The hotel was developed by
Henry P. Rines, a Portland hotelier. Designed by Portland architect
Herbert W. Rhodes, it opened in 1927 as
The Eastland, the largest hotel in
New England. Aviator
Charles Lindbergh stayed at The Eastland after returning from his historic solo non-stop flight across the
Atlantic Ocean. In 1946, the hotel gained attention when it refused to allow former
First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt to stay with her dog, Fala, for the night. She instead stayed at the Royal River Cabins in
Yarmouth. In 1961, The Eastland was bought by the Dunfey family. In 1965, they made it a
Sheraton Hotels franchise operation, and it was renamed the
Sheraton-Eastland Motor Hotel. The hotel left Sheraton in 1974 and became the
Eastland Motor Hotel. It was sold in 1980 and renovated. While undergoing renovations, it suffered a fire in November 1981, resulting in the destruction of the hotel's ballroom, which was being used to store bedding and furniture for the renovated guest rooms. The hotel was renamed the
Sonesta Portland Hotel in 1983. It left Sonesta in January 1995 and was briefly renamed the
Eastland Plaza Hotel, only to become the
Radisson Eastland Hotel Portland six months later, in July 1995. Following a 1997 sale of the property, the hotel left Radisson in December 1999 amid legal disputes and was renamed the
Eastland Hotel. Following a foreclosure sale in 2000, its name was modified slightly to the
Eastland Park Hotel. It kept that name through a 2004 renovation until it closed in 2011. The hotel was completely gutted and rebuilt as a modern business hotel and reopened as
The Westin Portland Harborview on December 12, 2013. ==See also==