LOUISVILLE, Ky. — It’s springtime and Derby season, which means the Brown Hotel’s gift shop is well stocked with fashionable trackside attire.

The hotel is also set to celebrate 100 years of operation.

What You Need To Know

  • Louisville’s Brown Hotel is turning 100 in October

  • The hotel survived many historic events, including the Great Depression and the Great Flood of 1937

  • To commemorate the anniversary, the hotel is hosting a contest to stay at the hotel for $19.23 a night

“There’s so much history here and it’s an honor to work here. It’s a beautiful hotel and like I said, the history and celebrities and famous people that have been here,” sales associate Geoff Skall said. 

The Brown Hotel, which opened in Oct. 1923, has hosted big names like Elizabeth Taylor and Muhammad Ali, as well as former presidents Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush and Barack Obama.

Marc Salmon, the hotel’s human resource director, said the significance of the landmark extends beyond those with high notoriety.

“So many people [in Kentucky], and even from around the country and the world, hold the most incredible memories of this place,” Salmon said. 

Salmon has served as the hotel’s HR Director since 2002 and agrees the hotel has been a cornerstone in many guests’ life experiences.

“So many people have gotten married here, proposed to here, stayed here their first night in Louisville,” he recalled.

To commemorate the anniversary, the hotel is hosting a contest where select guests can stay at the hotel for $19.23 a night.

In the months of April and May, the Brown is also offering deals on a special Mint Julep—a drink that wasn’t available when the hotel first opened because of Prohibition. 

“If you think about it, we’ve survived prohibition, which was in existence when we opened, survived a Great Depression when we had staff working here without pay, just to have somewhere to go every day,” Salmon said. 

The hotel also survived the historic Great Flood of 1937. Salmon even recalled a fish-related story from the flood.

“Our bell captain caught a fish in the lobby and, standing on our grand staircase, our cooks actually served that fish. A number of our guests were sleeping on Army cots in our crystal ballroom,” Salmon said. 

As the hotel looks back at what it is has endured and the legacy it has within Louisville and Kentucky, Salmon says he hopes to see the impact grow well into the future.

“I think our role for the future is to carry our past into the future and continue to make those memories for people,” Salmon said.