The Hermitage Hotel was Nashville’s first million-dollar hotel when it opened in 1910.  Designed by J.E.R. Carpenter, the hotel was named for Andrew Jackson’s estate The Hermitage.  Inside, the hotel boasted elegant furnishings, a beautiful skylight designed by Italian artisan Hotijy and Grecian marble accents in the magnificent lobby. The hotel billed itself as “fire proof, noise proof and dust proof.” The Grille Room, which now houses the hotel’s restaurant, was built by craftsmen imported from Germany and became a private men’s club.

The Hermitage quickly became the preferred gathering spot for Nashville’s socialites and was the headquarters for the suffragette movement in 1920, as Tennessee cast the deciding ballot, giving women the right to vote. Nashville is known as Music City and the Hermitage has enjoyed a long relationship with the industry. The hotel was alive with music during the 1930s and 1940s and the sounds of the “Big Band” era swept the country and newcomer Dinah Shore performed here in 1949.  The hotel was also home to legendary pool player Minnesota Fats.  For more than eight years, “Fats” had his own table on the Mezzanine above the lobby and was know to regularly challenge all comers.