Fort Wayne Holiday Inn Gives Meaning to "Theme Hotel"
Close Ties to IPFW, Holiday Inn Past and Future Apparent Throughout Hotel
FORT WAYNE, IN, September 23, 2008. The new, full-service Holiday Inn on the campus of Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW) and across from the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, gives new meaning to the concept of a "theme hotel." Not only are the close ties between the hotel and IPFW apparent throughout, but the facility offers guests a look at the history of the Holiday Inn brand while proudly revealing the chain's new look.
Scheduled to open in early October with a Grand Opening slated for the 23rd of that month, the city's first new full-service hotel in 20 years offers several examples of its partnership as a mentoring facility for IPFW students. A specially designed wing at the hotel with its own entrance serves students with its own kitchen, food preparation area and classroom. Artwork created by students in the university's fine arts department will be displayed in areas of the hotel; the sixth floor includes a luxurious Chancellor's Suite; the Faculty Club and Mastodon Grill are situated on the hotel's main level; the oversized pool area sports a replica mastodon "Swimmer Don." The IPFW mascot is a mastodon.
Those close to Fort Wayne and the university recall the city's first community art project, "Mastodons on Parade," that was a celebration of IPFW's 40th anniversary. In 2005 that event placed 102 decorated mastodons on street corners and near businesses throughout the city. Swimmer Don is one of those animals, artistically created by Boyden & Youngblutt and sponsored by Three Rivers Federal Credit Union.
Carrying the concept of a theme hotel even further, the facility is the first property in the nationwide chain to sport a new decorating scheme, new Holiday Inn sign and logo, and specially designed outdoor lighting that ultimately will grace similar hotels nationwide. The fresh logo and outdoor sign are a simple yet elegant departure from the Holiday Inn signs of the 50s and 60s, and at night, the soft yellow exterior of the hotel will be uplighted with soft green spotlights.
The hotel exemplifies the new and welcoming image of the redesigned Holiday Inns, and artwork in the facility's individual rooms provides a nostalgic feel. Black-and-white photos trace the chain's progress, and include shots of founder Kemmons Wilson, and his wife, Dorothy Lee, and other signs and scenes that capture the rich history of early Holiday Inns.
According to the new hotel's general manager, Rob Evans, the hotel and its d'ecor are reflective and dynamic. "Much like the windshield of a car looks forward, the new look for this Holiday Inn is a forward vision of the chain's look for the future." "And," Evans noted, "Just as a rear-view mirror provides a view of the past - where you have just driven -the artwork in some of the guest rooms and suites document much of Holiday Inn's past."
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