The King Edward Hotel has a long and storied history, having originally opened its doors as the Confederate House in 1861. The Civil War saw the destruction of the Confederate House, but it was rebuilt in 1867 and named for “Major” R.O. Edwards. The old hotel soldiered on until 1923 when it was replaced with the present building.
The “new” Edwards Hotel was built with the idea of capturing the flourishing railway trade from the station just across the street. No average railway hotel, however, the new Edwards would also capture the hearts of Jacksonians for generations to come. Everyone from Charles Lindbergh to Eudora Welty would pass through its doors into a lobby gleaming with marble and light filtered through elaborate stained glass skylights. The Edwards was more than just a hotel, servng as a showplace for the state. Indeed, the state legislature almost made its second home in the grand lobby. Cases of whiskey piled high didn’t make it any less comfortable for them.
The Edwards found itself falling out of fashion as the auto age advanced. A new owner, R.E. Dumas Milner, purchased the hotel in 1954 and decked its aaging halls with ornaments apropriate to the time. Even the name was changed to approximate enhanced grandeur...Milner affixed “King” to the Edwards and promised “royal service.” Escalators and auto-lobbies sprouted throughout. The grand rotunda was covered over to make way for an expanded ballroom. Milner even added a large swimming pool upstairs. These improvements may well have been necessary at the time, but they weren’t kind to the majesty of the building. The progress of one day is the refuse of the next.
The end came in July, 1967. E. Bill Green, General Manager of the hotel at the time, locked the doors and the once great Edwards descended into twilight and darkening gloom. Pigeons and transients were the only tenants for decades. Would the Edwards have a bright future? If many were to be believed, it wouldn’t. Calls for the implosion of the building rose to a crescendo before the City of Jackson finally took action in 2002. With the hotel under city ownership at last, something could now be done.
David Watkins, Deuce McAllister and Historic Restoration Inc. of New Orleans undertook the arduous task of restoring this handsome building in the late 2000s, with its grand opening having taken place in January 2010. The “King Edward” comprises a hotel (technically the Hilton Garden Inn Downtown Jackson), a bar, restaurant, coffee shop and 64 luxury apartments.
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