Features
RVA Legends — Executive Motor Hotel
A look into the history of Richmond places and people that have disappeared from our landscape.
5215 West Broad Street
Built, 1957
Demolished, 2009
Architect, Norman Giller
A toast to The Executive — to the death of the cool.
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The resort-type hotel in the heart of Metropolitan Richmond, The Executive Motor Hotel is truly unique in Richmond – provides superb accommodations. Ideal for conventions and sales meetings.
With its lighted swimming pool…its beautifully landscaped grounds…its cascading waterfalls and glamorous atmosphere, a visit to the Executive is an adventure in itself!
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Edwin Slipek Jr. wrote a nice piece on some of the Mid-Century Modern architecture in Richmond for Style Weekly in 2009, including The Executive. Quoting architect Norman Giller:
“At the time, Richmond’s architecture was dominated by heavy, traditional brick buildings. Mr. Stern wanted his motor hotel to be one of the first ‘contemporary’ structures built in the city, producing a light, lively building that would catch the eye of speeding motorists was essential.”
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“Richmond’s virtually hurricane-free summers allowed me to incorporate larger expanses of glass into my design than was possible in South Florida. I placed double-height lobby entirely enclosed in glass along the front of the property. During the day the glass panels would seem shockingly transparent. At night, the entire pavilion would seem to glow.
“Reinforcing the feeling of motion and playfulness, I repeated the zig-zag pattern of the glass walls in the concrete porte cochere.”
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A three-story-tall, curved rear wall anchors the sleek glass lobby as well as the front exterior.
There were 140 guest rooms in a rear extension that ran parallel to Byrd Street. These rooms opened directly to the outdoors and were easily accessible to the swimming pool, which featured underwater speakers so guests could listen to music while swimming. (Edwin Slipek Jr.)
October 2016
A veritable shame to lose this thing of beauty, when you consider the strip mall that replaced it. Because we don’t have enough of those.
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