The Ghosts of the Fairmont Copley Plaza

Did You Know?

• Rooms used to cost $3.50 when the hotel opened in 1912.
• The hotel’s Oak Bar used to have a rotating merry-go-round bar from the 1930s to the 1970s.
• Richard Burton and Elziabeth Taylor spent their honeymoon at the Plaza in 1964.

The Haunted Fairmont Copley Plaza.

There are many haunted hotels in the City of Boston, like the Omni Parker House or the Lenox. The Fairmont is no different.

People have often reported the most activity on the sixth floor. Strange noises seem to resonate all around the floor – noises that aren’t from loud neighbors.

Besides, it’s hard to blame whispers and bangs on someone next door when that room is empty... Or when they’re coming from your own.

The History of the Fairmont Copley Plaza

The Plaza has a somewhat unique and bizarre history that makes it a stand-out choice to room with during your time in Boston.

Before the Plaza was a staple of Bostonian luxury, the location of the hotel was where the city’s Museum of Fine Arts stood from 1878 to 1909. It was in 1909 where the museum was moved to another location a mile down the road - its current location. Thousands of pieces of art were moved via horse-drawn carriages.

The old museum was razed to the ground to make room for what would become the Fairmont Copley Plaza in 1912. The mayor at the time, John F. Fitzgerald (John F. Kennedy’s grandfather) presided over the opening. Over a thousand people gathered from all over to see the grand opening - people like national dignitaries, civic leaders, and movie stars.

The opening was so anticipated that rooms were booked 16 months in advance with rates going at $3.50 per room.

The hotel helped pave the way to what modern hotels were expected to provide for their guests. It was the first air-conditioned hotel in Boston, the first hotel with an international reservations system, the first hotel that accepted credit cards, and the first to offer direct telephone dialing for guests.

One of the shining features of the hotel in its early days was the Merry-Go-Round bar that was established in the hotel’s Oak Bar in the 1930s. It was made to look like a carousel and pivoted as patrons rotated in their seats. The bar was a staple of the hotel until the 1970s, and pieces of the former spinning bar can still be found on display at the Oak Bar.

With the 1930s also came the Second World War, where young men were sent to fight overseas. There were so many young men signing up to fight that the Plaza only hired elevator operators who were 65 years of age or older. Their arrangement encouraged young men to enlist, young men whose phantoms undoubtedly haunt Boston.

In 1964, over a thousand citizens were waiting in droves outside the hotel to see the newlywed Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. Do their ghosts frequent their former wedding venue?

The hotel’s rich and invigorating history makes it the perfect place to book a room and see what the hotel - and Boston – has to offer.

Death and Dying Ghost Tour

Ghost City’s Death and Dying Ghost Tour is one of the best and only adult-oriented haunted tours in Boston.

During the Death and Dying Ghost Tour, the city becomes the storyteller as we venture to some of Boston’s most haunted locations. We’ll talk of death during colonial America - an experience you don’t want to miss.

Visiting the Fairmont Copley Plaza

The Plaza remains one of the most-esteemed luxury hotels in Boston. Ask anyone, and they’ll tell you it’s the premiere place to stay.

when you book a room with the Fairmont Copley Plaza, you’ll be given two tickets to our Adults-Only haunted tour, Death and Dying in Boston. You’ll also receive two autumn-themed Cold Bourbon Cider cocktails - perfect for the season.