Nashville, Tennessee · Founded 1910 · Building: 1910
A 1910 Nashville Beaux-Arts hotel that became the headquarters for both sides of Tennessee's decisive 1920 suffrage vote.
The Hermitage Hotel opened in Nashville on September 17, 1910, as a ten-story Beaux-Arts luxury hotel designed by James E. R. Carpenter. In August 1920, it became the operational center of Tennessee's final fight over ratifying the 19th Amendment: pro-suffrage campaigners wore yellow roses, opponents wore red, and both sides ran headquarters from the hotel. Tennessee's vote on August 18 made it the crucial 36th state needed for ratification.
A group of 250 Nashvillians commissioned a new luxury hotel near the Tennessee State Capitol and selected local architect James E. R. Carpenter for the project.
Source: Society of Architectural Historians, SAH Archipedia, "Hermitage Hotel"; historical summaries of The Hermitage Hotel
The Hermitage Hotel opened as a ten-story Beaux-Arts hotel with 250 rooms, mahogany finishes, hot and cold distilled water, private baths, telephones, electric fans, and advertised fireproof, noise-proof, and dustproof construction.
Source: Society of Architectural Historians, SAH Archipedia, "Hermitage Hotel"; Historic Hotels of America, "History of The Hermitage Hotel"
The Hermitage Hotel hosted the National Woman Suffrage Association convention, establishing the hotel as a key setting for suffrage organizing before the 1920 ratification campaign.
Source: Society of Architectural Historians, SAH Archipedia, "Hermitage Hotel"
Pro-suffrage campaigners associated with Carrie Chapman Catt and anti-ratification forces led by Josephine Pearson used The Hermitage Hotel as competing headquarters during Tennessee's 19th Amendment ratification fight. Suffrage supporters wore yellow roses and opponents wore red.
Source: National Park Service, "Hermitage Hotel"; U.S. Department of the Interior, National Historic Landmark designation announcement, July 28, 2020; National Trust for Historic Preservation, "A Careful Update of Nashville's Hermitage Hotel Keeps its Beaux-Arts Grandeur Intact," July 27, 2022
Tennessee ratified the 19th Amendment, becoming the crucial 36th state needed for ratification. Carrie Chapman Catt received congratulatory telegrams at The Hermitage Hotel.
Source: National Trust for Historic Preservation, "A Careful Update of Nashville's Hermitage Hotel Keeps its Beaux-Arts Grandeur Intact," July 27, 2022; Society of Architectural Historians, SAH Archipedia, "Hermitage Hotel"
The Hermitage Hotel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places for architectural significance. The official reference number should be verified against the National Park Service database before publication.
Source: Historical summaries of The Hermitage Hotel
Historical summaries report that Historic Hotels of Nashville, LLC purchased The Hermitage Hotel and renovated the guest rooms and public areas. This historical ownership event does not establish current ownership.
Source: Historical summaries of The Hermitage Hotel
The U.S. Department of the Interior announced The Hermitage Hotel's National Historic Landmark designation in recognition of its nationally significant role in the women's suffrage movement. Some sources give August 28, 2020 as the formal designation date.
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Historic Landmark designation announcement, July 28, 2020; National Park Service, "Hermitage Hotel"
The Hermitage Hotel's official website continued to advertise hotel accommodations, dining, and events at 231 6th Ave N in downtown Nashville.
Source: The Hermitage Hotel official website, accessed August 2026
Every claim gets rated. A business's own website can never earn "documented."
National Park Service, Department of the Interior, National Trust, and Tennessee reporting confirm that The Hermitage Hotel was a principal headquarters site for both campaigns. Carrie Chapman Catt's pro-suffrage forces and Josephine Pearson's anti-ratification forces operated from the hotel while lobbying legislators. The yellow-rose and red-rose symbolism gave the conflict its 'War of the Roses' name.
The U.S. Department of the Interior announced the hotel’s National Historic Landmark designation in July 2020, and the National Park Service identifies its role in the 1920 ratification fight as the basis for national significance. Sources vary between the July 28 announcement date and an August 28 formal designation date.
Architectural-history sources identify The Hermitage as a ten-story Beaux-Arts hotel that opened September 17, 1910 with 250 rooms, private baths, telephones, electric fans, and hot and cold distilled water. The exact count of guest rooms today may differ.
Preservation and hotel materials describe the hotel's Beaux-Arts interior, marble, plasterwork, and glass features. This review did not inspect a Historic American Buildings Survey record, historic-structure report, restoration plan, or material-conservation documentation proving the exact original date and survival of each specified lobby feature.
A public-media history segment names Amelia Earhart and Elvis Presley among the hotel's historical visitors. This review did not locate guest-register entries, dates, room records, photographs, correspondence, or contemporaneous news confirming the particulars of either visit.
The Hermitage Hotel became a National Historic Landmark on August 28, 2000.
The U.S. Department of the Interior announced the hotel's National Historic Landmark designation on July 28, 2020, and some historical summaries give August 28, 2020 as the formal designation date. The 2000 date is incorrect.
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Historic Landmark designation announcement, July 28, 2020; National Park Service, "Hermitage Hotel"
The Hermitage Hotel was built on Andrew Jackson's personal farm.
The Hermitage Hotel was built in downtown Nashville at 231 6th Ave N and was named for Andrew Jackson's Hermitage estate. The reviewed sources do not place the hotel on Jackson's estate property.
Source: The Tennessean, "Nashville's Hermitage Hotel designated a National Historic Landmark," July 28, 2020; The Hermitage Hotel official historical materials
The Hermitage was Nashville's first third-generation skyscraper.
Architectural-history sources describe The Hermitage as a ten-story Beaux-Arts luxury hotel that opened in 1910. 'Third-generation skyscraper' is not a supported description of the building.
Source: Society of Architectural Historians, SAH Archipedia, "Hermitage Hotel"; Historic Hotels of America, "History of The Hermitage Hotel"
The Hermitage Hotel's National Register reference number is 75001777.
Available secondary historical summaries list the National Register reference number as 75001749. The official National Park Service database should be checked before publishing any identifier.
Source: Historical summaries of The Hermitage Hotel
The Hermitage Hotel survives because its architectural ambition and political history reinforce each other. Built as Nashville's original million-dollar hotel near the State Capitol, it later became a National Historic Landmark for the role it played in the 19th Amendment's ratification. Its continuing hotel, dining, and event operations keep a major civic building active, while preservation work has maintained its Beaux-Arts character rather than reducing it to a commemorative site.
The Hermitage Hotel opened in Nashville on September 17, 1910, as a ten-story Beaux-Arts luxury hotel designed by James E. R. Carpenter. In August 1920, it became the headquarters for both sides of Tennessee's ratification fight over the 19th Amendment. Tennessee's August 18 vote made it the vital 36th state required to ratify the amendment, and the hotel was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2020 for that role.
No evidence reviewed here establishes The Hermitage Hotel as Tennessee's oldest operating hotel. It opened in 1910 and is one of Nashville's most important surviving historic hotels, but a statewide oldest-hotel title would require consistent comparison of older inns, hotels, business identities, rebuilt properties, relocations, and operating interruptions. The Hermitage's national significance comes from its 1920 suffrage history, not an unverified age title.
During Tennessee's August 1920 19th Amendment ratification fight, both pro-suffrage and anti-suffrage campaigners established headquarters at The Hermitage Hotel near the State Capitol. Carrie Chapman Catt's supporters wore yellow roses, while Josephine Pearson's anti-ratification forces wore red roses, giving the struggle its 'War of the Roses' nickname. Tennessee ratified the amendment on August 18, becoming the crucial 36th state needed for national ratification.
The Hermitage Hotel became a National Historic Landmark in 2020 because it served as a central headquarters for both suffrage supporters and opponents during Tennessee's decisive 1920 vote on the 19th Amendment. The hotel's proximity to the State Capitol made it a strategic base for lobbying, organizing, and receiving news of the final ratification vote.
Public-media historical reporting identifies Amelia Earhart and Elvis Presley among notable guests associated with The Hermitage Hotel. The hotel has also long hosted political, business, and entertainment figures because of its downtown Nashville location. This review did not inspect original guest registers or contemporaneous documentation for the dates and details of individual celebrity stays.
231 6th Ave N, Nashville, TN 37219
(615) 244-3121
The Hermitage Hotel stands near the Tennessee State Capitol in downtown Nashville. Confirm current room availability, restaurant and bar hours, valet parking, accessibility, tours, suffrage-history programming, and private-event access directly before visiting.