APThe neon sign of the Vernon Manor hotel burns brightly in the minutes before sunrise on its final day. The historic hotel closed at noon Tuesday, March 31, 2009.CINCINNATI, Ohio – The long and winding road has ended for a Cincinnati hotel where the Beatles once stayed.
The elegant Vernon Manor closed Tuesday after 85 years.
The 177-room hotel played host to Presidents Lyndon Johnson and John F. Kennedy and was seen in the 1989 Oscar winner for Best Picture, “Rain Man.” The Beatles stayed in room 624 during a 1966 tour, and the hotel made over the suite as a tribute to the Fab Four.
In a statement earlier this month, the Vernon Manor’s owners said they were “evaluating options” for its future. Mayor Mark Mallory says he will fight any effort to tear it down.
Mallory was one of the hotel’s last guests, staying there its last two nights because he said he wanted to pay tribute to its workers, some of whom had been there for decades.
When Mallory checked out, bell captain Rock Tarrance gave him his resumé. Its first sentence: “I have not missed a day of work in 20 years.”
That, the mayor said, “is the dedication that made the Vernon Manor special.”
Tarrance, who spent 28 years at the hotel, continued carrying suitcases to guests’ cars on his last day, sending each off with, “Thanks for the memories.”
Nancy Mongillo was also among the guests who stayed at the hotel on its last night. She chatted with other Christ Hospital employees on its rooftop patio and talked about her recent stay in the Beatles suite. She said she saw the band at the 1966 concert that coincided with their stay in the room.
The closing saddened many longtime employees.
“I can’t stop crying,” desk clerk Shannon Gray said as she bid three guests goodbye with hugs and tears. “I’m out of Kleenex.”
Domenico Virginillo cut hair in the hotel’s barbershop for 36 years. Decades ago, he saw movie stars Loretta Young and Yul Brynner swimming in the hotel’s pool, long since covered by a parking lot.
Linda Bailey, the hotel’s sales manager, popped into Virginillo’s shop to take his picture and give him a goodbye hug.
“I hope somebody takes care of her,” Bailey said, patting the shop’s door. “She is a majestic lady.”
