American_House_(Boston)
American House (Boston)
Hotel in Massachusetts, United States
The American House (established 1835) was a hotel in Boston, Massachusetts, located on Hanover Street. Abraham W. Brigham,[4] Lewis Rice (1837–1874),[5][6][7] Henry B. Rice (1868–1888),[8][9] and Allen E. Jones (c. 1921) served as proprietors.[10] In 1851 the building was expanded,[11] to a design by Charles A. Alexander. In 1868 it had "the first hotel passenger elevator in Boston."[12] By the 1860s it also had "billiard halls, telegraph office, and cafe."[13] In the late 19th century it was described as "the headquarters of the shoe-and-leather trade" in the city.[14] Guests of the hotel and restaurant included John Brown,[15][16] Ralph Waldo Emerson,[17] William Whitwell Greenough,[18] Charles Savage Homer,[19] Zadoc Long,[20] and George Presbury Rowell.[21] Many groups held meetings there, among them: Granite Cutters' International Association of America,[22] Letter Carriers' Association,[23] National Electric Light Association,[24] and New England Shorthand Reporters' Association.[25] The hotel closed in 1916, and re-opened under new management in 1918.[1] It permanently closed on August 8, 1935,[26] and the building was shortly afterwards demolished to make room for a parking lot.[27][28][29] The John F. Kennedy Federal Building now occupies the site.[30]
