Historic buildings become hotels and drive local development

Kimberly Christner, President and CEO of Cornerstone Hospitality – Sandy Hausman / RadioIQ

Country music is central to a boutique hotel in Bristol, Virginia. It’s called Sessions and it’s not far from the Carter family home. In 1927 a big city producer came to Bristol and spent two weeks recording 19 bands and individuals including the Carters.

Kimberly Christner, CEO of Cornerstone Hospitality, says there’s a record hanging outside each room with the lyrics displayed inside. Old microphones, record players and radios decorate the place., and country music plays in the lobby.

Fifty miles north, in the tiny town of St. Paul, Virginia a hotel called The Western Front celebrates the Clinch River and the chance to hike, paddle a kayak or go fly fishing nearby,

A wall of the Craddock Terry's lobby displays shoes made in the historic building

And on the banks of the James River in Lynchburg, you’ll find another Cornerstone property.The Craddock-Terry Hotel occupies the former home of an eponymous factory with high ceilings and brick walls.

"I think they were the fifth largest shoe manufacturer in the world, and they did all of the shoes and boots for the war, and then back in the 80’s – when mass manufacturing started to take over – that’s when Craddock Terry went away," Christner says.

Cornerstone bought and renovated the property, opening in 2008.

"Downtown was pretty desolate. Like a lot of buildings were vacant," she recalls.

In those days people were still booking through travel agencies or calling hotels directly. The Craddock-Terry built its business on the Internet, and within five years it was filling most of its 44 rooms on average. It capitalized on history with a shoeshine stand in the lobby, a display of shoes produced there on one wall, breakfast delivered in a wooden shoeshine box, and a giant red high heel out front. You can actually sit in. It’s part of the Love Art Series for Virginia.

The company also had a hand in Farmville’s historic Wyanoke Hotel and Wythville’s Bolling Wilson, named for President Woodrow Wilson’s wife who grew up there.

"Her father was the judge in town, and they used to have tea parties during prohibition, and in the teacups was bourbon, so we have a bourbon floor," Christner explains. "The grandmother across the street used to have pet canaries, and so we have a canary floor, and when Edith Bolling Wilson was dating president Wilson he gave her fresh orchids every day, so we have an orchid floor. + And then the restaurant we named Graze on Main, and the reason we did that was because when she was in the Whitehouse it was during the depression, and she brought sheep to graze on the Whitehouse lawn."

These details are important to a generation posting unique adventures on Instagram.

"In this day and age, I think people are wanting to have experience. They’re craving something that stimulates them. 17:40 – You may not want a history of a building when you come, but we have things around the building that make you say, ‘Why is that there?’ Or ‘What is that?'" Christner says. "Guests actually go online and they boast stories about this, so they’re telling our story for us."

Because they’re small, each property puts a premium on service – making an effort to remember guests each time they come back, and welcoming their pets with treats and toys.

"And at Craddock Terry we actually have a pet that stays with us on property," she adds. "Our first wire-haired fox terrier was Buster Brown, appropriately named, and now we have Penny Loafer."

These boutique hotels are beloved by local residents – their restaurants patronized on special occasions, their spaces settings for special events.

"At Christmas we have the downtown tree in the middle of our parking lot, so it’s packed down here. We get a lot of people who want to come and take their family pictures for Christmas in our lobby."

Historic hotels and restaurants — like Shoemaker's in Lynchburg — are popular spots for locals to celebrate special events.

And there’s one more reason to celebrate historic boutique properties. They serve as economic engines for small cities and towns – generating thousands of dollars in sales and property tax revenues.

"Not only that, but most of the time these projects come in before a lot of other things happen, so in downtown Lynchburg we came in first, and if you look at the bluff walk, and you see all of the restaurants and the living that’s downtown, + the Craddock-Terry was the catalyst for that."

One more sign of its success will soon be visible as the Craddock-Terry Hotel expands --- more than doubling its capacity.