List of African American hotels, motels, and boarding houses explained

African American hotels, motels, and boarding houses were founded during segregation in the United States, offering separate lodging and boarding facilities for African Americans. The Green Book (1936–1966) was a guidebook for African American travelers and included hotel, motel, and boarding house listings where they could stay.^[1]

Alabama

• A.G. Gaston Motel in Birmingham, Alabama^[2]
• Dunbar Hotel in Birmingham, Alabama; in the Fourth Avenue Business District^[3]
• Hotel Ben Moore in Montgomery, Alabama^{[4] [5]}
• Holiday Inn in Tuskegee, Alabama

California

• American Hotel in Los Angeles, California^{[6] [7]}
• Booker T. Washington Hotel (formerly Hotel Edison) in San Francisco, California^[8]
• Buford Hotel in Western Addition, San Francisco, California
• California Hotel in Oakland, California
• Douglas Hotel in San Diego, California^[9]
• Dunbar Hotel in Los Angeles, California
• Powell Hotel in the Financial District, San Francisco, California
• Pullman Hotel at 236 Townsend Street in SoMA, San Francisco, California^[10]
• Madame C.J. Walker Home for Girls and Women in San Francisco, California; in the Lower Pacific Heights
• Scaggs Hotel in Western Addition, San Francisco, California

Colorado

• Rossonian Hotel in Denver, Colorado
• Winks Panorama near Pinecliffe, Colorado

Florida

• Dunbar Hotel in Gainesville, Florida
• Georgette's Tea Room House in Miami, Florida
• Colson Hotel in Sarasota, Florida^[11]
• Mary Elizabeth Hotel in Overtown, Miami, Florida; owned by William B. Sawyer^[12]
• Hampton House in Miami, Florida
• Jackson Rooming House in Tampa, Florida
• Rogers Hotel in Central Avenue in Tampa^[13]
• Lewis Colson's Colson Hotel at 1428 Eighth Street in Overtown, Sarasota, Florida^{[14] [15]}
• LaFrance Hotel in Delray Beach, Florida
• Ward Rooming House in Overtown, Miami, Florida

Illinois

• DuSable Hotel in Chicago, Illinois;^[16] likely named for Jean Baptiste Point du Sable
• Pershing Hotel in Chicago, Illinois^[17]

Kentucky

• Hotel Metropolitan in Paducah, Kentucky
• Hotel Southern Queen in Bowling Green, Kentucky

Michigan

• Gotham Hotel (Detroit, Michigan) in Detroit, Michigan^[18]

Mississippi

• E. F. Young Hotel in Meridian, Mississippi^[19] owned by E. F. Young Jr.
• Queen City Hotel (Mississippi) in Columbus, Mississippi^{[20] [21]}
• Riverside Hotel in Clarksdale, Mississippi
• Summers Hotel and Subway Lounge in Jackson, Mississippi

Missouri

• Douglas Hotel in St. Louis, Missouri^[22]
• Streets Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri

New York

• Marshall Hotel (New York City) in New York City, New York^[23]
• Hotel Theresa in Harlem, New York City, New York

North Carolina

• Greensbook Hotel in Greensboro, North Carolina^[24]
• Magnolia House in Greensboro, North Carolina^[25]
• Rhone Hotel in New Bern, North Carolina^[26]

Ohio

• Edgemont Inn in Cincinnati, Ohio^[27]
• Manse Hotel in Cincinnati, Ohio
• Majestic Hotel (Cleveland, Ohio) in Cleveland, Ohio^{[28] [29] [30]}
• Collingwood Motel in Toledo, Ohio^[31]

Oklahoma

• Gurley Hotel in Tulsa, Oklahoma; owned by Ottawa W. Gurley^[32]
• Stradford Hotel in Tulsa, Oklahoma
• Littlepage Hotel in Deep Deuce, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

South Carolina

• Ebony Guest House, Florence, South Carolina^[33]
• Pine Tree Hotel in Mosquito Beach, South Carolina^[34]
• James Hotel (or St. James Hotel), in Charleston, South Carolina

Tennessee

• Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee
• Mitchell Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee

Virginia

• Hotel Dumas in Roanoke, Virginia^[35]
• Eggleston Hotel in Jackson Ward, Richmond, Virginia

Washington, D.C.

• Wormley Hotel in Washington, D.C.
• Shakespeare House in Washington, D.C.^[23] (Grace Nail Johnson was part of the family)

Wisconsin

• Dietz home, or Casablanca Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin^[36]

Other areas

• Phyllis Wheatley House in Minneapolis, Minnesota;^[37] named for Phillis Wheatley
• Golden West Hotel in Portland, Oregon^[38]
• Douglass Hotel in Macon, Georgia
• Hotel Lincoln in Baton Rouge, Louisiana^[39]
• Powell Hotel in Dallas, Texas^[40]
• Hill Top House Hotel in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia; African American owned hotel

See also

• African American resorts
• African American businesses
• Chitlin' circuit

Notes and References

1. Web site: The Green Book Guide to North Carolina. Mark. Kemp. August 26, 2020. Our State.
2. Web site: July 5, 2024 . A. G. Gaston Motel Restoration . Putting People First . Official Website for the City of Birmingham, Alabama.
3. Web site: Dunbar Hotel Building Urban Impact Office, Historical Marker . HMDB.
4. Web site: Ben Moore Hotel .
5. Web site: Ben Moore Hotel and the Rooftop Garden Restaurant .
6. Book: Tales of the American: The Story of the American Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles . 2018 . Indie Rights Incorporated (earlier Nelson Medison) . 9781350901155.
7. Web site: Thomas . Sean P. . 28 March 2018 . The Arts District's American Hotel is the Subject of a New Documentary . Los Angeles Downtown News.
8. News: Nolte . Carl . March 2, 2019 . Green Book detoured Bay Area’s black travelers around racism . The San Francisco Chronicle.
9. Web site: Saito . Leland T. . African Americans and Historic Preservation in San Diego: The Douglas and the Clermont/Coast Hotels . The Journal of San Diego History.
10. News: Fulbright . Leslie . February 16, 2009 . Some S.F. African American history landmarks . SFGate.
11. Web site: Sarasota Historic Preservation Board Denies Permit to Demolish Historic Hotel Built During Segregation . 2024-10-06 . Sarasota Magazine . en-US.
12. Web site: Mary Elizabeth Hotel & Fiesta Club – Going Overtown . 2024-10-06 . en-US.
13. Web site: Historical Monument Trail : Visit . 2024-10-06 . thetampariverwalk.com . en.
14. Web site: Sunday Favorites: Newtown and Overtown. Merab. Favorite. February 12, 2017. The Bradenton Times.
15. Web site: Three pioneers who changed the face of Sarasota and Manatee counties. June 29, 2023. Your Observer.
16. Book: Writers of the Black Chicago Renaissance . 9780252093425 . Tracy . Steven C. . November 2011 . University of Illinois Press .
17. Web site: Wetli . Patty . 2019-02-20 . The Real 'Green Book' In Chicago: Vacant Lots Replace Black-Owned Businesses That Once Thrived In Bronzeville And Beyond . 2024-10-07 . Block Club Chicago . en-US.
18. Web site: Gotham Hotel | Historic Detroit .
19. Web site: Historic Mississippi Hotel That Served Blacks During Jim Crow Is Demolished. Booker. Jones. April 27, 2023.
20. Web site: Queen City Hotel. The Mississippi Blues Trail.
21. Web site: Ask Rufus: The Queen City Hotel . 30 September 2017 .
22. Book: Leaves of Healing . 1904 . Zion Publishing House . 804 . Google Books.
23. Book: The Negro in Business . 1907 . Hertel, Jenkins & Company .
24. Web site: History – The Historic Magnolia House. www.thehistoricmagnoliahouse.org.
25. Web site: One of America's Oldest Black-Owned Motels Reopens in North Carolina. Jasmine. Osby. August 4, 2023. Travel Noire.
26. Web site: Rhone Hotel | NC AAHC. aahc.nc.gov.
27. Web site: The Edgemont Inn - A tavern and boarding house listed in the "Negro Motorist Green Book".. Erena. Nakashima. Christina Hartlieb with research support from Hariett Beecher Stowe. House. Cincinnati Sites and Stories.
28. Web site: Majestic Hotel - "America's Finest Colored Hostelry". Shawn. Morris. Cleveland Historical.
29. Web site: Green Book Cleveland rewriting city's Black history, finding lost sites. cleveland com. Brenda Cain. February 25, 2022. cleveland.
30. Web site: Majestic Hotel. Green Book Cleveland. Team.
31. Web site: Safe travels: Exhibit explores the fabled Green Book. The Blade.
32. Web site: O. W. Gurley: The Visionary of Black Wall Street Tulsa . blackwallstreet.org.
33. Web site: Ebony Guest House (U.S. National Park Service) . NPS.
34. Web site: Pine Tree Hotel, Mosquito Beach, South Carolina . African American Heritage Preservation Foundation.
35. Web site: 2017-07-11 . Defining the Dumas Legacy . 2024-10-06 . The Roanoke Star . en-US.
36. Web site: Angst . Maggie . January 12, 2017 . Historic African-American sites in Milwaukee to get attention . Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
37. Web site: Hotels shut their doors to Black artists - Hennepin History Museum . 29 April 2022 .
38. Web site: Golden West Hotel . OregonEncyclopedia.org.
39. Web site: Where We Live . 2024-10-06 . Build Baton Rouge . en-US.
40. Web site: Simek . Peter . 2018-02-26 . Lost Dallas . 2024-10-06 . D Magazine . en-US.