There’s no metropolis in America the place the nation’s historical past is displayed as proudly as in Philadelphia, which is residence to a few of the USA’s most essential landmarks and artefacts and is poised to host a year-long collection of occasions celebrating america’ 250th anniversary subsequent 12 months. In a well timed vogue, the Bellevue Resort – based greater than 120 years in the past and really a lot a part of the town’s historic material – has simply undergone a serious renovation.
Endurance: the Bellevue Resort
A brand new brass-fronted reception desk within the foyer enhances the carved clock, marble-effect columns and mosaic flooring
(Picture credit score: Pictures by Learn McKendree)
Lovingly known as the Grande Dame of downtown, the lodge is positioned on South Broad Avenue, only a few blocks south of Metropolis Corridor and some blocks east of Rittenhouse Sq.. The constructing was accomplished in 1904 by GW & WD Hewitt within the French Renaissance type and encompasses a sculptural mansard roof, a hovering foyer and a formidable atrium. Regardless of a number of renovations all through its lifetime, many authentic particulars have luckily remained intact, though some required uncovering.
(Picture credit score: Pictures by Learn McKendree)
New York-based studio Ward + Grey used these components to information a redesign of the lodge’s communal areas and visitor rooms, creating ‘a contemporary interpretation of the classical bones’, in keeping with co-founder Staver Grey. ‘It’s uncommon to work on a constructing with this a lot architectural curiosity,’ she says, including that the challenge concerned ‘an train in preserving the prevailing, then complementing this with architectural gestures that really feel conventional.’
Within the huge foyer, a brand new reception desk is positioned under a placing carved clock. ‘It’s the very first thing you see as you emerge from the elevator, and it turns into the center of the foyer,’ says Christie Ward, the opposite half of Ward + Grey.
Large crystal chandeliers have been swapped for modern Venetian glass variations, whereas customized fluted glass partitions and full-height velvet curtains draw the attention as much as the ornate ceiling and demarcate extra intimate areas, such because the foyer bar.
(Picture credit score: Pictures by Learn McKendree)
(Picture credit score: Pictures by Learn McKendree)
The lodge’s beforehand underused atrium is reimagined as an out of doors Parisian café, the place visitors can take pleasure in morning espresso, late-night cocktails, and every thing in between. Its partitions are painted a deep inexperienced hue that matches mosaic tiles found underneath a colorless gray carpet. Ornamental awnings, trellis and customized glass lanterns have additionally been added to evoke an al fresco scene. Elsewhere, the lodge’s all-day restaurant Pergola evokes an identical en plein air vibe on the nineteenth ground, and the Sporting Membership features a full health centre, a four-lane lap pool, an NBA-sized courtroom and extra.
The 184 visitor rooms and suites have been beforehand stripped of authentic particulars, so Ward + Grey strived to return them to glory. The studio reintroduced mouldings, wainscoting, hearth surrounds, and built-in millwork components in a French Renaissance type and a heat, female color scheme. ‘We needed to make these areas really feel just like the Bellevue Resort once more,’ Ward explains.
Bellevue Presidential Suite Bed room
(Picture credit score: Pictures by Learn McKendree)
Bellevue Presidential Suite Residing Room
(Picture credit score: Pictures by Learn McKendree)
The Presidential Suite was designed in collaboration with Tony Machado from Lucid, the in-house studio of lodge specialists Highgate. Spanning practically 2,000 sq ft, this opulent area was approached like an elegant Parisian condo utilizing each customized and regionally sourced classic furnishings.
From an entry adorned with hand-painted wallpaper to a light-weight and ethereal dwelling space, three units of French doorways then open to the ‘orangerie’. Right here, Belgian bluestone ground tiles and a cloth cover ceiling ‘create a backyard really feel, although you’re nonetheless very a lot inside,’ says Ward. In the meantime, a moody aubergine-coloured ceiling and a stone-topped desk add gravitas to the eating room, whose vintage wall panels ‘needed to be disassembled and put collectively once more like a puzzle.’
Bellevue Presidential Suite Orangerie
(Picture credit score: Pictures by Learn McKendree)
Bellevue Presidential Suite Eating Room
(Picture credit score: Pictures by Learn McKendree)
Preserving the Bellevue Resort’s old-world allure and retaining its familiarity for returning visitors, whereas introducing a contemporary but heritage-appropriate aptitude, makes excellent sense in a metropolis that totally embraces its historic delight. Ward + Grey has skillfully managed to position the eminent previous of this much-loved Philadelphia landmark entrance and centre.
The Bellevue Resort is positioned at 200 S Broad St, Philadelphia, PA 19102, United States.
The August 2025 concern of Wallpaper* is now obtainable in print, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple Information +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* at present
Supply: Wallpaper
