The Great Gatsby & Louisville

Turning 100 years old in April 2025, The Great Gatsby is considered one of the greatest works of literature ever written and may not have happened at all had it not been for F. Scott Fitzgerald’s time in Louisville. 

Stationed at Camp Taylor during World War I, a young Fitzgerald would find himself at Louisville’s Seelbach Hotel for a drink at the bar. It’s there that Fitzgerald is said to have rubbed elbows with mobsters and bootleggers. One of which was George Remus – the bootlegging King of Kentucky – who is said to have ultimately inspired the character of Jay Gatsby.

In fact, Louisville is mentioned seven times throughout the novel and is the birthplace of antagonist Daisy Buchanan. The hotel’s Grand Ballroom is written as the location of one of the great weddings of all-time. The lavish June wedding of Tom and Daisy Buchanan which saw “more pomp and circumstance than Louisville ever knew before.”

Turning 120 years old in 2025, you can book a stay at this historic property, although today it goes by ‘The Seelbach Hilton’. Located in the heart of Downtown Louisville, the hotel makes a great option from where to explore many of Louisville’s distilleries, neighbourhoods, and attractions.

It’s safe to say, The Seelbach Hotel has witnessed its fair share of historic moments over the last 100 years. Opened by Mr Lewis Seelbach in 1905, he would continue to operate the hotel from his Seelbach Suite until the day he passed in 1925. Should you wish to stay in this very suite on your next visit to Louisville, you would be following in the footsteps of former guests such as President Harry Truman, Linda Grey (Dallas) and Rolling Stone’s legend Keith Richards.

In addition to its Great Gatsby connections, The Seelbach Hotel is awash with history having operated a secret speakeasy from its Rathskeller during the prohibition. The former Gentleman’s Billiard Room (now the Private Oak Room) was a regular hangout for the likes of Al Capone who would use secret escape tunnels to outrun the authorities, having likely picked up moonshine from the eastern hills of Kentucky. It was even the scene of the high-stakes Derby Day heist in the 1920’s – a case never solved.

Find out more about The Seelbach Hotel’s rich history here: https://seelbachhilton.com/videos/