Bon Aire section and other exterior changes to Hotel Breakers

Holy crap. Those photos are incredible. I'm not sure I ever thought I would see the day.

I hope they took great steps to preserve the Rotunda area, lobby, etc from the elements. This is really an exciting project now that I see the scope of it and I can't wait to get up and see the end result.

B wing was never used as employee housing...as far as I know. There were two wings off either side of the long Lobby entrance that were both employee housing areas at one time.

The "Main" section directly above the main entrance hallway was converted to employee housing in the mid-90s. The VP of Accommodations also had a large apartment up there at one time.

I don't think Breakers was ever on par with the Grand. That thing has ridiculous frontage and that long porch with amazing grounds. Breakers has a good shot at being far more than it ever was, and that's exciting.

Agreed Jeff. The Grand Hotel was always a more "grand" property than Breakers.

My point was just to illustrate that a hotel can be over 100 years old, and its décor and atmosphere can be faithful to the era in which it opened, and still be a luxurious place. It doesn't need to be dressed in the latest fashions.

And, I used to get the same feeling of stepping back into a bygone era in the original sections of breakers as I do at the Grand Hotel.

I am looking forward to seeing the new Breakers, hoping they get it right, though I will miss the old.

New blog on the progress...

https://www.cedarpoint.com/blog-article/online-fun/Hotel-Breakers-Progress

"But don't worry - although some of this looks severe, we are still preserving as much of the original character of the building as possible, such as the impressive Tiffany glass throughout, as well as the intricate woodwork." - Tony

Music to my ears. Thank you!

There had to be *some* reason they didn't completely tear it down and rebuild, eh?

Let us also consider some things in practical terms. Breakers lost the historic designation due to having basically ripped down most of the original structures. Yet even had they remained they would have largely been small and uncompetitive from most points of view or would have required staggering sums of money to reconstruct as we see with the central core. What remains was and needed to be a symbol of the heritage the name carries with it. What they are doing accomplishes just that and frankly they should be saluted for doing it at all.

That said, the rotunda, studs, and cosmetics are all going to be reminders of the past more than a preservation of it. I’m fine with that. The alternative was losing it all eventually.

My one question: Where did they put the two circular bench chairs from the lobby? They might be reproductions or they may not be. But you can look back over a century and see either the same ones or their predecessors there. I’d hate to think somebody slipped-up and threw them out.

To be fair, in its day Breakers was a very grand hotel; it was so luxurious it even had restrooms on some floors :-)

In the rendered video, you can see the two circular chairs. They are a different color and material so they may be a redone original or a reproduction.

As long as the chairs remain, I didn't see them when I was at CP and watching the video in the lobby.

Check out the screen capture of the video I have linked below, I've drawn an arrow to point out the circular chair.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3Jwm7b4A89PODh0WUg1OHU5d0U/view?usp=sharing

In looking at the blog pictures, it's funny sometimes what memories come back. But I saw the aquamarine painted tongue and groove flooring on some of the old rooms and it took me right back to when I was a kid and we stayed in the C section. Those rooms had the same exact flooring, polished and clean of course.

Hmm, in that pic it looks like they are keeping or replicating the ceilings in the lobby. That would be nice!

I'm also trying to figure out how much of the entry corridor is being truncated. Hard to tell from the renderings on the CP website. Will it be just a circumcision, or a Lorena Bobbitt hatchet job?

There seems to be a luggage storage room in the hallway in front of Tomo, so counting Tomo, I think maybe half to three quarters of the hallway will remain.

If I'm not mistaken, the ceiling of the lobby was the original tin ceiling. I would assume that could be kept with all of the renovations. Perhaps they would need to remove it, put in some insulation, and then put it back into place. If they are going to air condition the lobby then I think insulating the ceiling and walls will be in order.

Also looks like the gift shop facing the lobby closest to the front desk is gone... right in front of the horse's right-front knee in Pete's pic. Wonder if that's just the rendering, or if that space will indeed be something else.

Pete said:
...we stayed in the C section.

Is there really a part of Hotel Breakers called the "C section"?

Yes, there actually was, it is gone now. It was the eastern most wing located where Breakers East now stands.

I hope they cleaned everything up - those C sections can be quite messy. And painful from what my wife tells me.

I know Tony showed what is being done with Breakers, and I know this pic isn't the greatest, but I was SHOCKED to see the wings stripped down like this.
http://tinypic.com/r/1zp06it/8
Excited to see what they look like when they are done!

On one of the live cams, you can see the entrance being demolished.