Recent History

In the hotel lobby one can find a plaque which commemorates Hurricane Carol which occurred 1954. The hurricane flooded the lobby and elevator shafts of the hotel. Couches floated throughout various rooms on the ground floor and nearly drifted out of the hotel through the revolving entrance doors. The plaque was placed high on the columns in the lobby marking the floodwater’s height. The effects of Hurricane Carol combined with the recession drove the hotel into debt. The Biltmore closed on January 14, 1975 after the Providence Gas Company turned off their gas service. The hotel owed nearly $200,000 in unpaid bills and taxes.

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