Hotels

La Pierre House In 1872, John M. Langston, the dean of Law School at Howard University, visited Philadelphia and stopped by La Pierre. The establishment was expanded and renamed La Fayette Hotel. In 1855, The National Era listed La Pierre as one of the leading hotels in Philadelphia, in which the newspaper’s readers (mostly people of color) could go, but the paper warned that prices have gone up. The National Era notes that such increase compromise the hotels’ recent ads [note]“Miscellaneous Items.” The National Era, June 7, 1855. Accessible Archives. www.accessible.com (Accessed April 1, 2016).[/note]

Madison House. In light of the increased prices at Jones, Girard, and La Pierre hotels, The National Era implicitly suggested Madison House as a better option, listing its more reasonable prices. A contributor for the The Colored American indicated that he had a fairly favorable experience traveling to Philadelphia and staying at Madison House.[note]G.J.A. “For The Colored American. Trip to Philadelphia.” The Colored American, October 27, 1838. Accessible Archives. www.accessible.com (Accessed April 1, 2016).[/note] 

Girard House was a grand hotel that hosted anti-slavery politicians such as Joshua Reed Giddings and John Parker Hale. While staying at Girard House in 1859, Giddings sent a card to be published in The National Era addressing the irresponsible conduct of the men in charge of John Brown and the Harper’s Ferry case. In 1852, abolitionists and other individuals welcomed the arrival of Hale to town and escorted him to Girard House. While Hale is in Philadelphia, Frederick Douglass’ Paper reports that his address was attended by numerous ladies and gentlemen. An 1855 issue of The National Era also indicates to its readers that Girard House is one of possible options for those travelling to Philadelphia. Its prices are the same as that of La Pierre and Jones’ Hotel.