Hotel Seville in Springfield

[White Rabbit]

Can anybody give me the general summary on the Hotel Seville? Like, when it was built, etc? (I know you gotta know this, Willard )

I haven't been by the place since last spring when I snuck in while they were doing renovations and took pictures. I imagine they've finished by now, right?

There's not much info about it online, and I'm trying to save myself a trip to the library so I can just put it on the site already. I've been sitting on the pictures for almost a year now

[Willard]

This much I can tell you, they are next to done with the renovations on the old hotel. I also know it was built before 1910, the exact date, I'm not sure on, but I'll do some research at my house and I'll let you know within the week.

[White Rabbit]

This much I can tell you, they are next to done with the renovations on the old hotel. I also know it was built before 1910, the exact date, I'm not sure on, but I'll do some research at my house and I'll let you know within the week.

Thanks, Willard. I even dug a little at the library one day, and couldn't find much info about the place (except for information about some killings that happened there a while back).

I figured they were about done with the renovations, too. I was there almost a year ago when I took my pictures, and even then they were pretty far along with gutting the place.

What I'd really like to know is what they did with the old Hotel Seville sign out front.

[Willard]

The sign is the same sign, they just had it repaired and repainted and made it say lofts instead of hotel... I think it looks rediculous but oh well... they did the same thing with the gaileys sign too... Oh! A guy I know who is with the Knights of Pythias (as am I) said he was the last person to keep it open... him and old lady gailey's son kept it open and they thought they were keeping it open for each other and come to find out neither one wanted to keep running the place.

[ann_marie]

Sorry to get off topic, but Willard what is the Knights of Pythias? I looked it up on Wikipedia but there isn't much except that it's a fraternal organization founded in Washington D.C. in 1864 and has over 2,000 lodges in the US and Canada with 50,000 members (in 2003).

I also read that it's dedicated to the cause of universal peace. Can you clear this up for me, sounds interesting.

[White Rabbit]

Oooo... Willard's one of those guys who's secretly taking over the world.

Kidding. My grandfather's a mason, though, so I've heard plenty of baloney stories about fraternal organizations.

Do you guys still have meetings in that castle thing? I'd love to get a look in there.

[Willard]

Actually the Knights of Pythias never originally had meetings in the castle... it was built as a home for orphans, widows, and the elderly. In the 1930's it was sold to the military for O'Rilley Military Hospital... only in the 1990's did it get sold back to suvillians (I are no spell). About the late 1990's there was a revival of the K of P in this area and they did for a short time meet in the castle and the guy that owned it at the time wanted to sell it to the K of P, but he was asking more they they had and more then what the building was worth at the time. Anyway I'll answer the rest of the question in a new thread and keep this one for the Hotel.

BTW! WB, I have a postcard of the lobby. I'll post it soon

[Willard]

Here's the postcard!

[White Rabbit]

Oooo. That's frickin' sweet. Can I put that on the site when I get the Hotel Seville section up?

[ann_marie]

How quaint.

[Willard]

You most certainly can, just let me know when you're ready and I'll send you the full sized file so you can mess with the size and detail however you like

[White Rabbit]

Awesome, thanks man

[ann_marie]

Willard - Here's a matchbook to go with your postcard.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... eName=WDVW

[Kit]

If this is the hotel i am thinking of we used to see naked people in the rooms when I worked downtown. That was before they kicked everyone out though

[White Rabbit]

Oh, man. I'm glad this thread got resurrected. I totally forgot that I've been sitting on the Hotel Seville pictures forever and haven't put them on the site yet.