On the
parlor floor, and extending up to the
third floor of the building, is the
Grand Banquet Hall, which is considered
one of the finest rooms that has ever
been designed or executed in any part of
the world. This room is carried out
strictly in the period of Francis the
First. As is generally conceded, the
Francis First period embraces the very
highest perfection of French
architecture and design. This room is
approximately twenty-four feet high, and
will seat four hundred banqueters at one
service.
Except the frieze, the room is entirely of wood, being
of curly maple stained to a French gray
tone. The wainscoting is twelve feet
high above this is the magnificent mural
painting of a Medieval Procession,
extending all around the room. This
procession of
knights and ladies of the Francois
Premier period represents the character
and costume of this noble reign — the
knights in all the armour and regalia of
the field and the ladies in their
handsome, elaborate court costumes.
The conception of this picture is of
Mr. Holslag, who is the artist. It is the
representation of a fete day during the
reign of the First Francis. The artist
has been eminently successful in
portraying the glamour and grandeur of
this period.
The ceiling is a beam effect, with
elaborate gold applique ornaments richly
embellished and painted on the beam. The
effect on entering this room is one of
glittering gorgeousness, which is the
same effect in the rooms of similar
character in Europe. The Baltimore Hotel
has the distinction of possessing the
only room of this design and careful
execution in America, and it is pleasing
to say that it has been a high artistic
gratification to every visitor. |
