A Downtown Plattsburgh Memory

The City of Plattsburgh’s designation of the Arnie Pavone parking lot, named after the beloved namesake of the venerable Arnie’s Restaurant across Margaret Street, has been in the news lately. But the site has an even deeper history, one worth remembering: The new parking lot was the home, for 100 years, of the majestic Witherill Hotel.

Opened in 1868 on the site of the earlier Village Inn, the hotel was named after the Chazy builder Hiram D. Witherill. Various proprietors managed the 18-room hotel until 1884, when it was acquired by Major William T. Howell. Major Howell was a special investigator of the Treasury Department and had operated the Senate Restaurant in Washington, D.C. Under three generations of Howells, the Witherill Hotel expanded to almost 100 rooms before it closed in 1968. William Hull Howell, Sr., took over management in 1894 after his father’s death, followed by Major Howell’s grandson William Hull Howell, Jr., in 1936.

The youngest Howell gave presentations to local groups about the hotel business, which he called “the most interesting but the wackiest business there is.” He was proud of the prominent visitors, who were “too numerous to name” but included presidents, senators, admirals and celebrities. Special guests included the famous American opera singer Geraldine Farrar in 1938 and the production crew for “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” filmed in Plattsburgh in 1926. He also recounted the day in August 1923 when Franklin Sargent, president and founder of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City, committed suicide in a first-floor room at the Witherill.

The Witherill tales about visitors didn’t stop with the rich and famous. Departing guests were known to have left behind a car, fine jewelry, furs—and children. Newlyweds were obvious to the Howells, as “it was the only time both would be wearing new shoes at the same time.” And there were thefts by both guests and employees. One light-fingered night clerk whose past included bigamy and grand larceny escaped to Montreal by taxi.

In the 1930s the price of a room ranged from $2.50 to $4 and a drink at the hotel’s popular Fife and Drum Bar was 35 cents. The hotel’s Americana Room, formerly William Howell, Sr.’s office, was described as a small museum with priceless antiques, documents and artifacts, including the first piano brought to northern New York State by barge and a collection of copper weathervanes. After the closure, the hotel was demolished in 1969.

But the grand old building won’t soon be forgotten. Susan Howell Hamlin, daughter of William Howell, Jr., grew up in the Witherill and has written a book about its history called “Welcome to the Witherill.” And an interpretive panel reminding us of this long-time downtown Plattsburgh landmark is planned to be installed near the site, ensuring that it will remain more than a parking lot.

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