Meet the newest inductees into the Historic Hotels of America

The Historic Hotels of America has inducted 24 historic hotels to its prestigious ranks.

The organization that recognizes the finest historic hotels in the United States as well as U.S. territories, has selected its new inductees from 14 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia.

Hotels that were accepted into the program range in age between 51 to 389 years old.

To be nominated and selected for membership, each hotel has to be at least 50 years old, be designated by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior as a National Historic Landmark or listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

One of the new inductees, Le Meridien in Tampa, Florida, was once a federal courthouse before being converted into a luxury hotel. Five new members even reported hauntings from “friendly ghosts.”

Check out 10 of the inductees below:

1. Le Meridien, Tampa, Florida

(Le Meridien Tampa)

Opened: 1905

Historical Significance: Listed in the National Register of Historic Places, and was converted to a hotel from a century old federal courthouse.

2. Southern Hotel, Covington, Louisiana

(Southern Hotel)

Opened: 1907

Historical Significance: Converted from the Grand Lodge of Louisiana’s Masonic Temple

3. Hilton, Fort Worth, Texas

(Hilton Hotel, Fort Worth)

Opened: 1921

Historical Significance: President Kennedy delivered his last address in the Crystal Ballroom, on Nov. 22, 1963.

4. Seelbach Hilton, Louisville, Kentucky

(Seelbach Hilton Hotel, Louisville)

Opened: 1905

Historical Significance: Listed in the National Register of Historic Places, and inspired Tom and Daisy Buchanan’s wedding reception in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby."

5. The Edgewater, Madison, Wisconsin

(The Edgewater)

Opened: 1948

Historical Significance: In the hotel's early days, big bands led by the likes of Woody Herman entertained guests from the roof of the original building. Throughout the decades, The Edgewater hosted an array of celebrities, including Elvis Presley, Elton John, and Bob Marley, as well as the Dalai Lama and many other dignitaries.

6. The Drake Hotel, Chicago, Illinois

(The Drake Hotel)

Opened: 1920

Historical Significance: Listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Newlyweds Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio carved their initials into the bar’s wooden counter.