The New Alcazar Hotel, also known as Alcazar Hotel, is a historic building in

Clarksdale, Mississippi Clarksdale is a city in and the county seat of Coahoma County, Mississippi, United States. It is located along the Sunflower River. Clarksdale is named after John Clark, a settler who founded the city in the mid-19th century when he establishe ...

, United States. Once considered one of the premier hotels in the South, its guests included the playwright

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thre ...

. Located in the hotel were a restaurant and several other businesses, including WROX radio station, which broadcast from the hotel for 40 years.

History

The original Alcazar Hotel was built in 1895; it was destroyed by arson caused by a former employee in 1947. The new hotel was built by the architect Charles O. Pfeil of

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

, and was completed by 1915. Billed as the "most modern hotel in

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

", it had a glass dome skylight and was more spacious than the original. The building had four stories, with eleven storefront bays where prominent Clarksdale businesses operated. The hotel was remodeled in 1938 to include a private bath in each room. Around 1948, a mezzanine level was introduced between the first and second floors. In the 1940s, the musician

Ike Turner Izear Luster "Ike" Turner Jr. (November 5, 1931 – December 12, 2007) was an American musician, bandleader, songwriter, record producer, and talent scout. An early pioneer of 1950s rock and roll, he is best known for his work in the 1960s and 1 ...

operated the elevator in the hotel as a pre-teen. He also worked as a DJ at WROX radio located in the hotel. Musicians including

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer and musician who was an important figure in the post-war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago b ...

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, and

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shi ...

performed live at WROX and were interviewed by

Early Wright Early Wright (February 10, 1915 – December 10, 1999) was the first black disc jockey in Mississippi.Cheseborough, Steve. ''Blues Traveling, The Holy Sites of Delta Blues''. 3rd ed. University Press of Mississippi, 2009. . p. 93. His "Soul Man" ...

, the first black DJ in Mississippi. Prior to the passage of the

Civil Rights Act of 1964 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and United States labor law, labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on Race (human categorization), race, Person of color, color, religion, sex, and nationa ...

, the hotel and its coffee shop only served white people. After the Act was passed, the Clarksdale King Anderson Company, which owned the hotel, instructed employees to continue to "refuse service to Negroes". According to a 1965

U.S. District Court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...

ruling, on July 6, 1964, Reverend George W. Trotter III, a black man, and Vera Mae Pigee, a black woman, attempted to obtain a hotel room and service at the coffee shop respectively. Both were refused because of their race. The next day, the owners closed the hotel and coffee shop to avoid serving black customers. A few weeks later, on July 27, the Regency Club was founded as a whites-only private club, working in conjunction with Clarksdale King Anderson for use of the hotel, coffee shop, and staff. In December 1965, the court ruled against the discriminatory practices, barring the hotel from operating in cahoots with the club. The Alcazar Hotel was eventually closed and the building was used for other commercial purposes. WROX moved out of the building in the 1990s. The hotel 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 ...

in 1994. In 2009, the hotel was listed as one of the 10 Most Endangered Historic Places in Mississippi by the

Mississippi Heritage Trust The Mississippi Heritage Trust (MHT) was established in 1992 as a non-profit preservation organization in the state of Mississippi. Its mission is to save and renew places meaningful to Mississippians and their history, which is accomplished by ed ...

. There have been plans to facilitate the building; as of 2017, it has been repainted and weatherproofed but remains vacant.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places Hotels established in 1915 Hotel buildings completed in 1915 1915 establishments in Mississippi Mississippi Landmarks Hotel buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Mississippi Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Mississippi National Register of Historic Places in Coahoma County, Mississippi Clarksdale, Mississippi