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Show Early American 'Ordinary' , Forerunner of the Hotel The early American public house or "ordinary'' as it "was commonly calld, was the crude forerunner of the modern hotel in this country. With the development of roads these "flrdinary" increased. Gradually the old name was dropped, and the public houses, with their taprooms and great fireplaces, became known as taverns. About the time of the Revolution the word hotel was found in general use, relates a writer in the Chicago Tribune. In 1794 the City hotel, a New York htiuse with 73 rooms, was opened. It was considered a tremendous establishment es-tablishment in its time. Soon other hotels were built in Philadelphia, Boston, and Baltimore. The new establishments es-tablishments were confined, however, howev-er, to the principal eastern cities until the development of the railroad. rail-road. The first steam trains carried many commercial travelers westward west-ward into new business territories. Quickly their numbers increased and aa quickly hotels sprang up in the towns and cities which became their stopping places. |
