Bayou Hotel

Completed in 1921 using fieldstone from Harford County, the Bayou Hotel was considered an extravagant gem in the small town of Havre de Grace. With sixty rooms - each boasting a private bath, a rare luxury at the time - and most offering views of the Chesapeake Bay or Susquehanna Flats, the hotel quickly became a premier destination. Amenities such as a parking garage, an indoor pool, and a miniature golf course further set it apart.

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The hotel thrived during the Jazz Age under the management of Baltimore restaurateur William Pinkney West. Guests enjoyed fine dining, sweeping views, and live music performed by The Bayou Jazz Five and Orville Jacob’s Orchestra. Wealthy patrons, politicians, and sportsmen traveled from New York, Philadelphia, Wilmington, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. to hunt canvasback ducks and attend races at The Graw racetrack. The hotel attracted prominent figures such as Babe Ruth, J.P. Morgan, the DuPonts, the Wanamakers, and even Al Capone, who visited for both sport and spectacle.

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Despite its roaring success in the 1920s, the Bayou’s fortunes declined during the early 1930s. A major fire in 1932 forced it to close for renovations. Compounding its troubles, sinkboxing, the region’s favored form of duck hunting, was outlawed. The combined blows of Prohibition and the Great Depression further hurt business. By 1934, the Bayou Hotel shuttered its doors for good, bringing an end to an era of elegance and excitement on the Chesapeake.

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The Bayou has had several owners since its closing as a hotel, serving for a time as a retreat for Catholic nuns. Today, it has been reimagined as a condominium.