of the glass arrangement. On either side of the entryway is a tri-part window also set within a rounded arch of terra-cotta tiles. These windows have a central one-over-one sash frame flanked by single pane frames. Above these windows are fanlights with stained glass similar in design to that at the entryway. The second story features a central doorway which opens onto an exterior balcony with an iron railing. This entryway has a central doorway with sidelights and a tri-part transom. The flanking two bays each contain rectangular one- over-one sash windows with small terra-cottal lintels. The upper four stories are symmetrical in their fenestration and decorative elements.

The upper facade is also three bays in width with two windows on the central bay separated from three flanking windows by terra-cotta piers. On the third and fifth stories the central windows share a pedimented FINCH HOTEL (Franklin Hotel) HABS No. (page 6) ,window head with windows on the adjacent bays containing window heads with alternating pediments and flat lintels of terra-cotta. The fourth and sixth stories have central windows with rounded arch molding and keystones. Flanking windows on these stories have matching arched window heads with keystones; many of these have become deteriorated. All windows on the upper facade are one-over-one sash with sills supported by paired brackets. 4.

Structural framing system: The Hotel is constructed of steel columns, fire-proofed with terra cotta tile and plaster surrounds supporting composite concrete and steel beams. The beams support a concrete and terra cotta tile floor system. The structural tem is similar to those developed in Chicago in the by William LeBaron Jenny 5. Porches: The doric porch on the north elevation has elaborate ceramic mosaic tile floors on both levels. The handrail on the first floor is made of brass tubing and the second floor handrail is made of vertically spaced square iron pickets capped by a brass tube. 6. Openings and Doors: See Item #3 above. 7. Roof: The structure has an almost flat roof. The cornice and roof work was applied by Pickens Roofing of Spartanburg.

The state- ment of their work is preserved in court records and reads thus: "April 29 "Contract on roof, as follows: Barrett Specification roof 63 squares Flashing to complete roof Counterflashing " " Main cornice, front & side returns Tin covering, main cornice Lower cornice & tin cover Down spout Labor on same from March, to Aug. 24, Contract Price C. Description of Interior 1. Floor plans: See attached plans (pages 10 thru 15) 2. Flooring: The floor of the first floor and the second floor sitting rooms are finished in hexagonal ceramic mosaic tile. Each guest room and all corridors have a wide border of hexagonal cer- amic tile and the inf il area of these spaces is concrete covered FINCH HOTEL (Franklin Hotel) HABS No. (page 7) with floral area carpets.

The ball room on the sixth floor is finished in 3" wide maple flooring wit1t a medium brown finish. 3. Walls and ceiling finish: The Lobby, Dining Room and one guest room on the northeast corner of the sixth floor have elaborate plaster cornices. They were applied in approximately sections. The walls and ceilings in all other areas are smooth plaster. The Lobby and second floor sitting rooms have tan marble wainscot up to about with a dark greenish black marble base. 4. Doors: The guest room doors are two panelaed with simple molded transomed frames. The doors from the Lobby to the dining room are mahogany doors with half panels of clear beveled glass. 5. Mechanical equipment: Heating. The building had steam heat- ing with a boiler in the basement and radiators in the rooms.

Elevator: An Otis elevator was installed in the original con- struction. A Greek key motif ran over the doors which were com- posed of 3 panels of mirrors. D. Site 1. The Franklin Hotel sits on a large lot between Main and Broad Streets. There are no outbuildings and the rear of the building is surrounded by a metal fence. FINCH HOTEL (Franklin Hotel) HABS No. (page 8) FOOT NOTES (1) Judgement RoJls Willard Boggs & Co. Vs. Finch et.al. Feb. Spartanburg County Records of Clerk of Court, Spartanburg Courthouse, Spartanburg, (2) Spartanburg Herald, March 8, p. 3. (3) Spartanburg Herald, August 22, p. 1. (4) Judgement Rolls p. (5) Ibid. P (6) Ibid. p. (7) Deed Book p.

Spartanburg Cotmty Records of Mesne Conveyance, Spartanburg County Courthouse, Spartanburg, (8) Spartanburg, City & Suburban Directoiry, Spartanburg County Library, Kennedy Room. (9) Deed Book p. Spartanburg County Records of Mesne Conveyance. National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form, Date Entered 28 July Finch Hotei~ Franklin Hotel. Judgement Rolls p. Ibid. p. Spartanburg Herald Journal, 2 September p. A-9. Judgement Rolls p. FINCH HOTEL (Franklin Hotel) HABS No. (page 9)

Bibliography

Spartanburg Herald. 8 March p. 3. Spartanburg Herald. 22 August p. 1. Spartanburg Herald. 24 October P 3 Spartanburg Herald Journal. 2 September P A-9. Spartanburg, Spartanburg County Courthouse. Records of Clerk of Court, Judgement Roal p. Spartanburg, Spartanburg County Courthouse Records of Mesne Con- veyance. Deed Book p. Deed Book p. Spartanburg, Spartanburg County Library, Kennedy Room, City and Suburban Directories PREPARED BY: Martin E. Meek, AIA TITLE: Architect AFFILIATION: Thomas Campbell Pr~dgeon, Inc. 735 East Main Street Spartanburg, Tel: DATE: 31 August FINCH HOTEL (Franklin Hotel) HABS No. (page 10) iii c. 0 - . . 0 .. :I 'c m E : Ill . c 0 .. en ::I Ill ' m Q, 0 .c ... rJ) .a m Basement m Scale: l" 20' FINCH HOTEL (Franklin Hotel) HABS No. (page 11) r: Ill .

.I: 0 ~ Ill Ill c. r: -. Q r: .. Ill First Floor Plan Scale 1 11 = 20' FINCH HOTEL (Franklin Hotel) HABS No. (page 12) e _a:_ -- . . - ,, .! e a:: at c: Second Floor Scale: 1 11 = 20 1 FINCH HOTEL (Franklin Hotel) HABS No. (page 13) E a: t ~ E a: E E a: a: E a: Third Floor Scale: 1 11 = 20 ' S1.11u:leck FINCH HOTEL (Franklin Hotel) fIABS No. (page 14) ,.; E a: E cc - - .. - -- - - - --- - . ; '' . -. . . ~ . - - .. T. - - 1 . - - " - - -- __ J - - - - - - -- t - - - .i . - E a: - --- ___ E a: E a: Fourth Floor & Fifth F1oor Scale: l" = 20' E e a: a: FINCH HOTEL (Franklin Hotel) HABS No. (page 15) E 0: - Cll m -- --- - -7 -. - - - - - { - - . i - - . - - - - - . i - e 0: E a: Sixth Floor Scale: 1" = 20 1