Always eager to improve Richmond, Ginter hired famed architects Carrère and Hastings in 1892 to design a world-class hotel known as the Jefferson. An estimated 5 to 10 million dollars was invested in the realization of the hotel before it opened on October 31, 1895.Ryan and Rennie, 14. It was immediately praised as one of the finest hotels in the country. Ginter commissioned Edward V. Valentine to create a life-size sculpture of Thomas Jefferson from Carrara marble to be displayed as the centerpiece of the upper lobby. Additional novelties included exotic palm trees from Central and South America, numerous antiques, Turkish and Russian baths, electric elevators, and for a brief period, alligators in the lobby fountain."History." "The Jefferson". http://www.jeffersonhotel.com/experience/history. Not only did the Jefferson become an icon of Ginter's immeasurable dedication to his adopted city, it symbolized Richmond's growing post-war prosperity.
