Tacoma, WASHINGTON - Hotel Winthrop - William Lee Stoddart - 1931 - flags For Sale

Tacoma, WASHINGTON - Hotel Winthrop - William Lee Stoddart - 1931: Winthrop Hotel, Tacoma, Washington (1925): Currently known as the Winthrop Apartments, this 12-story structure is at 776 Commerce Street (also bounded by South 9th Street and South Broadway) in Tacoma. It is remarkable for being so distant from the east coast where Stoddart's commissions were concentrated. William Lee Stoddart (1868–1940) was the architect for the hotel, but was best known for designing urban hotels in the eastern United States. Although he was born in Tenafly, New Jersey, most of his commissions were in the South. He maintained offices in Atlanta and New York City. Stoddart took pride in the efficient, rational design of his hotels, which reflected the enthusiasm for scientific management of his era. He expressed his approach to hotel design as a series of rules or formulas that would lead to maximum profitability. His design philosophy was similar to that of E.M. Statler's emphasis on efficiency in hotel architecture, except that Stoddart's hotels were smaller, less luxurious (e.g., not all guestrooms had ensuite bathrooms), and were in smaller cities. Both Stoddart and Statler aimed their hotels at serving the market niche of traveling sales representatives. This White Border Era postcard, hand dated on the card's reverse July 1-2, 1931, is in good condition. E. C. Kropp Co. Milwaukee. No. 30535.