%0 Manuscript %A Bellevue Stratford Hotel (Philadelphia, Pa.) %G English %T Bellevue Memorabilia collection 1884-2005 %U http://hsp.org/sites/default/files/legacy_files/migrated/findingaid3078bellevue.pdf %X The Bellevue Stratford Hotel at the southwest corner of Broad and Walnut Streets in Philadelphia opened as a luxury hotel in 1904. First owned and operated by George C. Boldt, the hotel represented a union of the “old” Bellevue (at the northwest corner of Broad and Walnut) with the Stratford Hotel on the south west site, which was demolished for the Bellevue’s construction. The Bellevue Stratford, built in the French Renaissance style and now a national historic landmark, served for many years as a focus for hosting local, national, and international events with their attendant celebrities. Over the years the Bellevue Stratford, with its distinctive size and architecture, acquired another title, that of the “Grande Dame of Broad Street.” By mid century, however, the hotel exhibited signs of decline. In 1976, still failing, the hotel was closed by the Department of Health which found the Bellevue responsible for thirty-five deaths from Legionnaires’ Disease. There ensued over the next ten years several changes in management, and in 1986 new owners closed the hotel for major renovations, reopening it in 1989 as the Hotel Atop the Bellevue. Subsequent changes in management in 1996 altered its name to The Park Hyatt Philadelphia at The Bellevue. The Bellevue Memorabilia Collection consists mainly of photographs, postcards, hotel brochures, hotel event programs, newspaper clippings, as well as sketches and drawings of the building and its ornate fixtures. Portions of the collection served as part of an exhibit at the hotel showcasing the Bellevue’s history, which spanned the period from the 1900s to 2005. In addition, the collection includes publications relating to Boldt, the hotel itself, or well-know Philadelphians, as well as samples of the hotel’s cutlery, dinner plates, table linens, and promotional items. The additions to the Bellevue memorabilia collection include photographs, magazines, ephemera, postcards, clippings, building redesign proposals and floor plans, typescripts of reminiscences about the Bellevue, and the syllabus from an urban studies course entitled "Building Philadelphia's Brand." There are also notes and catalog and website printouts from Andrea Riso's research about the history of the Bellevue, and 25 CDs, most or all of which contain photos (apparently unidentified) related to Bellevue history. The additions consist of three boxes and date from circa 1896 to circa 2005.