The Kimmel or Pennsylvania House Hotel

[STS Lincolnite]

The Kimmel or Pennsylvania House Hotel was the hotel that George Atzerodt checked into early in the morning (about 2 a.m. ?) on the morning of April 15, 1865. He left the hotel later that morning (without paying the bill) and boarded the stage for Rockville, MD trying to make his escape.

I am looking for information on this hotel and possibly a photo or illustration. My initial internet searches have come up with a great big zilch. Anyone have anything to share? Help would be much appreciated!

Thanks!

[Susan Higginbotham]

(01-11-2015 12:26 PM)STS Lincolnite Wrote:  The Kimmel or Pennsylvania House Hotel was the hotel that George Atzerodt checked into early in the morning (about 2 a.m. ?) on the morning of April 15, 1865. He left the hotel later that morning (without paying the bill) and boarded the stage for Rockville, MD trying to make his escape.

I am looking for information on this hotel and possibly a photo or illustration. My initial internet searches have come up with a great big zilch. Anyone have anything to share? Help would be much appreciated!

Thanks!

Weren't they separate establishments? They're listed as such in the 1862 city directory on page 222:

https://archive.org/stream/boydswashingt...rch/Hotels

[STS Lincolnite]

(01-11-2015 04:52 PM)Susan Higginbotham Wrote:  

(01-11-2015 12:26 PM)STS Lincolnite Wrote:  The Kimmel or Pennsylvania House Hotel was the hotel that George Atzerodt checked into early in the morning (about 2 a.m. ?) on the morning of April 15, 1865. He left the hotel later that morning (without paying the bill) and boarded the stage for Rockville, MD trying to make his escape.

I am looking for information on this hotel and possibly a photo or illustration. My initial internet searches have come up with a great big zilch. Anyone have anything to share? Help would be much appreciated!

Thanks!

Weren't they separate establishments? They're listed as such in the 1862 city directory on page 222:

https://archive.org/stream/boydswashingt...rch/Hotels

Thanks Susan I will check this link out.

I was going by the very little information I had which was an entry in Steers' The Lincoln Assassination Encyclopedia. The entry is Kimmel House and the first sentence in the entry is "Also known as the Pennsylvania House."

[Jim Garrett]

I have never found a picture of the Pennsylvania House either. According to Mr. James O. Hall, It was located on C St. behind the National Hotel. Pumphrey's stable likewise was located there.

[STS Lincolnite]

(01-11-2015 05:04 PM)Jim Garrett Wrote:  I have never found a picture of the Pennsylvania House either. According to Mr. James O. Hall, It was located on C St. behind the National Hotel. Pumphrey's stable likewise was located there.

Thanks Jim. If you haven't found a picture, I won't devote much time to that endeavor as you have much greater local resources that I have. If I happen to find something by accident I will let you know and pass it on.

Steers has the Kimmel House/Pennsylvania House address as 357-359 C Street. I can't seem to access Susan's link (I have done some checking and archive.org is down right now - or at least the server is overloaded to a degree that few are getting through). I would suspect what she provided would have addresses as well so of course I am somewhat impatiently waiting to be able to connect!

[BettyO]

I have the 1862 Boyd's Directory -

Here's what is listed for Kimmel House:

   

[Susan Higginbotham]

I was wrong--they do seem to have been the same place. There's an ad for the Pennsylvania House, formerly known as the Kimmel House, on page 454 of the Washington city directory. It was between 4 1/2 and 6th Streets:

https://archive.org/stream/boydsdirector...4/mode/2up

I saw "Pennsylvania" listed in the earlier city directories and assumed that this was Pennsylvania House, but evidently not!

[BettyO]

Abraham Kimmell died in 1868 and is buried in Congressional Cemetery in the vault of his wife's family, the Lambell family.

   

He became quite prosperous before his death.

[SSlater]

All the answers to this question are correct - but before 1866 they were two separate Hotels. Then in 1866 they advertised thusly: PENNSYLVANIA HOUSE
(LATE KIMMEL HOUSE) - Followed by " The proprietors have leased this old and well-known Hotel ...."
So, you must known the date of your material, to know which building to quote.

[STS Lincolnite]

Thanks everyone for your replies. I have one final question. It sounds like the hotels were separate until 1866 (and so were separate in 1865 at the time of the assassination). So am I correct in stating that it was the Kimmel House that Atzerodt checked into?

Thanks!!

[RJNorton]

Scott, I just checked the testimony from the trial. This is part of John Greenawalt's testimony (from Poore):

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

JOHN GREENAWALT,

a witness called for the prosecution, being duly sworn, testified as follows:—

By the JUDGE ADVOCATE:

Q. Will you state whether or not you are the keeper of the Pennsylvania House in this city?
A. I am.
Q. Where is that house situated?
A. At Nos. 357 and 359, C Street, between Four and a Half and Sixth Streets.
Q. Are you acquainted with the prisoner Atzerodt?
A. I am.
Q. Were you or not acquainted with J. Wilkes Booth in his lifetime?
A. I was never acquainted with him.
Q. Did you know him by sight?
A. I never knew him. A man came to the house: from the description I had of him afterwards, it was Booth. He has been there to see Atzerodt.
Q. Did you see him?
A. I did.
Q. Look at that photograph, and see if you recognize it as the photograph of that man? [Exhibit No. 1.]
A. That is the person.
Q. State whether or not that person, Booth, had frequent inter-views with the prisoner Atzerodt at the Pennsylvania House.
A. He had.