The George W. Romney Building - ("The Romney Building") is the

Governor of Michigan The governor of Michigan is the head of state, head of government, and chief executive of the U.S. state of Michigan. The current governor is Gretchen Whitmer, a member of the Democratic Party, who was inaugurated on January 1, 2019, as the stat ...

's main office, and houses other

State of Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

offices. The building, formerly a hotel, is named after

George W. Romney George Wilcken Romney (July 8, 1907 – July 26, 1995) was an American businessman and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served as chairman and president of American Motors Corporation from 1954 to 1962, the 43rd gover ...

, the 43rd Governor and father of

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts f ...

. The building has a ten-story

atrium Atrium may refer to: Anatomy * Atrium (heart), an anatomical structure of the heart * Atrium, the genital structure next to the genital aperture in the reproductive system of gastropods * Atrium of the ventricular system of the brain * Pulmona ...

, beginning on the fourth floor.Romney Building
emporis.com, ''retrieved 2010-Feb-24''

History

The hotel opened in 1926 as the Hotel Olds, built and operated by the Lansing Community Hotel Corporation which included

R.E. Olds Ransom Eli Olds (June 3, 1864 – August 26, 1950) was a pioneer of the American automotive industry, after whom the Oldsmobile and REO brands were named. He claimed to have built his first steam car as early as 1887 and his first gasoline-power ...

. Charles Diggs Sr. recounted being denied accommodation at the hotel because he was African American. He authored Diggs Law to combat such discrimination. The Jack Tar hotel chain purchased the property at 111 South Capitol Avenue in 1960 and renamed it "Jack Tar Lansing." In 1970, the historic thirteen-story limestone and brick structure was renamed the Olds Plaza following a sale to an

Alma, Michigan Alma is the largest city in Gratiot County, Michigan, Gratiot County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 9,383 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It was incorporated as the Village of Alma in 1872 and became a city in 1905 ...

oil businessman and subsequent renovation. In 1974, however, a different Alma-based layer and entrepreneur purchased the property and renamed it again to the Plaza Hotel. Some of the hotel was converted to offices and meeting space was reduced. It became part of the TravelLodge chain in 1983 when the number of hotel rooms was at 100, down from 400 at its peak. The now-debt-ridden hotel was foreclosed on in 1985, long-term residents were evicted and the hotel closed. The building was sold to the State of Michigan in 1988, completely gutted and renovated by Hobbs & Black Associates as the George W. Romney Building and houses the Office of the Governor and other state offices. The renovation included the adaptive reuse of as well as a {{convert, 40000, sqft, m2, adj=on addition and atrium, and earned the ''Showcase of Excellence Award'' from the Construction Association of Michigan in 1992. A current project for the Romney Building includes the renovation of the brick plaza, new vestibules and entry doors, and the replacement of the second-floor deck.

References

Defunct hotels in the United States State government buildings in the United States Skyscrapers in Lansing, Michigan Skyscraper office buildings in Michigan Office buildings completed in 1926 George W. Romney