The Eldridge Hotel in Lawrence, Douglas County, United States | Hotel

Welcome to The Eldridge Hotel in Lawrence, Kansas in the United States. The Eldridge Hotel has been an integral part of the history of Lawrence, Kansas, since its founding. The original building on this site was the Free State Hotel, built in 1855 by settlers from the New England Emigrant Aid Society. The Free State Hotel was intended as temporary quarters for those settlers who came here from Boston and other areas while their homes were being built. It was named the The Free State Hotel to make clear the intent of those early settlers, that Kansas should come into the union as a free state.
After the Hotel was attacked and burned, Colonel Eldridge promptly rebuilt the Hotel and gave it his name, The Hotel Eldridge. To this day, the seal of the city of Lawrence, Kansas, depicts a phoenix rising from the ashes. Its motto is "from ashes to immortality". The seal and motto exhibit the determination by the people of Lawrence to stand and fight for the rights and dignity of people everywhere.
In October of 2004 the Hotel was sold at auction to a group made up of University of Kansas Alumni and local investors. After four months beginning in January 2005, during which the Hotel was closed, a multi-million dollar renovation project restored the building to its original 1925 grandeur. Reopening in May of 2005, The Eldridge Hotel once again assumed its role as the premier Hotel occupying the most historic corner in in Lawrence, Kansas. The Eldridge Hotel, where history and hospitality converge.