Originally a
Second Empire-style home built 1876 and later a rooming house called the Hotel Terry, the property was purchased in 1931 by African American entrepreneur
Horace Sudduth. Sudduth was a prominent local businessman — the Cincinnati Enquirer called him "the No. 1 Negro citizen of Cincinnati" in 1951 — who did business in banking and real estate. and a nearby building was annexed a few years later. The hotel was listed in
The Negro Motorist Green Book, a guide to services and places for African-American roadtrippers during the era of
Jim Crow laws, starting in the guide's fourth edition in 1940. The new hotel had major cultural significance for Cincinnati's black community and hosted events including weddings and social and professional group meetings. The hotel was the location of the 1946
NAACP National Convention. Notable attendees included future Supreme Court Justice
Thurgood Marshall, boxer
Joe Louis and members of the
Tuskegee Airmen. Visiting black athletes also often stayed in the Manse. These included future
Hall of Fame baseball players
Frank Robinson,
Jackie Robinson,
Roy Campanella,
Hank Aaron, and
Willie Mays.
Ezzard Charles, the "Cincinnati Cobra", held a press conference at the hotel when he became the world heavyweight champion in boxing in 1950. ==References==