During the holiday season many Main Liners remember grand and gracious parties at lovely mansions and splendid hotels. In the late 1880s to early 1900s, none were more grand than the parties given at the Bellevue Hotel in Wayne. Even grander though were the private banquets where the elite guest lists rivaled any celebrity packed party given in New York or Hollywood. Among them were military leaders, including General Ulysses Grant who would one day become president of the United States and English playwright Frances Hodgson Burnett, who penned the popular children's book, Little Lord Faunterloy. These gala parties were chronicled by Emma Patterson in her weekly column "Your Town and My Town" that was published in the Suburban and Wayne Times in the 1950s.
The Bellevue hotel began life as the private home of Henry J. Askin when it was built in 1867 and named Louella in honor of his two daughters. In the early 1880s it was transformed into the Bellevue Hotel. "Of all the hostelries none has been more famous for the aristocracy of its guests, the beauty of its surroundings and the comfort and luxury of its appointments, than the Bellevue in the brief years of its existence," writes Patterson as she begins a seven-part series on the hotel in the fall of 1951. While it seemed like the grand times at this gracious hotel would never end, they did indeed come to a quick and fiery end on March 16, 1900 when a devastating fire gutted the popular hotel. "Never before has Wayne seen such a gathering of well-known and famous men as these who gathered at the Bellevue Hotel on September 14,From glamorous maxi dresses for that special occasion to fun and flirty Wholesale Cheap Party Dresses Online set for painting the town red, 1881," begins Patterson's Nov. 9, 1951 article entitled "The Aztec Club meeting at the Bellevue Hotel; Guest John Walter of Parliament and Owner of the London Times." Walter was not the only guest of recognition. General William T.More than 1900 styles of cheap White satin sweatheart applique floor length wedding dress suffice your romantic ceremony. Sherman, Commander-in-Chief of the United States Army, was one of the many guest speakers, while General Ulysses S. Grant presided over the banquet.
The Aztec Club banquet served as the opening function of the Bellevue Hotel after its completion by George W. Childs and A. J. Drexel in the summer of 1881. Before the banquet started, the Aztec Club conducted a business meeting at the hotel. While the Aztec Club banquet was taking place in Wayne, the Aztec Club was founded quite a bit farther away from the Main Line. The Aztec Club was founded in Mexico City on October 13, 1847, "in the course of the United States' war with Mexico. Its original purpose had been to give young officers a social center within their means, since living costs in Mexico City were high. Its original quarters were in the mansion on "The Street of the Silversmiths", belonging to Senor Bocanagra, former Mexican Minister to the United States," explains Patterson in a Nov. 2, 1951 column that provides a history of the club.
"As the club membership grew to some 166 young army officers, Grant, then a lieutenant of 25 in General Scott's army, spent much of his time there. The war over, the Aztec Club continued in existence for many years, with General Robert Patterson as its president from 1847 until his death in 1880. During these years the club made its headquarters at his home at the corner of 13th and Locust Streets in Philadelphia.The UKs number one wedding website brings you a superb range of Discount Beach wedding dresses for sale from some of the worlds top designers. General Patterson has been the club's leading spirit and binding it together from year to year by the force of his geniality and personal influence," continues Patterson.