In the early 1900s, everyone in the Southeast, and some beyond, had heard of the Anniston Inn. The sprawling resort drew people from across the country because of its architecture, luxurious settings and state-of-the-art amenities such as electric lights. It was located atop Marvin Hill in downtown Anniston.

The Queen Anne-Style resort cost $260,000 to build in the 1880s, which would be close to $8 million today.

An article in The Selma Times on May 25, 1884, described how the finished inn would look: “In elegance and richness, it will be unsurpassed.”

The hotel’s footprint measured 245-by-106 feet and was five stories high, the article said.

“The first story is of stone, the second of pressured brick laid in brown mortar, the last three of wood covered with shingle of California redwood, dipped in oil …The whole interior will be finished with hard woods, oiled and polished, with artistic fireplaces and stair ways.”

Main Street Anniston, a downtown revitalization program, described the inn: “With broad verandas, towering dormers, and hand-crafted woodwork, the inn welcomed business moguls, investors, and elegant gatherings in its grand dining hall with 17-foot ceilings and exposed beams. Designed with stunning attention to detail and rumored to have connections to top-tier architects from New York and Philadelphia, the inn was a showstopper — a symbol of ambition and prosperity rising from the red clay of Northeast Alabama.”

In 1923, one room at the inn caught fire and the hotel was soon engulfed.

One thing was saved: The hotel’s kitchen. But it was no ordinary commercial kitchen. It was a 9,000-square-foot, four-story brick building that still stands today. Because the kitchen was thought to be the most likely place for a fire, a firewall was built between it and the inn. Ironically, the firewall built to protect the hotel ended up saving the kitchen.

The kitchen annex included more than just a place to cook. It also housed employees’ quarters and children’s dining rooms.

The restored building at 130 West 15th Street is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. For many years, it was used as an event center, but it closed.

“Today, the Historic Anniston Inn Kitchen is vacant, waiting for its next chapter,” Main Street Anniston says. “But its story is far from over. It’s one of the last standing connections to Anniston’s founding vision — a city built with purpose, pride, and no small amount of Southern sophistication.”