The National Bar
Director of Design, Project Management, Interior/Exterior Design, Custom Furniture
When work began on The National Exchange Hotel, our first area of focus was obvious: the beautiful and beloved hotel bar. Anne & the carpenters from Lightning Bar Collective embarked on a full-scale renovation of the 150+ year old watering hole—including a 350 ft. expansion—complete with new floors, wallpaper, bathrooms, and furnishings. Jewel tones bring a sense of opulence to this Victorian landmark, such as the four plush rust-colored velvet half-circle banquettes and built-in seating we installed near the three window bays facing Broad St. The stunning front bar, fabricated by our lead finish carpenter Thomas Mitchell, was faced with steam radiators salvaged from the property, each hand-cut, installed, and painted to give the impression of patina by local craftsman Steve Lisera, while LED downlighting beneath the black marble bar top draws the eye and establishes the radiators as a centerpiece of the room. The lighting is a curated assortment of new fixtures and vintage relics from the original property. Fringed pendants in the front windows cast a seductive glow to passersby, inviting them into a space that feels all at once like a step back in time and a modern nightlife spot.
For a project steeped in the idea of drawing the past forth into the clarity of the present, it felt appropriate to acknowledge the forgotten. With this in mind, we lined the walls with portraits of period women, whose stories are often overlooked in modern histories of the Gold Rush era. The black-and-white imagery showcases women of a variety of ages, colors, and backgrounds, eschewing the dominant narratives of local history and reminding guests of the indelible impact that diversity has exerted on our country, our world, and ourselves.
*Photos by Kat Alves
