Historic Talisi Hotel set for demolition

The Tallassee City Council in Alabama has approved the demolition of a historic Hotel Talisi in that city, reports WSFA 12 News.

Listed on the Alabama Historical Commission’s registry of historical places in 1977, the structure was ravaged by a fire in 2009. Since then, repeated renovations have been unsuccessful in restoring the structure, which originally was home to the Woodall Hotel, a 72-room luxury hotel in its heyday.

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The three-story brick structure featured many nods to its history as a luxury hotel in the early 20th century, according to Deep Fried Kudzu, a travel blog that has featured the hotel several times. The hotel had an old switchboard, a grand piano in the lobby and décor befitting the early-to-20th century.

Alabamaheritage.com, which is published by the University of Alabama, added the hotel to its Places in Peril list in 2019 when it was becoming evident demolition was an increasingly realistic outcome.

In 2018, then-Tallassee Mayor Johnny Hammock told ABC affiliate WNCF Channel 32 he was still holding out hope the historic structure could survive. At the time, the city was conducting a feasibility study to determine what size hotel operation the city could support. WNCF also reported earlier plans to reopen the restaurant which was part of the hotel never came to fruition, due to cost.

An earlier attempt in 2013 to resurrect the hotel also failed, reports WSFA.

WSFA has reported the fire was caused by a teen who committed arson in an attempt to cover up a nearby robbery.

The city is now preparing a request for bids to demolish the structure, reports WSFA.