Group working to place Hotel Thelma on Historic Register

Mar. 7—BLUEFIELD — Community leaders helping with the restoration of the historic Hotel Thelma in Bluefield's East End toured the inside of the two-story structure last week.

Rev. James Mitchell Sr., who owns the hotel, opened its doors to allow those seeking to put the hotel, which opened in 1949 as a "Green Book" facility to offer African-Americans a place to spend the night and dine, on the state Historic Registry.

Mitchell said it has been about 10 years since the hotel was used by nearby Mt. Olive Church for programs and youth Sunday school.

Since then, vandals and thieves have pulled down ceiling tile and created other extensive damage on the first floor of the two-story structure.

"They have broken in here several times," he said. "They kept kicking doors down and pulling down wires."

Some of the flooring in the rear of the first floor has partially collapsed as well.

The top floor, where big stars like Ike and Tina Turner, Little Richard, Duke Ellington, James Brown and Sam Cooke stayed when they visited to be in concert at the Bluefield Auditorium, is in much better shape.

Located at the corner of Wayne and Lucas streets, the hotel is beside the Traveler's Inn, another Green Book hotel, and both are a short distance from the Grant Street Bridge.

Brian Tracey, executive director of the Bluefield Arts Revitalization Corp. (BARC), said the goal right now is to organize the effort to get the hotel in the Historic Register, which will open up opportunities for restoration funding.

"I have already submitted the first form to the state to get on the Historic Register," Tracey said, adding that two state officials had planned to visit Bluefield for the tour but inclement weather postponed their trip.

The process has started, he said, and once the hotel is on the registry the door is opened to leverage funding.

"It's not just federal and state tax credits, but also state grants from the West Virginia Association of Historic Preservation ... Then other funders would be willing to put up money to preserve this and redevelop it."

Suggestions have already been made to establish a museum at the hotel, showcasing its past as well as the history of the East End.

Bluefield City Manager Cecil Marson was part of the tour and said Hotel Thelma was included in the Reconnect Communities project to upgrade infrastructure in the East End, which is one of three city areas showcased in the national pilot program funded through the U.S. Dept. of Transportation.

The city is already set to receive a $1 million grant to help plan the project, which will upgrade all roads, streets and sidewalks in the East End as well as other amenities.

"This could be done," Marson said of renovating the hotel.

Bluefield resident Lecia Smith has worked with historic preservation in the past, including getting houses in South Bluefield on the register and starting the Bluefield Historical Society.

Once a historic property is nominated to the state, the state then nominates it to the National Register, she said.

Money was raised, including writing a cookbook.

"I think we got over 200 houses on the register," she said, with some as "contributing buildings" in a "multiple resource area" with pockets of historic homes.

But some, like the Easley House on College Avenue, has its own listing, she added, because of its historic significance.

The goal is to get Hotel Thelma and the Traveler's Inn, which is next door, on the register and Smith said it can be done.

"They both are so historically significant," she said. "It needs some work, there is no doubt about it."

Smith said she is going to help out in any way she can.

Jamie Null, executive director of the Mercer County Convention and Visitors Bureau, was also on the tour.

Null said the bureau recently included Hotel Thelma in one of its blogs.

"It did really well," she said, garnering 60,000 hits. "There is a lot of interest in this."

Skip Crane, one of the community leaders spearheading the project, said recently the history of Hotel Thelma is something many people want to learn about and see for themselves.

"People will get off I-77 to see this," he said of the restoration and possible museum.

City Board member Peter Taylor was also on the tour and he and other board members were recently briefed by Mitchell on the hotel.

Mitchell told them it was the determination of Thelma Stone, for whom the hotel is named, that created this piece of Bluefield history.

"In 1947, the ambitious Thelma Stone walked into the Flat Top National Bank to apply for a loan despite discrimination faced by African -Americans during this time," Mitchell said. But she did secure the loan and built Hotel Thelma.

"Hotel Thelma was more than just a hotel," he said. 'It was a symbol of hope and hospitality for the black community, offering refuge for black travelers."

Restoring the historic hotel would help bring together communities, he said. "We need to embrace the history."

Mitchell has applied for non-profit status for the hotel so it can undertake fundraising efforts and he asked the city and the community to help with the project, which not only can make the East End and North Side "viable to the city, but also part of the community."

"I am excited," he said last week during the tour.

Hotel Thelma was eventually used as an apartment building after integration, but it closed for good in the mid-1990s.

Mayor Ron Martin told Mitchell he is on board with the project.

"I think it's a great project," he said. "And I think it is needed."

Martin said plans need to be put together and the city is willing to help.

— Contact Charles Boothe at cboothe@bdtonline.com

Contact Charles Boothe at cboothe@bdtonline.com