It remained this way until the city of Newton determinedly sought partners to rehabilitate the structure, not just to its original grandeur, but to its status as an economic contributor and boon to Newton. Over the years, difficult market conditions and economic challenges, including the closure of the last remaining Maytag factory-one of the city’s largest employers-led to the building’s continual decline. In short, the Hotel Maytag was in serious disrepair. Pipes were bursting or rotting and leaking into the movie theater. Rooms and apartments throughout the building had deteriorated nearly beyond recognition. The once grand ballroom had been divided into more than 20 different offices and enclosed by a drop ceiling that concealed the skylight and intricate plaster relief above. Walking into the building at the depth of its decline, one could be forgiven for thinking it was beyond repair. The 81,979-square-foot structure endured multiple ownership changes during the next several decades and began to decline. In the mid-1960s, however, the main ballroom closed, and the hotel’s interior spaces were chopped up to create apartments, offices and commercial spaces. Judy Garland and Gary Cooper performed at the Capitol Theater, scrawling their signatures into the wall in the basement dressing room. Designed by Chicago architect Henry Raeder and constructed by Frederick Louis Maytag, owner of Maytag Corp., the Hotel Maytag boasts finished brick, terra-cotta panels, and classical columns and motifs.ĭuring the next 40 years, the Hotel Maytag would serve as Newton’s primary event hub, hosting everything from weddings and dances to graduation ceremonies and musical performances.
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