Hotel Utica: Judy Garland slept here, and then it closed
The 1912 hotel hosted presidents and movie stars, closed in 1972, and reopened in 2001 after a restoration. It is now a Doubletree.
By Priya Nadler
The Hotel Utica opened on March 11, 1912, as a 10-story fireproof building with 200 rooms, four dining rooms, a ballroom, an assembly hall, a ladies’ restaurant and a grill for gentlemen. It was designed by Esenwein & Johnson of Buffalo for the United Hotels Company of America. Three more floors went on in 1926, bringing the count to 250 rooms.
The guest list over the years included Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, Judy Garland, Mickey Mantle, Mae West, Bobby Darin and Hopalong Cassidy, and later Vice President Dick Cheney.
Business fell off, and the hotel stopped operating in 1972. The building was used as two adult care residences, first Hunter House and then Loretto Adult Residence, and then sat empty.
Local investors Joseph R. Carucci and Charles N. Gaetano bought it and took on a restoration paid for in part with public money. The hotel reopened in 2001. Since 2017 it has operated as the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Utica.