Turner Films the Windsor for its Blue Ribbon Series

AMERICUS, GA (Aug. 18) - Wednesday, August 17, 2005 was a busy and exciting day at the Windsor Hotel, located in Americus, Georgia. The historic 1892 Windsor received the visit of a production crew hired by Turner South to film one of the episodes of its Blue Ribbon Show. TV producer Kris Larsen and the cameramen arrived at the Windsor on Wednesday morning and spent all day shooting different areas of the hotel, as well as interviewing local citizens that had a connection to the hotel. The footage ended at 10 p.m. with a final shot of the Windsor’s Floyd’s Pub, were a large crowd gathered, like they do every Wednesday night, for a Trivia Tournament. 

   The Windsor was the only hotel chosen among several historic hotels in Georgia to be featured in the Blue Ribbon’s episode “Historic Hotels”, along with three other hotels also located in Southern states. The episode on Historic Hotels will be aired sometime in 2006. The management of the Windsor was thrilled and proud with this opportunity and would like to thank the community for its great effort and for keeping the Windsor alive and a lively place to be. 

   According to the production crew, the Windsor was chosen because of its rich history and past, and the uniqueness of its architecture. The Windsor was built in 1892 and was the idea of a group of investors that wanted to bring the wealthy Yankees to spend their winters in the warm weathers of the South. The Windsor flourished for about 60 years, until it closed its doors in 1974 after its last owner, Howard Dayton, donated the hotel to the City of Americus. Faced with a dilemma, restore or demolish the hotel, the city of Americus decided to start a major restoration process in 1990 and invested $5.8 million dollars in the hotel, which had been closed for almost two decades. The hotel reopened its doors in 1991 with a huge celebration. 

   Among the local citizens interviewed by producer Kris Larsen, were Russell Thomas, mayor of Americus at the time of the restoration, and who was faced with the difficult decision of restoring or demolishing the Windsor. Thomas spoke about the restoration and the commission established to undertake the process. Jim Littlefield, project manager of the 1991 restoration was also interviewed by Larsen. He described the hotel before the renovation and explained the origin of certain furniture items in the lobby. Martha Woods, local of Americus, was one of the interviewees and spoke about dance balls she attended at the Windsor Grand Dining Room, that used to be a ballroom, during World War II. Local businessman Roy Parker talked about the first time he saw the Windsor at the age of 12. Senator Hooks was also interviewed by the producer along with owner Sharad Patel. Several guests were interviewed at Floyd’s Pub and in the atrium lobby. The Bridal suite and Carter Presidential Suite, the latter named in honor of former President Jimmy Carter were also filmed, along with the Grand Dining Room, and the outside of the hotel lit up at night. 

   Kathleen Walls, author of the Georgia Ghostly Getaways was also present at the footage, and she spoke about ghost stories at the hotel. The production crew also recreated one of Walls’ stories; the one of the ghost of a little girl who runs and laughs in the hallways at night. The scene of the ghost was performed by the Grand Dining Room Manager, Ida Robinson and local 12-year old Mary Francis Thomas, and was one of the most appealing parts of the footage.