BILOXI, Miss.—Century-old live oak trees adorn the front lawn of the White House Hotel, their branches casting shadows over its bright white exterior walls, covered with dozens of windows. Inside the lobby, beautifully ornate wood that was crafted in 1895 adorns the bar and historic fireplaces where guests have gathered to converse for more than 100 years.
Tessy Lambert loves to stand in front of the giant white window panes that have lined the walls of the hotel since its construction, peering through them to see the warm white sand of Biloxi’s beaches across the street. Lambert works as the chief operating officer for Lodging and Leisure Investments, the parent company that owns the hotel. For her, the historic property represents a piece of the Gulf Coast’s history.
“If you know how to look at it correctly, it tells its own story,” Lambert said.
Last month, Country Living Magazine recognized the White House Hotel as the most stunning historic hotel in Mississippi, and one of the most visually impressive hotels in the United States.
A Property with History
Tessy Lambert said the White House hotel began with a family home and “a woman who knew a good opportunity when she saw one,” that woman being Cora White.
As its original owners, Cora and her husband Walter White named the White House Hotel after their surname, building the property on land that formerly housed an oyster company before a hurricane hit the coast in 1893 and demolished it. When the couple first constructed the original building for the hotel, Walter also planted seven live oak trees, some of which are still standing on the grounds today.
Cora started accepting friends and family guests into their home to visit in the late 1890s. Eventually, she decided they should start a boarding house for year-round guests and charge for stays.
In 1895, Cora started welcoming boarders, and the boarding house quickly grew very popular. By 1910, a travel guide had called it the “leading hotel of Biloxi,” Lambert said.
In its early history, some famous guests stayed at the hotel when visiting the Mississippi Gulf Coast, including Theodore Roosevelt. Al Capone was rumored to have also been a guest, though this is not officially confirmed.
The hotel was a leading spot to stay on the coast for decades until Cora White’s death in 1934.
After Cora White passed away, Jimmie Love Jr., who co-owned WLOX-TV, purchased the hotel in 1940. The business continued to thrive for decades until Love retired and sold the hotel in 1971. After Love sold the hotel, it rapidly changed owners before eventually shutting its doors in 1988.
David Pipkin has worked as a breakfast attendant at the White House Hotel for around five years—a job he began after retiring from decades of hospitality work within the food and beverage industry on the coast. He said he’s witnessed how the property has changed hands over the years.
During the early 1980s, Biloxi entrepreneur David “Bubba” Mattina obtained the property and opened a bar named Amelia’s, which operated inside one end of the hotel’s lobby, with the rest of the property remaining completely empty.
Pipkin recalled a visit to the property while it operated as Amelia’s bar. He walked into a loud atmosphere of ’80s disco. From what he remembers, Amelia’s was a “rough” but popular late-night bar in Biloxi that was open 24-hours a day. By the time he walked out of the bar on that visit, it was daylight out.
After Amelia’s closed its doors in 1988, the White House Hotel sat vacant for 26 years.
“This (building) has been through some changes, but I saw it as a shell for a very long time,” Pipkin said.
Restoration and Re-Opening
During Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the hotel faced damage from flooding and wind. Most of the original property, however, managed to survive the storm.
The hotel continued to sit vacant until 2013, when Tessy Lambert said her family began restoration of the property.
“They love Biloxi,” Lambert said. “They love the Gulf Coast and just trying to bring new life and new ways for families to experience the same admiration that we have for the Gulf Coast.”
She said her family completed the restoration project in 2014, and on Aug. 1 of that year, the hotel officially reopened for guests.
David Pipkin said during his five years working at the hotel since the renovation, he’s had many conservations with actors, musicians and other guests who have visited the property on the coast including celebrities like John Travolta, Harvey Keitel, John Schneider, Lee Greenwood and Academy Award winner Mira Sorvino.
Shelby Carter, who grew up on the Gulf Coast, said she remembers the hotel being boarded up for many years when she was young. Seeing the hotel had reopened, she said, was “super exciting,” so she decided to apply for a job as a bartender at Cora’s restaurant in the lobby where she now works.
As bartender, Carter interacts with guests daily, some of whom return to the hotel on multiple occasions because they enjoy the peacefulness and tranquil atmosphere the property has.
“People definitely like the boutique feel,” Carter said. “It’s nice and quiet.”
Creating Lasting Memories
Today, there are 76 rooms available for rent inside the hotel. Its amenities include a ballroom, rooftop vista bar, Cora’s restaurant and bar, a pool, gym, fireplaces and an exterior front veranda.
“The White House has a beautiful reputation for hosting guests year-round,” Lambert said.
Although the summer months see more traffic, she said that business travelers stay at the hotel throughout the year and that couples and families frequently come to celebrate and vacation on the coast.
Lynn Gauvreau-Fortner, the hotel’s hospitality manager, said the hotel is a “mystical” place due to its rich history as a cornerstone of the community and tourism business on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
Michael Culberson, the hotel’s general manager, called the White House a “charming historical property” that fits perfectly with both the coast’s history and modern lifestyle, saying that the White House serves as a “monument” on the Mississippi coast and as a special place where people make lasting memories.
“If you stay at a chain hotel—there’s nothing wrong with them—but a year from now I can ask you to describe what the room looked like, and you won’t remember,” Culberson said. “I can guarantee you, we talk to anybody that stayed here a year from now, and they’ll tell you what this place looked like: It creates memories.”
Lambert said recently the hotel has added a new building with 49 additional rooms with the facade as identical to the original architecture as possible.
“The story of the White House continues to grow,” Lambert said.
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