Commercial Hotel & Gulf Central Plaza, Franklin, 1960
The Zylicz Hotel was established by Frank Zylicz in 1900. Located at the corner of Jackson and Main Street, the building had 26 rooms and a dining area. Later, Zylicz's son, Frank Zylicz, Jr., took over and renamed it the Commercial Hotel. The hotel changed ownership to W. C. Berry of Brenham, Texas, and in 1923, he oversaw extensive renovations, such as adding a brick veneered exterior and ten rooms with private baths and hot and cold water. Mr. and Mrs. W. W. Hutchinson, Sr. took over the hotel after Berry and added a brick section of the building in 1938. In 1960, the wooden building behind the main hotel was replaced with the Gulf Central Plaza, a modern two-story brick building that housed offices and apartments. Over the years, many celebrities stayed at the hotel, including socialite Doris Duke, author Somerset Maugham, actress Greta Garbo, and producer Edwin B. Mayer. The hotel still stands at 801 Main Street. Ory Miguez took a photo of an architectural drawing of the Gulf Central Plaza, designed by Lafayette architects W. F. Bowen and W. C. Burnett.