Tutwiler 16 — By and large, the Tutwiler Hotel has looked the same on the outside for many years. (Nathan Watson / Bham Now)

One of downtown Birmingham’s most storied hotels has a new name to match its new look. The Tutwiler Hotel officially reopened as a DoubleTree by Hilton, marking the next chapter for a building that’s been part of the city’s skyline for more than a century.

The Birmingham Business Alliance marked the occasion with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday, Aug. 6, celebrating both the hotel’s long history and the investment shaping its future.

The hotel is owned by A&R Group, a hospitality company based in Gulf Shores, Alabama. While signage now reads DoubleTree, the full conversion from Hampton Inn & Suites is still in progress. The good news for travelers the hotel never closed and remains open for bookings throughout the transition.

The Tutwiler Hotel’s history, from Ridgley Apartments to today

Tutwiler 10 — The guest rooms in the Tutwiler Hotel got a big makeover, making them more akin to what a regular guest at DoubleTree by Hilton hotels may expect. (Nathan Watson / Bham Now)

The hotel was named for Edward Tutwiler, who was Julia Tutwiler‘s cousin. He helped found the City of Leeds and sold the Tutwiler Coal, Coke, and Iron Company, using the funds to build first the Ridgley Apartments, then the Tutwiler Hotel.

The Ridgley Apartments first opened in 1913. In the 1980s, developers bought and remodeled it into a hotel, taking on the Tutwiler name after the original Tutwiler Hotel was demolished in 1974 to make way for what’s now the Viva Health building.

The property has kept evolving ever since. A $9 million renovation brought it back in 2007 as the Hampton Inn & Suites Birmingham-Downtown-Tutwiler. Then in 2023, A&R Group announced another $7 million investment, setting the stage for this summer’s rebrand.

Read the full story + see more photos from our friends at Bham Now.