Old Point Comfort, Hampton, VA 23651
09/28/05
10/10/09
|
|
Chamberlin Hotel Old Point Comfort, Hampton, VA 23651 |
|
|
09/28/05 |
10/10/09 |
|
WAY BACK THEN: |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| 1898 Postcard | Postcard | 1908 Postcard | Postcard |
|
Courtesy of Dave Spriggs ('64) |
Courtesy of Dave Spriggs ('64)
|
Courtesy of Dave Spriggs ('64)
|
Courtesy of Dave Spriggs ('64)
|
|
WAY BACK THEN: |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| 1911 Postcard | Postcard | Postcard | Postcard |
|
Courtesy of Dave Spriggs ('64) |
Courtesy of Dave Spriggs ('64)
|
Courtesy of Dave Spriggs ('64)
|
Courtesy of Dave Spriggs ('64)
|
|
WAY BACK THEN: |
|
If you happened to be staying at the Chamberlin
Hotel on the 4th of December 1919, here is what you could expect to be served for dinner. The Chamberlin web site indicates that they are open to the public for Sunday Brunch. http://www.historicchamberlin.com/index.aspx |
 |
| Thursday, December 4, 1919 | |
|
- Dave Spriggs ('64)
of
VA - 02/05/09 |
|
|
THEN: |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| 1949 Postcard | 1964 Postcard | Postcard | 08/08/03 |
|
Courtesy of Dave Spriggs ('64) |
Courtesy of Dave Spriggs ('64)
|
Courtesy of Dave Spriggs ('64)
of VA - 12/01/03 Thanks, Dave! |
| THEN: 1970 and 1971 | ||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Sunday, June 28, 1970 | Postcard | Brochure | ||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
I discovered your Chamberlin
Hotel web page today, and I thought you might like to have these Chamberlin brochures from 1970 and 1971 and a 1970 newspaper article about our Summer program. My wife and I lived at the Chamberlin for two Summers, while I was the Social Director and entertainer there. I have quite a few Chamberlin photos and memorabilia items put away. I'll send along items of general interest as I find them. |
||||
|
- Michael Sisk ('63) of CA -
07/06/04 WOW! Thanks, Michael! |
||||
http://www.roadtripamerica.com/
eats/chamber.htm
http://www.hotel-online.com/News/PR2003_2nd/Apr03_
Chamberlin.html
http://www.hotel-online.com/News/PR2003_2nd/Jun03_Chamberlin.html
http://www-tradoc.army.mil/monroe/chamb2.htm
|
NOW: |
Update 07/27/03:
Due to increased security requirements at Fort Monroe in the
wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks,
the 74-year-old Chamberlin Hotel is now bankrupt and closed to all non-military
visitors.
ARGHHH!!!
UPDATE - 09/27/03:
Chamberlin to be sold; may become a retirement home
By CHRISTOPHER DINSMORE,
The Virginian-Pilot
© September 26, 2003
A new real estate partnership
plans to buy the historic Chamberlin Hotel at Fort Monroe in Hampton and perhaps
convert it into a retirement residence for retired military personnel.
DCF-2 LLC has a tentative contract to buy the hotel for $4.2 million from Old
Point Comfort Hotel LLC, which filed for a Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization
in June to stave off a foreclosure. DCF-2 involves David C. Falk Sr., co-board
chairman of the real estate management firm Drucker & Falk.
DCF-2’s plans were disclosed Thursday during a hearing in the bankruptcy case.
The principal lender, JDI Hampton LLC, had been seeking the court’s permission to proceed with its foreclosure on the hotel but reached a last-minute settlement with Old Point Comfort Hotel.
The settlement gives the hotel owner time to complete the sale, so long as it stays current on interest payments and taxes, and maintains insurance on the hotel. JDI Hampton can foreclose after April 30 or before then if the DCF-2’s contract falls through.
Rebuilt after a fire in 1920, the stately 283-room Chamberlin presides over Hampton Roads, the confluence of the Chesapeake Bay and the James and Elizabeth rivers, from its perch at Fort Monroe, home to the Army Training and Doctrine Command.
Old Point Comfort Hotel, an affiliate of Pelican Properties, acquired the Chamberlin for $5.4 million in 1998 with plans to restore the hotel to splendor.
But those plans fell flat after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks gutted travel and prompted a dramatic increase in security at Fort Monroe, making it more difficult for guests to reach the hotel.
Pelican Properties closed the hotel in April and offered it for sale. JDI Hampton, which loaned Old Point Comfort Hotel $1.7 million in 2000, moved to foreclose after it said the hotel owner defaulted on the loan. The hotel owner filed for bankruptcy June 20, the day of the foreclosure auction.
Little had happened in the bankruptcy, aside from legal maneuvering, until the settlement announced Thursday.
“We have reached a settlement that we hope will be the resolution of the entire case,” said Paul K. Campsen, the attorney representing JDI Hampton.
DCF-2 is in the inspection phase of its offer for the hotel, said Laurence H. Glanzer, the attorney representing Old Point Comfort Hotel. Glanzer called the settlement a good resolution not only for JDI Hampton but also for other secured and priority creditors.
No other creditors were present at the hearing.
The target closing date for the sale is Dec. 31, said Glanzer, who told Adams the potential buyer plans to redevelop the Chamberlin as a retirement facility for former military personnel.
While Drucker & Falk has offices in Newport News, David Falk is in the firm’s Raleigh office. Drucker & Falk was the listing firm for the hotel before the bankruptcy.
DCF-2’s attorney Arthur Camp could not be reached for comment.
Any sale of the Chamberlin must be approved by the Army. And a change of use such as the one suggested also would require Army approval and the approval of the Virginia General Assembly, Campsen said.
When Virginia ceded Fort Monroe to the federal government in 1821 for the purpose of providing for the national defense, it included a reversion clause in the agreement that would give the property back to the state if the federal government gives it up. An 1893 court interpretation of that agreement gives the General Assembly a say in how it can be used, the attorneys said.
Adams praised efforts to find a use for the property.
“It’s a national landmark,” Adams said. “It’s a wonderful place. I stayed there in 1952. It was a facility that ranked with the Homestead and the Greenbrier.”
Reach Christopher Dinsmore at 446-2271 or at chris.dinsmore@pilotonline.com
This Virginian-Pilot article courtesy of Dave Spriggs ('64)
of VA - 09/27/03.
Thanks, Dave!
LATEST UPDATE - 11/30/04:
Plans emerge for Chamberlin's future
http://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-chamberlinnov30,0,7303133.story?coll=dp-headlines-topnews
Daily Press
November 30 2004, 1:20 PM EST
Real estate partnership OPC Hampton LLC is the new owner of the historic
Chamberlin Hotel at Fort Monroe, signing a 50-year lease Monday which will
transform the landmark property into a retirement center.
Details of the project include:
Total construction cost is estimated at $36.9
million.
Earlier this year, legislators in the General Assembly extended the lease for
the Chamberlin Hotel and gave the owners permission to make the Peninsula
landmark a home for senior citizens.
The General Assembly must approve changes in the use of the building because the
state reserved approval power when it ceded the land to the Army in 1821. The
measure expanded the potential uses of the building to include a retirement
home, extended the lease until 2087 and allowed the owners to build a parking
garage on the site.
In September 2003, the real estate partnership then known as DFC-2 entered a
tentative contract to buy the hotel for $4.2 million from Old Point Comfort
Hotel. DFC-2 included David Falk Sr., co-board chairman of Drucker & Falk, a
Peninsula-based real estate management firm.
Old Point Comfort -- which bought the hotel for $5.35 million in 1998 -- filed
for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June, amid complaints that tight
post-Sept. 11, 2001, security on Fort Monroe had strangled business. Its
creditors complained that Old Point Comfort wasn't paying its mortgage on time.
Kimball Payne contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2004, Daily Press
|
When one
earns a living as a Life Guard and Swimming Instructor, Since it
was just a bit too cool to swim in the Hampton Roads off
Stuart Gardens
beach Water from
the Hampton Roads was brought into the pool and was heated. It was one of my favorite Stomping (Splashing) Grounds.
|
|
- Joe Madagan ('57) of FL
- 08/25/04 Thanks, Joe! |
|
John Munick who is a Classmate of mine ('58) has managed Drucker and Falk for years. He is overseeing the Chamberlin Project. He called us at Buckroe this past September and asked if we wanted to tour the Chamberlin. We were delighted. We met him there, put on hard hats and off we went from bottom to top and back..............We were soooooooooooooo impressed - lot of $$$$$$$$$$$$ being spent. They are even keeping a portion of the roof garden - although there are several condos on that level. I would absolutely love to retire in one of the units, but they are very expensive. They are starting out RENTING them and may eventually go to selling. The Dining Room is being restored to its original state - I have lots of memories of eating lunch there every day. I worked in the Headquarters Building directly across the street from the Chamberlin. And the pool is also being restored to its actual state as well - special small tiles are being made to cover the walls, etc., just as it was. Amazing project - but they still have a lot of work to do. If I recall correctly, John said it would be completed hopefully in 2009. |
|
- Evelyn Fryer Fish ('58) of
TX
- 01/04/08 Thanks, Evelyn! |
|
The accompanying images were scanned from an article in the Saturday, 29 March Real Estate section of the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot. If you have longed to return here for your retirement, this is an opportunity to occupy what is arguably the classiest address in all of Tidewater. Believe me, the thought crossed my mind, but I am not yet ready to give up my home in Norfolk just yet. The good news is that the units will always be rental, which means there will be turnover as the residents age and leave. When we are ready, there is always hope for a vacancy.
I
could go on, but the article explains it all. |
||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
- Dave
Spriggs ('64) of VA - 03/28/08 - "The Sacred Soil" WOWZERONI-RINI-ROONI! What a wonderful way to preserve that majestic building which holds so many memories for us all! Thank you so much for capturing this article for us, Captain! |
||||
| NOW: |
|
There has begun locally a print and TV/Radio advertising campaign for The Chamberlin. It seems that it is now open for occupancy. Here is the web site: http://www.historicchamberlin.com/index.aspx When you consider all that is included, the pricing isn't so bad - and there is always that view. |
|
- Dave
Spriggs ('64) of VA - 08/15/08 Ohhhh, WOW! How magnificent would that be?!? Thank you so much, Dave! |
| NOW: | |||
|
Last Sunday I had a real treat.
I was invited to attend a tour of the Chapel of the Centurion on Fort Monroe
with local historian, John Quarstein, as the guide. However, prior to the tour, the group met for Sunday Brunch in the Chesapeake Room of the restored Chamberlin. This was the REAL treat. Following brunch, Mr. Quarstein discussed the history and gave a brief tour of the renovated Chamberlin, where he now occupies an apartment just off the main lobby. The renovation has not diminished the old charm of the hotel we knew in our youth. Standing in the lobby and main hall is like standing in a time machine. Attached are the digital images I took in the Chamberlin. One of the panorama shots is dark because I was shooting into the light of the Palladian windows onto Hampton Roads. |
|||
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Sunday, April 19, 2009 | |||
|
- Dave
Spriggs ('64) of VA - 04/20/09 You really know how to make me drool, doncha?!? Thanks so much for these beautiful images, Dave! |
|||
(This page was created on 08/08/03.)
"By the
Beautiful Sea" midi courtesy of
http://www.heart-soul-music.com/Music%20Files.htm
courtesy of Dave Spriggs ('64) of VA - 11/21/03
Thanks, Dave!
Divider Line clip art courtesy of http://pub29.bravenet.com/resources/clipart/index.php?search=category&category=12&cp=5 - 08/08/03
2009 Image of the Hotel Chamberlin courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/123glenrose/3750248824/ - 10/09/09