The Green Park Inn is a historic hotel located on the

Eastern Continental Divide The Eastern Continental Divide, Eastern Divide or Appalachian Divide is a hydrographic divide in eastern North America that separates the easterly Atlantic Seaboard watershed from the westerly Gulf of Mexico watershed. The divide nearly span ...

Blowing Rock Blowing Rock may refer to: * The town of Blowing Rock, North Carolina ** The rocky outcropping Blowing Rock (land feature), near the town of the same name * Blowing Rock, Virginia, an unincorporated community * Caribbean island belonging to Anguil ...

, North Carolina. The hotel was built in the 1880s and operated continuously until May 24, 2009, reopening after change of ownership and renovation on October 29, 2010. The Green Park Inn is a member of

Historic Hotels of America Historic Hotels of America is a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation that was founded in 1989 with 32 charter members; the program accepts nominations and identifies hotels that have maintained their authenticity, sense of pla ...

, the official program of the

National Trust for Historic Preservation The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a privately funded, nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that works in the field of historic preservation in the United States. The member-supported organization was founded in 1949 by ...

for recognizing and celebrating the finest historic hotels across America. Past guests of the hotel have included

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Annie Oakley Annie Oakley (born Phoebe Ann Mosey; August 13, 1860 – November 3, 1926) was an American sharpshooter who starred in Buffalo Bill's Wild West show. Oakley developed hunting skills as a child to provide for her impoverished family in western ...

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and

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among others. It was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on June 3, 1982. It is located in the Green Park Historic District. In the latter part of the Civil War a small fortification was built on the site of the Green Park by Federal Troops. The hotel is purported to be

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, and has played host over the years to several conventions of ghost hunters. In the face of a difficult economy, the Green Park Inn was closed seeking a new buyer in 2009, and foreclosed later that year. On March 31, 2010, The Green Park Inn was purchased by two New York real estate investors who were already the owners of a number of other hotel properties. The new owners worked extensively with the Blowing Rock Historical Society and the State Historic Preservation authority in order to the retain charm, character, and historical integrity of the property. Just off the Lobby is the History Room which recounts the Hotel's storied past and contains the original Green Park U.S. Post Office. Green Park Inn Interior

Following an aggressive renovation of the property, The Green Park Inn reopened to the public on October 29, 2010. During the refurnishing, the owners purchased only American made products. On July 1, 2011, the Green Park Inn reopened the Laurel Room Restaurant (now named the Chestnut Grille, to hone the American Chestnut from which the hotel is primarily constructed) and the Divide Tavern (so named as it straddles the Eastern Continental Divide) following a gut renovation of the hotel's kitchen facilities. The new food and beverage operations was headed by James Beard award-winning Chef James Welch. On October 29, 2011, the Green Park Inn celebrated its first anniversary of reopening after having a progressively successful year. In 2016, the hotel celebrated its 125th anniversary at a gala dinner and dance celebrating a milestone for the state's second oldest operating resort hotel and the last of the "Grand Manor" hotels still operating in western North Carolina. Included among the guests were descendants of two of the three hotels founders, the Bernhardt family and the Harper family.

References

* Winston-Salem Journal (July 31, 2009).
Owner of Green Park Inn, high bidder to negotiate deal
'. * Watauga Democrat (August 21, 2009).
Green Park Inn sold in courthouse sale
'. * https://web.archive.org/web/20110714121251/http://www2.mountaintimes.com/watauga_weekly/Green_Park_Inn_sold_id_001107 {{National Register of Historic Places in North Carolina Hotel buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in North Carolina Queen Anne architecture in North Carolina Colonial Revival architecture in North Carolina Hotel buildings completed in 1882 Buildings and structures in Watauga County, North Carolina National Register of Historic Places in Watauga County, North Carolina Historic Hotels of America