Hawthorne Hotel

The Hawthorne Hotel opened in 1925 on Washington Square West in Salem, Massachusetts, and takes its name from the novelist and Salem native Nathaniel Hawthorne. It is a member of Historic Hotels of America, the official programme of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and U.S. News & World Report has ranked it the number one hotel in Salem. In a city whose identity is bound up with its dark history, the Hawthorne has accumulated a file of its own: it has been listed among the most notable allegedly haunted places not only in Massachusetts but in the whole of the United States. Guests therefore check into a double proposition — on one hand a distinguished historic hotel with official heritage credentials, on the other a reputed focus of unexplained activity. The establishment lives at that crossing of documented heritage and persistent reputation, a duality that draws heritage travellers and the curious in equal measure.

The Hawthorne Hotel opened on July 23, 1925, on Washington Square West in Salem, Massachusetts. It was named in honor of Nathaniel Hawthorne, the Salem-born novelist whose 1850 novel The Scarlet Letter remains the city's most iconic literary reference. The hotel was conceived by Salem business leaders who, in the early 1920s, formed the Salem Hotel Company and elevated Frank Poor -- founder of the Osram Sylvania / North Shore Lighting Company -- as its first president. Poor led the effort to build what the hotel's own history describes as "Salem's own hotel," on the site that had previously been the Franklin Building, headquarters of the Salem Marine Society and acquired by sea captain Thomas Handasyd Perkins in 1838. The Franklin Building had suffered two mid-century fires and was completely razed in 1860; the Marine Society ordered its reconstruction between 1863 and 1864 while the American Civil War was ongoing. The hotel originally operated as the Hawthorne Hotel. In the 1950s, to meet the growing demand for automobile travel, the property temporarily changed its name to the Hawthorne Motor Hotel and covered its Palladian ballroom windows in a bid to appear more "modern." The name reverted in later decades. The Salem Marine Society was able to rebuild its headquarters into the hotel structure, maintaining a physical and historical link between the 1838 sea-captain headquarters and the 1925 hospitality venue. The Hawthorne Hotel was inducted into Historic Hotels of America in 1991, becoming one of the program's first members. The official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation recognizes and celebrates the finest historic hotels in the United States. The hotel has received Historic Hotels of America's Award of Excellence -- the organization's highest honor -- for "Best City Center Historic Hotel" in 2015. U.S. News & World Report has ranked it the number one hotel in Salem. Notable guests have included U.S. President Bill Clinton, General Colin Powell, former First Lady Barbara Bush, broadcast journalist Walter Cronkite, and actors Johnny Cash, Elizabeth Montgomery (who stayed during the filming of Bewitched: The Salem Saga in the 1970s), and Robert de Niro and Jennifer Lawrence (who filmed scenes for Joy in the hotel's Grand Ballroom, Mezzanine, and a guest room in 2015.) The hotel's address is 18 Washington Square W, Salem, MA 01970, and it remains a functioning historic hotel with 93 rooms and 10 suites across five floors.

The Hawthorne Hotel is at 18 Washington Square W, Salem, MA 01970. The hotel is open to day visitors, diners, and overnight guests. Daytime access is granted to the lobby, Tavern Nathaniel's, and the Grand Ballroom during scheduled events; overnight guests have full access to all floors. The hotel does not operate a dedicated ghost tour, but its own staff mention paranormal stories on request; visitors interested in the reported hauntings may ask at the front desk for the current narrative. Parking is available in the hotel's guest lot and on nearby streets. The hotel is accessible via several Salem Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (SRTA) bus routes; the Salem Ferry stops at nearby Salem Wharf. The building is partially ADA-compliant; service animals are welcome. The hotel is a functioning historic hotel with 93 rooms and 10 suites -- it is not a museum or a preserved ruin, and visitors should comport themselves accordingly. Room 325 is the most frequently cited room for reported activity, and the sixth floor and Room 612 have had reports of a ghostly woman walking the halls, but these claims remain unattributed and are part of the hotel's marketed storytelling rather than verified phenomena.