Mary Elizabeth Hotel & Fiesta Club
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Description
Mary Elizabeth Hotel was built in 1921 by Dr. William B. Sawyer. The hotel was operated by his wife, Alberta Sawyer, a businesswoman at a time when such a vocation for women was unusual. The Mary Elizabeth was the tallest building in Colored Town at the time with ninety rooms. It was considered a well-equipped edifice with elevator service and an inter-communication system that connected the rooms to the desk clerk in the lobby. The hotel had private bathroom facilities available for thirty-seven of the rooms. There were two lounges: the Flamingo Room and the Zebra Lounge.
The Mary Elizabeth served as a favorite retreat for many dignitaries. W.E.B. DuBois, who was a mentor to Dr. Sawyer, frequented the hotel on his way to and from conferences in the West Indies. Mary McLeod Bethune’s son Bart managed the hotel-based drug store for many years, so it was not unusual to see Mrs. Bethune coming or going. Other dignitaries who stayed at the hotel included: A Phillip Randolph, Thurgood Marshall, and Adam Clayton Powell. The hotel was an integral hub of Colored Town’s festive night life. Many renowned African-Americans, such as Marian Anderson and Bessie Smith, lodged in Colored Town because they were denied the right to stay in the hostelries where they were performing because of racial segregation. These entertainers often held all night jam sessions in the hotels in Colored Town for their African American audiences.
Excerpt from the AT&T Miami-Dade County African-American History Calendar, 1994-2012, 2014-2017.
Sources:
//www.theblackarchives.org/archon/?p=digitallibrary/digitalcontent&id=188
//www.miamiandbeaches.com/things-to-do/history-and-heritage/black-archives-history-foundation
