Cherry Hotel
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Why it's listed
Built beginning in 1917 for Rufus A. Cherry, the six-story brick Cherry Hotel stands on a flat corner lot in downtown Wilson, North Carolina, with roughly two hundred rooms in a U-shaped plan. Designed by Charles C. Benton and built by Joe W. Stout and Company, it has a Beaux Arts entrance with lion-mask supports, a metal cornice with plume and anthemion detail, and a lobby and ballroom with Art Deco lighting and finishes. Its importance lies in the railroad-based growth of Wilson in the early twentieth century. Travelers moving between New York and Florida stopped there, tobacco salesmen rented rooms for entire seasons, and its ballroom hosted dances, civic events and conventions. The hotel represents a typical medium-sized hotel of small North Carolina cities in the first quarter of the century. It closed in 1981 after road improvements and declining train traffic reduced its business.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the hotel was vital to Wilson's early twentieth-century railroad-based urbanization and served as a regional center for commerce, entertainment and social activity. It is also presented as a typical example of medium-sized small-city hotel architecture of the period, with Beaux Arts exterior detail and Art Deco interior features.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 82003531, listed August 26, 1982. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 333 E. Nash St., Wilson |
|---|---|
| County | Wilson County |
| Listed | August 26, 1982 |
| Reference number | 82003531 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1917 |
| Architect / builder | Charles C. Benton (architect); Joe W. Stout and Company (builder) |
| Architectural style | Beaux Arts; Art Deco interior |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Social History |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The hotel closed in 1981. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Within district | Old Wilson Historic District |
| Coordinates | 35.73246, -77.90863 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For an income-producing building, listing (individually or as a contributing building in a district) is the gateway to the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit on qualified rehabilitation costs, often stackable with state credits. Work claiming the credit must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and be approved in advance.
Listing does not restrict a private owner acting without federal money or permits; where federal funding or licensing is involved, Section 106 review applies.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 82003531.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5092404
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.