Page 10 - Reedley Exponent 1-4-18 E-edition

The Reedley Exponent A10 Thursday, January 4, 2018
BURGESS Continued from page A1
It’s gorgeous. They’ve done a great job. If you’re into histor- ical stuff, this is a must.”
Wendy said she has put her design skills to work in fixing up the rooms. She worked night and day for months to get many of the rooms ready for occupancy. Currently, 15 of the 17 rooms on the property are available for bookings by customers.
“Everything literally has been my design, my idea,” she said. “The colors on the wall. It’s just what I like to see when I go to a hotel.”
One of the rooms’ special characteristics has been old- fashioned radiator-style heat- ers. While the design has been vintage, they are state-of-the- art and energy efficient.
The building operated continuously as a hotel for 94 years before closing in 2012. The building initially was the “Hotel Winnes” when it opened in 1918. It later was called Hotel Burgess in the 1970s when Myrtle Burgess took control of the building af- ter her divorce from William “Bill” Bloyd Jr. At the time, rooms were decorated in in- ternational themes as well as turn-of-the-century style Vic- torian rooms.
Dating back to its time as Hotel Winnes, the hotel had two distinguished visitors from Korea — Ahn Chang-Ho and Syngman Rhee.
According to a 2011 article by Jim Bulls of the Reedley Historical Society, Ahn was a Korean independence activist and one of the early leaders of the Korean-American im- migrants in the United States. He protested the Japanese occupation of Korea and is believed to have written the lyrics of the South Korean na- tional anthem. Rhee was the first president of the Provi- sional Government of the Re- public of Korea and then the first president of South Korea.
Both Ahn and Rhee both stayed in the historical Room 14 — at the time called the “Presidential Suite” and now Room 20 at the hotel. The Riveras said that the Korean Historical Society recently has visited the Burgess and
are planning to present a por- trait to the hotel to be placed in that room.
“A delegation may come here later this year with tour guides, about 12 to 15 tourists that come together,” Jose Ri- vera said. Last week, one of the delegation members vis- ited the hotel and toured the room.
“A lot of \[Korean visitors\] come here because their fore- fathers stayed here,” Jose said.
Wendy said the hotel has worked out partnerships with Mainstreet Cafe to provide meals for guests. In the fu- ture, the Riveras eventually want to open a cafe or restau- rant in the lot building space at the southwest corner of G and 12th Streets.
In early November, Mi- chaela Bosakova visited with her family from Prague in the Czech Republic and stayed at the hotel. The party of five had been staying in San Francisco for about a month, and stayed at the Burgess for when they visited California’s national parks including Yo- semite.
“I think we have some nice weather right now,” Bo- sakova said at the time. “It’s a very nice hotel. Beautiful.”
Wendy said she wants to hotel to reflect an era when “times were more tranquil. More calm.”
“I’ve been hearing from guests from the \[United King- dom\] and who travel a lot,” she said. “They say there are a lot of hotels there like this one. They call them ‘boutique’ hotels.”
The Riveras have booked guests who have had wed- dings at the Hidden Hollow venue north of Reedley. They continue to book visitors who come to town for special oc- casions, including the Reed- ley Fiesta and other local events.
Jose said it’s special for him — a Reedley native who attended Jefferson Elemen- tary School, Grant Middle School and Reedley High School — to help bring the Hotel Burgess back as a his- torical and social anchor of downtown.
“We’re living the Ameri- can dream,” he said.
TOP: New fixtures and furniture are part of Room 14 at the Hotel Burgess in downtown Reedley. The hotel has been open for busi- ness since mid-July. Out-of-state and foreign tourists have stayed at the hotel as they visit nearby national parks.
ABOVE: Room 11 of the Hotel Burgess looks out over the south- west corner of 12th and G Streets in downtown Reedley.
RIGHT: Wendy Rivera stands next to a doorway in the second floor hallway of the hotel on Nov. 8. Jose and Wendy Rivera have invested about $150,000 into refurbishing the 17-room hotel af- ter purchasing the historic site in April. Currently, 15 rooms have
been remodeled and are available for occupancy.
File Photos / The Exponent
IT HAPPENED.
LET’S FIX IT.
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We both know you went a little cuckoo during the holidays.
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