Robins & Morton

Architect:

Bounds & Gillespie Architects

Scope Of Work

Preserving the historic elements and structure of the city’s 105-year-old railroad hub, Robins & Morton artfully restored the Central Station Hotel in the South Main Arts District of Memphis, Tennessee. The rebuilding project integrates Central Station’s still-active train station where the famous City of New Orleans line arrives and departs Memphis each day as it travels between Chicago and New Orleans.

The eight-story, 123-room hotel was designed by Bounds & Gillespie Architects and built for the development team of Kemmons Wilson Companies, Henry Turley Company, and Valor Hospitality Partners. The development, design, and building team partners labored to preserve and include as many of the station’s historic elements as possible, including the arrival and departure marquee with its distinctive clock, interior neon signs, and the original molding, marble floors, central staircase, and soaring 75-foot ceilings.

Throughout the public spaces, guests encounter original works by both Memphis artists and those who live and work along the 900-mile City of New Orleans train route. Guest rooms feature prints that Memphis photographer Jamie Harmon shot in locations along the Chicago to New Orleans route. Central Station Hotel, a Curio by Hilton, includes 8,000 square feet of event and meeting space, a 6,500-square-foot Grand Hall ballroom occupying the station’s former waiting room, and a new restaurant, Bishop, where diners head for a Southern-influenced twist on classic French brasserie cuisine prepared by award-winning Memphis chefs Michael Hudman and Andy Ticer.

The hotel’s Eight & Sand listening lounge bar features a one-of-a-kind music experience for guests. A 30-foot record wall contains over 500 vinyl LPs, each connected with the Memphis musical legacy and its artists. Every night, live DJs spin curated playlists selected from a supply of 40,000 songs, while an in-house stream is relayed to all guest rooms and heard on custom-made loudspeakers created for the hotel by Memphis-based EgglestonWorks.