Nimitz Museum acquires Nimitz Hotel

On this day in 1964, the Nimitz Museum in Fredericksburg bought the Nimitz Hotel. The hotel, a unique building, was built in the late 1840s or early 1850s. Charles H. Nimitz, grandfather of Admiral Nimitz, bought it in 1855. The hotel was remodeled many times. Its remarkable steamboat superstructure was added sometime after 1888. Over the years many notable persons stayed there, including President Rutherford B. Hayes and Robert E. Lee. In 1964 it was renovated and reopened on Admiral Nimitz's birthday as a museum. The Admiral Nimitz Museum is now part of the National Museum of the Pacific War, a seven acre site dedicated to retelling the story of World War II in the Pacific Theater.