During the hotel's construction, it was discovered that the Statler's planned 155 foot height exceeded the maximum height of allowed by the Massachusetts State Building Code. However the building was granted a special exemption by Mayor
James Michael Curley, making it the tallest building in the city for a time, with the exception of the
Boston Custom House Tower. In 1997, the Saunders Hotel Group (Roger Saunders and sons) sold the Boston Park Plaza to
Starwood. to the Sunstone Hotel Investors
REIT who retained Highgate to manage the hotel, and shortened the hotel's name to simply
Boston Park Plaza. In 2016 Sunstone completed a $100 million renovation of the hotel and received a Four Diamond Award from
AAA. In 2023, the hotel was sold to Mexico City-based Parks Hospitality Holdings for $370 million. It was rebranded the
Hilton Boston Park Plaza on October 31, 2023, when
Hilton Hotels & Resorts assumed management. From 1994 through 2018, the Boston Park Plaza was a member of
Historic Hotels of America, the official program of the
National Trust for Historic Preservation.
2024 open-ended strike On October 6, 2024,
UNITE HERE Local 26 members employed at the Hilton Boston Park Plaza began an opened-ended strike which involves 24 hours a day, 7 days a week picketing outside the hotel's entrance. On October 7, it was reported that in contrast to previous labor strikes in Boston which sometimes only lasted a few days, the ongoing strike at Hilton Boston Park Plaza would continue indefinitely. The strike picketing at Hilton Boston Park Plaza would end on October 30, 2024 after the striking hotel workers voted to ratify a new labor contract. Hilton Boston Park Plaza workers would then return to work on November 1, 2024.
Other tenants The Statler Hotel building was also home to the
Northern Jurisdiction of the
Scottish Rite from 1927 to 1968, and radio station
WEZE's broadcast studio from 1957 to 1977.
George Carlin worked briefly as a
DJ at WEZE in 1957.
TWA and
Delta had ticket offices in the building until 1998 and 2000 respectively. In the late 1960s, the
University of Massachusetts Boston leased part of the building and converted it into faculty and departmental office space. The building has also served as the venue for
Anthro New England, a
furry convention held in the
Greater Boston area. In 2023 Road Scholar moved its headquarters into the Statler Building.
Park Plaza Castle The hotel used to operate the Park Plaza Castle, a banquet facility located in the adjacent former
Armory of the First Corps of Cadets building, listed on the
National Register of Historic Places. == See also ==