Winchester's 1924 landmark hotel, tallest building in the city at its opening and host to Lucille Ball and Jack Dempsey, now reports a self-playing lobby piano, child footprints in freshly painted floors, and apparitions on floors 8–10.
103 East Piccadilly Street, Winchester, VA 22601
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$$
Wyndham Grand hotel room rates; dining at Bradford's Speakeasy Lounge available separately
Access
Wheelchair OK
Full-service downtown hotel with elevator access
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1924 · Winchester's Tallest Building at Opening (1924) · American Hotels Corporation Colonial Chain · National Register Notable Guests: Lucille Ball, Jack Dempsey, Bob Hope · Wyndham Grand Historic Hotel
The George Washington Hotel was built by the American Hotels Corporation and opened on June 18, 1924, at the corner of East Piccadilly and North Cameron streets. At six stories of steel and concrete, it was the tallest building in Winchester at the time. The hotel started with 102 guest rooms and expanded to 152 by 1929, benefiting from its location near the B&O railroad station that made it a stopover for wealthy rail travelers.
Its golden decades drew notable guests: Lucille Ball, Bob Hope, Jack Dempsey, Jimmy Cagney, Ed Sullivan, and Colonel Sanders all stayed there. The Secret Service used the hotel when Susan Ford served as Apple Blossom Festival queen in 1975. The property's proximity to rail travel made it central to Winchester's social and commercial life through the mid-20th century.
As Interstate 81 bypassed downtown Winchester and passenger rail declined, the hotel's clientele evaporated. It closed permanently in 1978, converted to the George Washington Home for Adults until 1993, then sat vacant for over a decade. In 2003, a local investment group led by Glen and Kim Burke acquired the property and undertook extensive renovation, reopening it in 2008 as The George Washington — A Wyndham Grand Hotel. The centennial of the hotel's opening was marked in 2024, covered by the Winchester Star.
Among the site's specific historical associations with its paranormal reputation: Reverend Lewis Eichelberger, a Lutheran pastor, died in 1859 at the site — predating the hotel by 65 years — a figure that paranormal investigators have connected to Room 208 activity.
Sources
The Historic Hotels of America program documents the George Washington's paranormal reputation across several distinct phenomena. The most-cited is the grand piano in the hotel lobby, which visitors have witnessed playing by itself — with disembodied voices reported simultaneously in the background. A second frequently repeated account involves child footprints appearing overnight in a floor that had been freshly painted and was confirmed empty; the footprints appeared in the center with no prints leading to them or away.
Floors 8 through 10 are consistently identified as the concentration zone for activity. Housekeeping staff have described ghostly figures moving across various floors, and maintenance workers have reported seeing shades appear to work on the boilers. At Bradford's Speakeasy Lounge, guests have reported witnessing spectral figures among the bar's patrons.
Paranormal investigators documented specific room associations: Room 208 is identified as "one of the most haunted rooms" and connected to Reverend Lewis Eichelberger, a Lutheran pastor who died in 1859 at the location that preceded the hotel. Room 301 generated a guest complaint serious enough that the occupant requested a different room after hearing disembodied voices, then slept in the lobby rather than accept another room. A figure at the end of the hall, disappearing as lightning flashed, was reported at Room 224.
Hotel management has acknowledged the reports publicly, though the Winchester Star's centennial coverage noted that manager Suzi Smith had not personally experienced phenomena — placing the accounts in the staff and guest category rather than management attestation.
Notable Entities
Book a stay at the George Washington — A Wyndham Grand Hotel and experience the lobby grand piano, floors 8–10 activity concentrations, and Bradford's Speakeasy Lounge where apparitions have been reported drinking at the bar.
Dine or drink at Bradford's Speakeasy Lounge, where spectral figures have reportedly been observed among the patrons. The lobby grand piano — associated with self-playing reports — is visible from the main floor.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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