Tim Furlong Jr.
Larry Johnson, longtime historian and master concierge of the elegant Seelbach Hilton Hotel in downtown Louisville, stood in the middle of the hotel’s 10th floor Grand Ballroom. Spiffily dressed in his work uniform, Johnson spoke of the famous people who have celebrated there. They have included presidents, movie celebrities and rock stars.
One of the most lavish affairs mentioned in the august room never actually took place but was immortalized in fiction in what some consider the greatest American novel—The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
The wedding of the fictional Tom and Daisy Buchanan in the Louisville hotel captured the affluence and decadence of the Jazz Age in the 1920s, underscoring the book’s moral of how illusory the dream can be that wealth can buy happiness.
Fitzgerald wrote about the wedding:
In June she married Tom Buchanan of Chicago with more pomp and circumstance than Louisville ever knew before. He came down with a hundred people in four private cars and hired a whole floor of the Seelbach Hotel, and the day before the wedding he gave her a string of pearls valued at three hundred and fifty thousand dollars.
Louisville is mentioned prominently in the 1925 masterpiece, probably because Fitzgerald was stationed at Camp Taylor in 1918 and often visited the lavish Seelbach Hotel with his buddies to dance with the girls, smoke cigars and imbibe whiskey.
Camp Taylor, named for former President Zachary Taylor, was a military base 6 miles southeast of downtown Louisville. Established in June 1917, it originally was a military camp. For a time, it was America’s largest military training camp, housing 47,500 men at one point. Bellarmine University is built on part of the location of the former Camp Taylor.
With the Seelbach Hotel’s prominence in the book—along with several other Louisville locales—the city is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the publication of The Great Gatsby this year. Various events are planned.
“We are offering up much that is Gatsby to coincide with its publication on April 10,” said Jordon Skora, marketing communications manager for Louisville Tourism.
“We are inviting everyone to enjoy the pleasures of Gatsby.”
Tim Furlong Jr.
The Gatsby Suite at The Seelbach
The Louisville Seelbach Hilton Hotel, at 500 South Fourth Street, opened on May 1, 1905. It was billed as the city’s “only fireproof hotel.” It offered a 5-hour public inspection and drew 25,000 visitors. The Seelbach quickly became popular. Its Who’s Who guest list ranges from President John F. Kennedy in 1962 to rock group Kiss in recent years. (Hotel historian Johnson had a picture taken with group members of Kiss sans their flamboyant makeup.)
While in the United States Army at Camp Taylor in March 1918 during World War I, Fitzgerald, then 21, visited the Seelbach Hotel. Amid the partying, he met mobsters and bootleggers, including George Remus, who is believed to have inspired the book’s main character, Jay Gatsby.
The Seelbach, Louisville’s oldest operating hotel, is celebrating its Gatsby connections this year with a Great Gatsby Suite. Located on the second floor, the two-room suite is embellished with Art Deco décor reflecting the opulence, bold colors and glamour of the era.
Louisville native Terra B. Nelson, founder of boutique consulting firm T.B. Nelson Hospitality Design, arranged the two rooms of the suite to highlight the difference between The Great Gatsby characters Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan.
In the Daisy-inspired bedroom, guests will find the established, old-money look inspired by Tom and Daisy: lavish but delicate. The room features a pair of gold peacock table lamps, a 1920s Victorian-style settee and a vintage phone covered in a string of pearls.
In the connected Gatsby Lounge, guests will get the vibe of new money, with an over-the-top design, plush velvet armchairs and an Art Deco dresser-turned-mini bar. The first thing that catches the eye upon entering the lounge is the luxurious gold textile adorning the ceiling, which converges at the center of the room with a three-tiered crystal chandelier.
“In order to get people talking, you have to give them something to talk about, and one of the best ways to do that is by creating spaces that go beyond functionality and aesthetics to offer vivid and unforgettable experiences,” Nelson said.
Tim Furlong Jr.
“We were able to add some really nice vintage pieces—a few sourced from my personal collection and others sourced from local antique dealers. One of my favorite features that brings the rooms together is the vintage green light that hangs by the door leading into the Daisy bedroom. The green light at the end of Daisy’s dock is a recurring theme in the book, always calling Gatsby to her.”
Other Easter eggs Great Gatsby fans may notice are scattered throughout the suite. Find hints of the book’s characters and places on the walls featuring photos of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Tom Buchanan and Jay Gatsby, as well as coastal art representing the fictional towns of East Egg and West Egg, Long Island. A pearl necklace draped over a vintage telephone pays homage to the incessant ringing phone that recurs in the book and films. Guests also will find a variety of Art Deco design books and, of course, copies of The Great Gatsby.