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July 19. 2012 11:17PM
Thayers Inn back in business, with upgrades
LITTLETON — An iconic survivor from the days of New Hampshire’s grand hotels, unique for its downtown location, was almost lost to fire early this year.
But Thayers Inn is still a survivor.
Thanks to quick action by the general manager and Littleton firefighters that cold night in March — plus $300,000 in renovations since — the 39-room inn is back in business and arguably better than ever; certainly as far as its brand new safety equipment is concerned.
“The work has been mostly electrical, rewiring. Bringing everything up to date and up to code,” the inn’s general manager, Harry Almeida, said Wednesday.
Wiring, some of which went back to the earliest days of electrical service, was at the center of events the night of March 29, when things started smoldering between the second and third floors of the three-floor building.
Fortunately for the owners — the principals of Park Towers Management of Lynn, Mass. — and for fans of historic places, old hotels and downtown Littleton, Almeida was at the center of things that night, as well.
As soon as the fumes hit his nose, he was up from his chair near the front desk and hurrying up the big main staircase to the upper floors. Quickly recognizing that the old inn could be in big trouble fast, Almeida hit the fire alarm, grabbed an extinguisher and the effort to save the place was on.
Littleton Fire Chief Joe Mercieri acknowledged that the words “Thayers Inn” probably put an extra spring in his firefighters’ step that night. The first engine arrived from the other end of downtown within two minutes, he said, with the chief right behind it.
Nobody wanted to see the Civil War-era landmark disappear from Main Street after all this time. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
“We were very lucky. There’s no question it was an electrical fire,” Almeida said Thursday. “We had the old ‘knob-and-tube’ wiring, there were add-ons over the years to the old wire and there was an overload.”
They also caught a break in that the fire occurred in the hospitality industry’s slow season. Only seven of 39 rooms were occupied, so relatively few guests had to be evacuated. They were quickly placed at nearby motels and travel lodges.
The hotel was insured and the six-figure clean-up and repair cost included lots of cleaning from smoke and water damage. The upstairs carpeting had to go, but Almeida said, rather than replace it, the owners decided to refinish the floors under the carpets, and the uncovered wood looks much nicer.
“We had to get rid of the wallpaper in the hallways, too. We couldn’t match it,” he said.
As long as considerable painting was needed, and it was off-season anyway, the decision was made to go ahead and give all the guest rooms a new coat of paint.
The inn had what Almeida called a “soft opening” in mid-June, hosting some guests while renovations continued. He said the Thayers is considered open now, but will likely stage a grand re-opening celebration, probably before fall.
The sprinkler system worked the night of the fire, and remains intact.
The newly-installed integrated alarm system includes protection for the inn’s restaurant and spa. It’s state-of-the-art, he said, and at the first sign of trouble will alert the fire department in seconds.
“That’s a really good improvement that we did,” said Almeida. He sounded well aware, four months later, how close a call the old inn really had.
Bob Hookway may be reached at bhookway@newstote.com.
But Thayers Inn is still a survivor.
Thanks to quick action by the general manager and Littleton firefighters that cold night in March — plus $300,000 in renovations since — the 39-room inn is back in business and arguably better than ever; certainly as far as its brand new safety equipment is concerned.
“The work has been mostly electrical, rewiring. Bringing everything up to date and up to code,” the inn’s general manager, Harry Almeida, said Wednesday.
Wiring, some of which went back to the earliest days of electrical service, was at the center of events the night of March 29, when things started smoldering between the second and third floors of the three-floor building.
Fortunately for the owners — the principals of Park Towers Management of Lynn, Mass. — and for fans of historic places, old hotels and downtown Littleton, Almeida was at the center of things that night, as well.
As soon as the fumes hit his nose, he was up from his chair near the front desk and hurrying up the big main staircase to the upper floors. Quickly recognizing that the old inn could be in big trouble fast, Almeida hit the fire alarm, grabbed an extinguisher and the effort to save the place was on.
Littleton Fire Chief Joe Mercieri acknowledged that the words “Thayers Inn” probably put an extra spring in his firefighters’ step that night. The first engine arrived from the other end of downtown within two minutes, he said, with the chief right behind it.
Nobody wanted to see the Civil War-era landmark disappear from Main Street after all this time. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
“We were very lucky. There’s no question it was an electrical fire,” Almeida said Thursday. “We had the old ‘knob-and-tube’ wiring, there were add-ons over the years to the old wire and there was an overload.”
They also caught a break in that the fire occurred in the hospitality industry’s slow season. Only seven of 39 rooms were occupied, so relatively few guests had to be evacuated. They were quickly placed at nearby motels and travel lodges.
The hotel was insured and the six-figure clean-up and repair cost included lots of cleaning from smoke and water damage. The upstairs carpeting had to go, but Almeida said, rather than replace it, the owners decided to refinish the floors under the carpets, and the uncovered wood looks much nicer.
“We had to get rid of the wallpaper in the hallways, too. We couldn’t match it,” he said.
As long as considerable painting was needed, and it was off-season anyway, the decision was made to go ahead and give all the guest rooms a new coat of paint.
The inn had what Almeida called a “soft opening” in mid-June, hosting some guests while renovations continued. He said the Thayers is considered open now, but will likely stage a grand re-opening celebration, probably before fall.
The sprinkler system worked the night of the fire, and remains intact.
The newly-installed integrated alarm system includes protection for the inn’s restaurant and spa. It’s state-of-the-art, he said, and at the first sign of trouble will alert the fire department in seconds.
“That’s a really good improvement that we did,” said Almeida. He sounded well aware, four months later, how close a call the old inn really had.
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Bob Hookway may be reached at bhookway@newstote.com.