The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-12-03
Y SATURDAY, DECEMBER 3. 1904,
Rict1lnond's Growth.

u Is encouraging and gratifying to know
that the new Richmond Hotel and Muir
nby,s Hotel are each to be greatly en-
Il larEcd. Mr. J. Marshall Atkinson, man
aser OF The Richmond. says that ABOUT
Tho first Of the year he will begin work
on new addition, which will have a
front of one hundred feet on Ninth Street
and a. depth of seventy-five feet, and the
present structure will be run up three
stories higher SO as to make the en-
tire building OF uniform height. The
building, when completed, will be one
l@of the handsomest hotels in the south Sou Il
and an ornament to the city.
81 Colonel John Murphy owns at Eighth
and Grace Streets the ground fronting
ono hundred and twenty-five feet on the
former. and one hundred and thirty-six
& feet on the latter. He proposes to build
on that site a modern twelve-story no.
tel. which lie declares will be the best
that the architect can devise. He rough
Hly estimates that this new building will
give him more than four hundred addi-
tioilal rooms.
It Is gratifying to learn that these I'M
sproven1ents will be made; it Is more
gratifying to know that the improvements
are made necessary by the great Increase
: in patronage Of these hotels. The Hotel
Richmond Is a new structure, and was
But recently thrown open to the public.
IT is not long since Colonel Murphy erect!
cd the handsome new annex to hts hotel,
and he says that when 1t was completed
lie thought he would be done with buid-
: ing for ten years at least. A1r. Atkinson
now says that the room he has is wholly
Inadequate for the accommodation of
guests the growth Of his patronage hav-
4 ang far exceeded the expectations Of all
i concerned. Colonel Murphy says that in
s spite Of the new annex to his hotel his
patronage has grown TO such an extent
and the number Of people who want TO
4 stop over and see Richmond has 30 large
Is increa sed that his hotel is now more
crowded than It was when he had nothing
4 but the old structure
EIneEey could DC no DeLlcI't cNIucHCc lI'dU
this Of the growth OF Richmond and OF
its popularity as d trading center and as
resort for pleasure scekers. There was
time when it was believed that a city
would have SO many visitors and no
more. no matter what was the condition
3 of its hotels. hut It is now well under
4 stood that good hotel accommodations at
tract visitors. while poor hotel accommo.
dations tend to keep them away. The bet,
ter our hotel facilities the greater tho
number OF visitors We shall have and
there Is no danger OF OVERRIDING tho hotel
y business in Richmond. TO say nothing
of the normal increase, it will not be
long before the year Of tho jamestown
Exposition. arid Richmond should be pre-
pared TO entertain the great influx of
visitors during that year. In addition to
" the jamestown Exposition We shall have
the Episcopal General Convention In Rich
mond during that yoar. and altogether
we shall need a considerable enlargement
Of our hotel capacity. II is gratifying TO
know that two OF the principal hotels will
soon begin to mako ready and 1t is to DO
hoped that before 1907 the Jefferson Hotel
will have been restored to Ais former pro-
portions.