Imperial Hotel Sam Furrow Collection

Located on the corner of Gay Street and Clinch Avenue, the Imperial Hotel was one of at least three hotels built on this spot. The prior hotel on this spot was known as the Hattie House and before that it was the home of Captain John Crozier, an attorney and two-time congressman, who’s home was notable for its impressive library. Captain Crozier’s daughter Lizzie Crozier French grew up to be Knoxville’s leading advocate in the suffrage movement during the early twentieth century. You can learn more about her story in the latest edition of West Knoxville L:ifetys;le by KHP staffer, Paul James at: https://citylifestyle.com/knoxville-tn/articles/life-and-culture/the-formidable-lizzie-crozzier-french The Imperial Hotel was destroyed by fire in 1917 and rebuilt two years later as the Hotel Farragut. The Farragut remained as a hotel into the 1970s and later served other purposes before it was restored by Rick Dover and re-opened as Hyatt Place in 2018. Photo Credit: Imperial Hotel on gay Street (Sam Furrow Knoxville Digital Postcard Collection)