History Spotlight: Sovereign Apartment/Hotel

Sovereign Apartment/Hotel

205 Washington Ave

Built 1928, designated 1996

The Sovereign is a five-story Spanish Colonial Revival structure with a landscaped inner courtyard enclosed by a low wall with extended pillars topped by urns. Other features include stepped rope molding above the portal ends with French doors that open onto wrought iron or concrete balconies. The number of single and one bedroom apartments and the availability of daily maid service seems to indicate that the building may have been targeted primarily at those seeking a vacation residence. In the 1930s, the Sovereign’s operation appears to have transitioned to include a more traditional hotel format with the construction of the small wing that may have contained a dining room. The street level sign identifying the building as the “Sovereign Hotel” also dates from this era. The Sovereign was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.