Timing Can Be Everything!

by Danny Summers

This story begins in the late 1920s with John Josiah Emery Jr., the son of a successful Cincinnati business family who made a fortune in Cincinnati’s rugged stockyards. The Emery family's success began in Cincinnati as early as 1840 when Emery's grandfather developed a successful lamp oil business which lead to candle making and continues even today as Oleo Chemicals. It is known for its best-in-class natural-based chemical solutions.

Emery dreamed of constructing the tallest building west of the Alleghenies. He hoped that his novel building would function as a “city within a city,” in which everything from boutique shops to office space could be found inside. He even planned on opening a luxurious new hotel within the structure that would rival the Waldorf Astoria.

The ‘20s were still roaring when Emery unveiled his plans for this new skyscraper which would be several years prior to the opening of one of its rivals, New York City’s Rockefeller Center.

But Emery struggled with attracting financing from the local banks and investors and by 1929, against the advice of his own accountants, he decided to liquidate his investments to build his dream. Construction began in September 1929.

Just weeks later was the Stock Market Crash in October 1929. Emery's dream and commitment to see it through made it possible. If he had hesitated or had doubts, Carew Tower (and the Netherland Hilton Hotel) may never have been built and he would have lost all his investments, like so many during that time!

During The Great Depression, this project provided jobs for hundreds. In all, it cost Emery and his business partners some $33 million (estimated in today's dollars at $572,766,140) to completely fund the whole venture. But it was well worth it. When the building finally opened at the beginning of 1931, it stood as a magnificent tribute to Art Deco architecture.

Just like Hotel DuPont that The Group experienced in Wilmington, DE during The Fall Event 2021, the Netherland Hilton Hotel has attracted some of the most famous guests.

Shortly before becoming Great Britain’s Prime Minister in World War II, Sir Winston Churchill spent a few days at the Netherland Plaza during the late 1930s. Upon seeing his suite, he telegraphed its design specifications to builders in England so that they could reproduce it in his own personal manor. Elvis Presley also frequented the hotel whenever he was touring this portion of the country. In one such memorable occasion, Presley implored the hotel’s chef to cook him an impromptu meal. Against the chef’s better judgment, he made the musician a hamburger that Presley said was the best he had ever eaten. And Bing Crosby loved walking through the Netherland Plaza’s central lobby. When warned to take an alternative route away from the space to avoid a massive crowd, he replied: “When they stop recognizing me, I’m in trouble.” He then hopped on top of his convertible parked outside and sang a few songs for the gathering.

When the Netherland Plaza opened in 1931, critics raved that it “challenged the splendor of King Solomon’s Temple.” The hotel features the lavish use of rare Brazilian rosewood, marble, custom nickel-silver fixtures, and décor of stylized Egyptian and floral motifs. The hotel’s fine murals, Rookwood Pottery fountain, and exquisitely restored public spaces, including the famed Hall of Mirrors (pictured above), are some of the world’s most remarkable French Art Deco treasures.

In its 90+ years, the Netherland Hilton Hotel has received countless accolades for its world-class hospitality and unrivaled historic grandeur. In 1985, the Netherland Plaza Hotel and Carew Tower earned National Historic Register and National Landmark status from the U.S. Department of the Interior and today is named in the Historic Hotels of America Top 25 Lists, just like Hotel DuPont.

Just as in John J. Emery's story... Timing can be Everything!

If you're wondering why I am sharing this "timely" story with you, here's the rest of the story...
The Netherland Hilton Hotel will be the site for The Fall Event 2023!

The Hall of Mirrors, one of its most famous ballrooms, will be just one of our function spaces. Just like Hotel DuPont, we will feel we have been transported back in time to an experience seldom seen today. With the exception of maybe its small "historic" bathrooms, the feeling will be grand!

Timing Can Be Everything, and beginning today we welcome you to Register for The Fall Event 2023! Our registration is now open and you can reserve your room(s) at The Netherland Hilton Hotel! Just follow this link to get started.

Attending The Fall Event 2023 can be the perfect timing for you, your team and your Center!

Mark your calendar for September 25-28... you'll be busy and out of town!