by Stanley Turkel, CMHS
The history of Pinehurst began in 1895, when Bostonian James Walker Tufts, wealthy owner of the American Soda Fountain Company, purchased 5,800 acres of ravaged timberland in the sand- hills of central North Carolina. This land once held a flourishing pine forest that had been cut and deforested for its turpentine and building supplies. Tufts originally developed Pinehurst as a health resort for patients recovering from tuberculosis. After much of the construction had been completed, Tufts learned that tuberculosis was contagious and was forced to turn his new community into a leisure resort instead.
Tufts hired the land planning firm headed by Frederick Law Olmsted, designer of Central Park and Prospect Park in New York and the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. By the end of 1895, Tufts had completed a general store, dairy, boarding house, more than 20 cottages and the Holly Inn. The Pinehurst Hotel opened in 1901 and became the center of such activities as riding, hunting, polo, lawn bowling, archery, bicycling and tennis.
Golf came to Pinehurst when Dr. D. Leroy Culver designed a rudimentary nine-hole course. In 1899, Pinehurst's first golf professional, John Dunn Tucker, was hired to add an additional nine holes to create Pinehurst's first 18-hole layout. Then, in 1900, Tufts hired Donald J. Ross, a young Scottish golf professional, who remained at Pinehurst until his death in 1948. Ross built a reputation as one of the foremost golf professionals and course architects who ultimately designed more than 400 golf courses throughout the North American continent.
Over the years, many other sports have hosted championships at Pinehurst including the U.S. Tennis Clay Court Championships, the U.S. Croquet Championship and the World Lawnbowling Championship. Today, Pinehurst is a quintessential resort encompassing three historic hotels, a wealth of recreational activities, and 2,000 beautiful North Carolina acres. Set in one of America's only National Landmark Districts, Pinehurst's wide verandas, walking trails and bucolic pathways wind through a scenic New England-style village.
In 2002, the new Spa at Pinehurst was one of the first spas in the South to receive the Mobil Four-Star spa designation.
The eight Pinehurst golf courses feature 144 golf holes and some of the best golf facilities in the world. Most of the greatest players have played Pinehurst: Harry Vardon, Bobby Jones, Gene Sarazen, Byron Nelson, Sam Snead, Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Johnny Miller, Tom Watson, Glenna Collett Vare, Babe Didrickson, Patty Berg and Louise Suggs. Pinehurst's No. 2 has been the site of the 1936 PGA Championship, the 1951 Ryder Cup Matches, the 1962 and 2008 U.S. Amateur Championships; the 1989 U.S. Women's Amateur Championship, the 1991 and 1992 TOUR Championships, the 1994 U.S. Senior Open, and the 1999 and 2005 U.S. Open Championship.
The Pinehurst Resort is a Four-Star, Four-Diamond full-service property that includes valet parking, bell staff, concierge, business center and meeting facilities. It is a member of Historic Hotels of America, the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
My Five Published Hotel Books
During the thirty years prior to the Civil War, Americans built hotels larger and more ostentatious than any in the rest of the world. These hotels were inextricably intertwined with American culture and customs but were accessible to average citizens. Stephen Rushmore writes in the Foreword: “Drawing from more than 40 years of industry experience including managing some of the largest New York City hotels, Turkel captures the spirit of each of these pioneers and relates their achievements to important lessons that we can learn from.”
These thirty-two featured hotels have defied the passage of time for a variety of reasons, many explicable, some beyond explanation, all miraculous. Bjorn Hanson, Ph.D. writes in the Foreword: “Stanley Turkel is unique in his passion about the history of the United States lodging industry; he pursues and shares this passion by compiling information about great hoteliers and hotels for articles, updates for his clients, and this, the second of his two hotel books.”
All the eighty-six hotels featured in this book have unique and singular stories describing their creation, survival and revival. The book contains eighty-six antique postcard illustrations and a Foreword by Joseph McInerney, President and CEO Emeritus of the American Hotel & Lodging Association: “Stanley Turkel is one of the best writers I know at capturing our history – the “old” – and infusing it with new life and relevance.”
Hotel Mavens tells the interesting stories of the following pioneers and the hotels they built and operated:
- Lucius Boomer, one of the most famous hoteliers of his time, was Chairman of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel Corporation.
- George C. Boldt who was the genius of the original Waldorf-Astoria. It was said of him that he made innkeeping a profession and, more than any man, was the creator of the modern American hotel.
- Oscar of the Waldorf was the superstar of his time and one of the stalwarts who managed both the original and the current Waldorf-Astoria.
Sam Roberts in the New York Times wrote:
"Nostalgia for the city's caravansaries will be kindled by Stanley Turkel's
"Hotel Mavens: Lucius M. Boomer, George C. Boldt and Oscar of the Waldorf".
The fact-filled book by Mr. Turkel, an industry consultant, explains, among other things, the history of the hyphen (recently excised) in the name of the Waldorf Astoria, which inspired a mid-block street and even a song."
Lawrence P. Horwitz, Executive Director, Historic Hotels of America, writes in the Foreword: “This book is an excellent history book with insights into seventeen of the great innovators and visionaries of the hotel industry and their inspirational stories.”
These important and largely unknown biographies include Stewart William Bainum, Curtis Leroy Carlson, Cecil Burke Day, Louis Jacob Dinkler, Eugene Chase Eppley, Roy C. Kelley, Arnold S. Kirkeby, Julius Manger, Robert R. Meyer, Albert Pick, Jr., Jay Pritzker, Harris Rosen, Ian Schrager, Vernon B. Stouffer, William Cornelius Van Horne, Robert E. Woolley and Stephen Allen Wynn.
All of these books can be ordered from AuthorHouse by visiting www.stanleyturkel.com and clicking on the book’s title.
Attorneys Take Note: For the past twenty-four years I have served as an expert witness in more than 40 hotel-related cases.
My extensive hotel operating experience is beneficial in cases involving:
- hurricane damage and/or business interruption cases
- slip and fall accidents
- wrongful deaths
- fire and carbon monoxide injuries
- franchisee/franchisor disputes
- management contract disputes
- hotel security issues
- dram shop requirements
Don’t hesitate to call me on 917-628-8549 to discuss any hotel-related litigation support assignments.
