At 11 Dorrance Street on the southern corner of Kennedy Plaza, your Graduate by Hilton Providence opened in 1922 as the Providence Biltmore Hotel. Imagine the city rallying around this ambition: the Providence Chamber of Commerce conceived the project and a public campaign raised the funds, with 1,800 citizens contributing toward construction. Management was awarded to the Bowman-Biltmore Hotels chain, founded by John McEntee Bowman and Louis Wallick.
The building itself was designed in a neo-Federal Beaux-arts style by the firm Warren and Wetmore, the same architects who designed Grand Central Terminal. It opened to much fanfare on June 6, 1922, and for years it stood as the city’s second-tallest building after the Rhode Island State House, until the Industrial Trust Tower rose six years later. Recognized for its history, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977 and is a member of Historic Hotels of America, the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Notice Kennedy Plaza and the skyline that once made this building the city's second-tallest.