The Chamberlin Explained

Chamberlin Hotel
Designated Other1:Virginia Landmarks Register
Designated Other1 Date:December 6, 2006[1]
Designated Other1 Number:114-0114
Designated Other1 Num Position:bottom
Location:2 Fenwick Rd., Fort Monroe, Hampton, Virginia
Coordinates:37.0011°N -76.3124°W
Architect:Wright, Marcellus E., Sr; Warren & Wetmore
Architecture:Beaux Arts
Added:March 21, 2007
Partof:Fort Monroe Historic District[2]
Partof Refnum:66000912
Nrhp Type:nhldcp
Nocat:yes
Designated Nrhp Type:October 15, 1966
Refnum:07000190

The Chamberlin is a retirement community in Hampton, Virginia, overlooking Hampton Roads at Old Point Comfort. It was formerly known as the Chamberlin Hotel, named for the famed restaurateur and original owner John Chamberlin. The nine-story building sits on historic Fort Monroe and overlooks Fort Wool. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it has been renovated from its former life as a hotel into a luxury retirement community for people aged 55 and up.

The second floor has retained the hotel atmosphere while the rest of the floors have been renovated and turned into one- and two-bedroom apartments. A few apartments are used as guest quarters for visiting relatives of residents.

The current building opened in 1928 as the Chamberlin-Vanderbilt Hotel,[3] under the direction of Marcellus E. Wright Sr., with Warren and Wetmore consulting.[4] It replaced an earlier Chamberlin Hotel, designed by Washington, D.C., architects John L. Smithmeyer and Paul J. Pelz and completed in 1896, which had in turn replaced the Hygeia. The current building originally had two large cupolas on its roof but these were removed during World War II because they were visible from out in the ocean beyond the Virginia Capes and it was feared that they could potentially aid a hostile German warship cruising offshore in targeting Fort Monroe. They were never replaced after the war.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Virginia Landmarks Register. Virginia Department of Historic Resources. 19 March 2013.
  2. Web site: Section 1C Fort Monroe National Historic Landmark District. Fort Monroe Authority. 28 July 2011. See page 1C.3, stating that under the closure programmatic agreement, the entirety of the Fort boundary is considered contributing.
  3. Web site: Stately face life for an old icon: The memorable Chamberlin Hotel is back in business.
  4. http://www.dhr.virginia.gov/registers/cities/hampton/114-0114_chamberlinhotel_2006_nrfinal.pdf National Register of Historic Places - Registration Form