Converted hotel again renting rooms
BEATRICE — Lucille Mohling used to be the one pouring the coffee inside the Paddock-Kensington Hotel.
From 1960 until 1970, she was a waitress at the sandwich counter — a place with green and black Formica-topped tables called the Piccadilly.
The first time she served the actor Robert Taylor, who grew up in Beatrice and visited his hometown from time to time, he left her a $1 tip, which was a lot, back then.
“That’s stuck in my mind,” said Mohling, 88.
Today, a cold sunny Thursday, a waitress stops by Mohling’s table in the Paddock-Kensington — now called simply the Kensington — to refill her coffee.
In the 1970s, the once-grand hotel was converted into assisted-living units. Mohling has lived in one, on the fourth floor, since July.
She had never stayed in the hotel back when it was the tallest, fanciest hotel in town, though she did occasionally deliver meals to a couple who lived there.
The green-and-black tables, the soda-fountain, the bright vinyl chairs of the Piccadilly are all down in the Kensington’s basement now, in a room that’s been converted into kind of a soda-fountain.
The Piccadilly was remodeled into the assisted living facility’s dining hall, which was just recently restored to its original Italianate style, said Terry Keslar-Mumm, family services coordinator for the Kensington.
The dining room has high ceilings and large windows and more closely resembles a restaurant than a cafeteria.
Restoration efforts are under way throughout the building, she said.
Those efforts have included fresh paint and carpet, removing false ceilings to reveal the high, original ones, and, most recently, converting three rooms back into hotel rooms for the general public.
The three rooms are on the mezzanine level, just around the corner from the ballroom. But the two marble steps up to the hallway that leads to the rooms are problematic for many older people, Keslar-Mumm said, so they didn’t want to rent them out to the center’s residents.
Instead, back in September, the center’s staff decided to fix one up and rent to the general public, Keslar-Mumm said. Hunters have stayed there, and family members of Kensington residents, too.
That room has gone over so well, she said, that they’re now in the process of fixing up the other two rooms.
Keslar-Mumm started working at the Kensington less than a year ago, but she’s already fallen in love with the building.
“There is so much character here, and so many stories from the residents,” she said.
Several residents, like Mohling, worked at the Paddock-Kensington when they were younger. Some remember the pool hall and beauty salon that used to be on the first floor. Some used to get lunch or coffee in the Piccadilly.
A lot of people in Beatrice are curious about the old hotel, Keslar-Mumm said, which she believes is part of the reason the hotel room has been so popular.
The original Paddock Hotel was built in 1887, but burned down in 1919. It was quickly rebuilt, and reopened in 1924. Over the years, it was the site of political rallies, conventions, dances, meetings.
Taylor, the actor known as “the man with the perfect profile,” always stayed in a suite on the fifth floor when he visited, Keslar-Mumm said, and the Piccadilly was a popular lunch spot with people who worked downtown.
Even as an assisted-living facility, the building is still a hub of activity, Keslar-Mumm said. Community groups meet in the basement, bridal showers are held in the old ballroom, high school students have their prom pictures taken on the stairway between the first and second floors (the residents enjoy seeing the girls in their dresses, she said).
After lunch, Kensington resident Elaine Muehling lingers over coffee, talking with some of her neighbors.
She and her husband stayed in the Kensington a few times when she was a young woman. Later, they moved from Holdrege to Beatrice, and the hotel became the setting for dinners and coffee dates.
“I had a lot of coffee before it was the Kensington,” she said.
Muehling, 89, has lived in the Kensington for five years.
And she still has a lot of coffee there she said, giggling.
Reach Cara Pesek at 473-7361 or cpesek@journalstar.com.
From 1960 until 1970, she was a waitress at the sandwich counter — a place with green and black Formica-topped tables called the Piccadilly.
The first time she served the actor Robert Taylor, who grew up in Beatrice and visited his hometown from time to time, he left her a $1 tip, which was a lot, back then.
“That’s stuck in my mind,” said Mohling, 88.
Today, a cold sunny Thursday, a waitress stops by Mohling’s table in the Paddock-Kensington — now called simply the Kensington — to refill her coffee.
In the 1970s, the once-grand hotel was converted into assisted-living units. Mohling has lived in one, on the fourth floor, since July.
She had never stayed in the hotel back when it was the tallest, fanciest hotel in town, though she did occasionally deliver meals to a couple who lived there.
The green-and-black tables, the soda-fountain, the bright vinyl chairs of the Piccadilly are all down in the Kensington’s basement now, in a room that’s been converted into kind of a soda-fountain.
The Piccadilly was remodeled into the assisted living facility’s dining hall, which was just recently restored to its original Italianate style, said Terry Keslar-Mumm, family services coordinator for the Kensington.
The dining room has high ceilings and large windows and more closely resembles a restaurant than a cafeteria.
Restoration efforts are under way throughout the building, she said.
Those efforts have included fresh paint and carpet, removing false ceilings to reveal the high, original ones, and, most recently, converting three rooms back into hotel rooms for the general public.
The three rooms are on the mezzanine level, just around the corner from the ballroom. But the two marble steps up to the hallway that leads to the rooms are problematic for many older people, Keslar-Mumm said, so they didn’t want to rent them out to the center’s residents.
Instead, back in September, the center’s staff decided to fix one up and rent to the general public, Keslar-Mumm said. Hunters have stayed there, and family members of Kensington residents, too.
That room has gone over so well, she said, that they’re now in the process of fixing up the other two rooms.
Keslar-Mumm started working at the Kensington less than a year ago, but she’s already fallen in love with the building.
“There is so much character here, and so many stories from the residents,” she said.
Several residents, like Mohling, worked at the Paddock-Kensington when they were younger. Some remember the pool hall and beauty salon that used to be on the first floor. Some used to get lunch or coffee in the Piccadilly.
A lot of people in Beatrice are curious about the old hotel, Keslar-Mumm said, which she believes is part of the reason the hotel room has been so popular.
The original Paddock Hotel was built in 1887, but burned down in 1919. It was quickly rebuilt, and reopened in 1924. Over the years, it was the site of political rallies, conventions, dances, meetings.
Taylor, the actor known as “the man with the perfect profile,” always stayed in a suite on the fifth floor when he visited, Keslar-Mumm said, and the Piccadilly was a popular lunch spot with people who worked downtown.
Even as an assisted-living facility, the building is still a hub of activity, Keslar-Mumm said. Community groups meet in the basement, bridal showers are held in the old ballroom, high school students have their prom pictures taken on the stairway between the first and second floors (the residents enjoy seeing the girls in their dresses, she said).
After lunch, Kensington resident Elaine Muehling lingers over coffee, talking with some of her neighbors.
She and her husband stayed in the Kensington a few times when she was a young woman. Later, they moved from Holdrege to Beatrice, and the hotel became the setting for dinners and coffee dates.
“I had a lot of coffee before it was the Kensington,” she said.
Muehling, 89, has lived in the Kensington for five years.
And she still has a lot of coffee there she said, giggling.
Reach Cara Pesek at 473-7361 or cpesek@journalstar.com.
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