Sir Walter Hotel Lobby
The Sir Walter Hotel is the last remaining grand hotel of the early 20th century in Raleigh.
The Only Hotel in Raleigh . . .
with radio and circulating ice water in every room–air conditioned restaurant–HOTEL SIR WALTER Garage adjacent–own laundry and valet plant–drug store–two fine restaurants, with orchestral music–Delightful tavern.
400 Rooms with Bath : Rates $2.50 upward
Raleigh’s Largest and Finest Hotel
Built in 1923, the Sir Walter Hotel was referred to as the “third house of government” for decades, as it served as a meeting place for state political activity. Â This postcard dates to after 1938, as it was that date when it underwent a massive renovation and saw an expansion to 400 rooms, as mentioned in the caption above.
The hotel went in to decline in the 1960s when the new Legislative Building was constructed and political activity moved out, along with a general postwar trend of hotels moving away from city centers and out toward the suburbs.
Unlike the Hotel Raleigh or Hotel Carolina, The Sir Walter still stands today on Fayetteville Street. The lobby shown in the first image is still largely intact. It was converted to senior housing in the 1970s.
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03/02/2012
Love this image!
Somewhere at home, there’s a photograph of me, my mom and my sister having a “ladies’ luncheon” (complete with white gloves) there, probably about 1966.
03/02/2012
It was, indeed, a grand hotel! I worked there in the mid 1960s as one of the night auditors. The Ball Room was absolutely beautiful with its huge crystal chandeliers. The elegant City Club occupied the entire top floor and served Raleigh’s elite — luncheons and lavish dinners. There was nothing like it anywhere else in Raleigh or its environs.
03/02/2012
I have a couple of pieces of furniture from one of their rooms that my dad bought back in the 60’s.
03/03/2012
The Sir Walter Coffee Shop, in spite of its casual-sounding name, was actually a pretty classy restaurant…this was in the 1950’s when the downtown Balentine’s and S&W cafeteria were the main dining options. Occasionally as a special treat, my grandparents would take me to the Coffee Shop to eat and I’d feel very grown-up. It was definitely not a family-style restaurant. While my grandfather was never an elected official, he was a lobbyist of sorts and Sir Walter residents/politicians would often stop by our table to speak with him. I believe the late Coffee Shop is now a Chick-Fil-A. How times have changed….
03/07/2012
There was a restaurant in the ballroom as recently as the late ’80’s/early 90’s, because I remember eating there for work lunches when I first moved here and starting working downtown. You walked through the lobby (which looked nothing like the pic above) and up a stairs if I recall and the resturant was huge. I remember sitting by the tall windows looking out onto F. Street and the chandeliers. The food was nothing to write home about at that point. I always wondered why, if they allowed a public restaurant then, why no one has moved back into that spot now.
03/07/2012
I wasn’t aware that there was a regularly operating restaurant in the ballroom. You’re correct about accessing it via stairs from the lobby. I’m not sure if they had regular Sunday buffets there, but I do recall going there at least once for something like an Easter or Mother’s Day buffet. This would have been about the same time frame you mentioned. Also attended a wedding reception there…maybe ’90-’91…and I’m almost positive the place had ceased operating as a hotel with guests by that time.
03/07/2012
I wrote above: “and I’m almost positive the place had ceased operating as a hotel with guests by that time (early ’90’s)”
My bad….I just reread the intro to this thread where it states that the hotel was converted to senior housing in the 1970’s. But as I said in my previous post, the ballroom was still available to rent for private events. I have no idea who was running the restaurant/food service at that time.
03/28/2012
I was on Ancestry.com today and found my grandfathers registration for the draft in 1940. It lists his place of employment as Sir Walter Hotel. It was awesome for me to google and find the above picture. (DMB)
03/29/2012
Mrs. Barber, What was your grandfather’s name? I may have known him…I’m 74 years old and worked there in the mid 1960s as one of the Night Auditors.
03/29/2012
Mrs. Barber, please ignor my comment. You said he worked there when he registered for the military in 1940. I was just 2 years old.
08/11/2012
Many people are familiar with the “Eloise of the Plaza” stories about a little girl who lived in the Plaza Hotel in New York. You could say that I am the “Eloise” of the Sir Walter because I lived in the hotel from the time I was born until I was about 16. My father was the manager of the Sir Walter, and we had to live in the hotel because he was basically on duty 24/7/365.
My dad was the manager during the golden era of grand hotels, not just in Raleigh, but across the entire country. And the Sir Walter was one of the grandest south of DC. I remember the white glove service mentioned above, as well as real crystal, china and silverware in the Coffee Shop. At one time, diners could enjoy their meal accompanied by live organ music. Many wedding receptions were held in the elegant ballroom.
The hotel played host to most of the visiting dignitaries visiting Raleigh, including Presidents, several movie stars, and most of the legislators from out of town when the NC General Assembly was in session. In fact, it used to be said that more bills were passed or defeated in the halls and rooms of the Sir Walter than at the legislature.
And let’s not forget that all of the debutantes and their escorts stayed at the Sir Walter every year not only because of its character and service, but also because it was so close to Memorial Auditorium where their annual ball, their formal entrance into society, was held.
If anyone else remembers the Sir Walter from this time and would like to swap stories, I would love to hear from you.
12/25/2013
Does anyone remember the names of the restaurants in the hotel?
07/02/2014
I enjoy looking at what pictures still remain my grandfather ran an area too tabu to mention. i am looking for anyone that may recall him there his name was Ed Brown. He worked there in the late 40s to early 50s. didn’t expect it to be as nice considering his position existed at the hotel.
02/25/2021
Does anyone know if the hotel had a shoe shop? My great grandfather listed his employment there in an 1935 Hill’s Raleigh Directory. I can’t find record of it anywhere.