At the corner of Broad and Fairmount Streets in North Philadelphia is a building that is historically significant on a number of different levels. The Divine Lorraine Hotel, formerly known as both Lorraine Apartments and the Lorraine Hotel, was designed by architect Willis G. Hale and built between 1892 and 1893. The building originally functioned as apartments, housing wealthy residents.
Both the location of the building and the architecture itself reflect the changes that were occurring rapidly in the city and in the country at the time. North Philadelphia of the 1880s attracted many of the city’s nouveau-riche; individuals who became wealthy as a result of the industrial revolution. The Lorraine was a place of luxurious living, providing apartments with new amenities such as electricity and elevators. The building boasted its own staff, eliminating the need for residents to have private servants. There was also a central kitchen from which meals were delivered to residents.
The Lorraine Apartments were also an architectural feat. At this time, the majority of Philadelphia’s buildings were generally no more than three or four stories tall. Improvements in building materials and the invention of the elevator made taller buildings possible. The Lorraine, at ten stories, was one of the first high rise apartment buildings in the city.
In 1900 the building was sold and became the Lorraine Hotel. In 1948 the building was sold to Father Divine (aka George Baker or Reverend Major Jealous Divine). Father Divine was the leader of the Universal Peace Mission Movement. After purchasing the building, he renamed it the Divine Lorraine Hotel. His hotel was the first racially-integrated hotel in Philadelphia and, perhaps, the United States. The Divine Lorraine was open to all who were willing to follow the rules of the movement. Guests and residents were not permitted to smoke, drink or use foul language. Women were not permitted to wear pants or reside on the same floors as men.
Believing that all people were equal in the sight of God, Father Divine was involved in many social welfare activities as well. After purchasing the hotel, several parts of it were transformed for public use. The 10th floor dining hall was transformed into a place of worship, while the kitchen on the first floor offered meals for just 25 cents.
Divine’s followers ran the hotel after his death (in 1965) until its sale in 2000. By that time the neighborhood and the hotel had greatly deteriorated. The Universal Peace Mission Movement still exists in the form of a network of independent churches, businesses, and religious orders. The Divine Lorraine was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002 as a site significant in terms of both architectural and civil rights history.
In 2012 it sold again and in 2015 renovations began. Crews replaced 642 windows, used 4,167 gallons of paint, converted 246 hotel rooms into 101 apartments, and spent 638 hours removing graffiti.
The lobby still has the grand columns, original floors, dentil molding and massive glass chandelier. About 90 percent of the lobby is original. The 10th floor ballroom has been converted to bilevel apartments. The renovation of the Divine Lorraine has spurred redevelopment of the surrounding area.
1908 view Lobby 10th floor ballroom
Before renovations Lobby before renovations
Lobby Today Shortly before completion
Comments