Omni Severin is last Indianapolis hotel standing from Green Book guide

INDIANAPOLIS — Black travelers were often denied hotel rooms because of the color of their skin before the Civil Rights Act became law in 1964. The Green Book helped them find safe places to stay, which included the Severin Hotel.

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The now-Omni Severin Hotel was listed alongside several other Indianapolis hotels in the Green Book, but it is the only one still standing.

"We are honored to represent all of the people who were represented in that book," said Omni Severin general manager Steve Quackenbush.

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The Negro Motorists Green Book was published in 1966 to help Black tourists stay safe in the era of Jim Crow segregation and sundown towns. The National Park Service estimates more than 80 percent of the sites featured in the book are gone.

Only one former hotel site in Indianapolis even has a historical marker. The Senate Avenue YMCA site between Michigan Street and Indiana Avenue is now a parking lot.

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The other Indianapolis hotel sites listed in the Green Book were:

• Indianapolis YMCA, 653 N. West Street. Now the Canal Court apartment complex.
• Hawaii Hotel (or Marquis Hotel), 406 Indiana Avenue. Now the Canal Overlook apartment complex.
• Harbour Hotel, 617 Illinois Avenue. Now a parking lot behind the Scottish Rite Cathedral.
• Ferguson Hotel, 1102 Capitol Avenue. Site now covered by Interstate 65.

Quackenbush said the Omni Severin is planning a way to honor the hotel's ties to the Green Book so travelers can learn about it.

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"We want to honor the effort that was made to make travel safe back in a very challenging period in history," Quackenbush said.