The Old Marion Hotel, built circa 1905, is only a memory now.
Demolition crews razed the century old building at the corner of NW Central Avenue and Repparde Street in Blackshear Friday, October 31.
Owners Alison Byrd and Giles Robinson said they had plans to save and restore the building, but those plans were unsuccessful due to the building’s age and deterioration.
The 29-room hotel once welcomed guests including teachers and business leaders and railroad passengers from the Blackshear Depot until passenger service ceased in the 1950s.
The late Dr. H.S. Tally, long-time local veterinarian, lived at the Marion Hotel when he first moved to Blackshear to set up his practice in 1939.
In an interview before his death, Dr. Tally recalled that he paid $30 for a room at the Marion Hotel — per month. The lodging fee included his room and board and three meals per day.
The late Larry Murray, a former Pierce Countian who was a major influence on folk, country and pop music from the 1960s-1980s, lived in the Marion Hotel during his growing up years. Murray was raised by his grandmother and later an aunt. His grandmother worked in the kitchen at the hotel.
There are no concrete future plans for the location.
