One of the twelve portrait medallions on the Lobby ceiling beams .
One of the thirteen heraldic shields on the Lobby ceiling beams , based on the arms of the City of Paris .
The three ships of Columbus over the Lobby fireplace by muralist Einar Petersen , who was in charge of the original hotel coloring . Photo : J . Craig Sweat Photography
Like Louis Davenport , Walt Worthy has always been expanding and upgrading . Thanks to him and to Karen , the Historic Davenport Hotel , itself a complex and beautiful work of art — has been revitalized . The original historical paintings have been cleaned and restored , but newer commissioned artworks have been added , such as the murals around the basement swimming pool and the stained glass ceiling by glass artist Susan Kim in the Peacock Lounge , just off the main lobby . A few years after the Historic Davenport reopened , the Worthys bought a vacant lot — an ugly hole in the ground — kitty-corner to the Davenport . There they built the Davenport Tower , the first addition of what later comprised the Davenport Collection of downtown hotels ( including the Lusso , the Davenport Grand , and the Centennial ). With its creative African wildlife theme , it is full of new art : stained glass , murals , and bronze sculpture . All of this was done by artists and artisans within the Inland Empire .
A view of the Lobby beams .
A view of the Elizabethan Banquet Room in 1925
A view of the Davenport Lobby
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56 ART CHOWDER MAGAZINE