Hilton Garden Inn Downtown Grand Opening

The Hilton Garden Inn Milwaukee Downtown technically opened its doors on Nov. 13., but they waited to roll out the red carpet for their invite-only grand opening party until last night, complete with complimentary samples from Lakefront Brewery, Great Lakes Distillery, and Angelo Gelato Italiano. Appetizers and champagne were catered in-house and served with kid gloves. The event’s theme was “An Evening with the Stars of Yesteryear.”

The hotel lobby and atrium were strewn with good-natured attendees as well as actors portraying FDR, Humphrey Bogart, Katharine Hepburn, two Marilyn Monroes, Ringo Starr, Frank Sinatra, Albert Einstein, and other fitting characters who were featured in the hotel’s decor, furnished from the TIME/LIFE Magazine photography archives.

Representatives from Pathfinders were present to offer hotel gift certificates good for one night’s stay at the Hilton Garden Inn Milwaukee Downtown with breakfast for two for $100. Half of the proceeds ($50) will be donated to the youth charity and are still available for purchase through Dec. 13 via their website.

Guided tours of the newly-renovated historic hotel were available throughout the evening.  There were also brief speeches by the hotel’s General Manager Lisa Farrell, Stephen L. Schwartz (founder & CEO of First Hospitality Group), District 4 Alderman Robert Bauman, Executive Director Anna-Marie Opgenorth of Historic Milwaukee, Inc., and Paul Upchurch, the President & CEO of VISIT Milwaukee.  Mayor Tom Barrett also attended briefly.

Lacy Landre‘s coverage of the event can be seen in TCD’s Flickr gallery:

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