New Grand Forks hotel honors late Wichitan rooted in aviation here, but why?

Wichita’s Olive Ann Beech was known as the First Lady of Aviation, and she received a lot of accolades in her long life as co-founder of Beech Aircraft.

There’s one tribute, however, no one expected, including her family.

A hotel in Grand Forks, N.D., has been named for her.

The Olive Ann Hotel is a five-story modern hotel with an aviation theme and plenty of touches reminiscent of Beech, who lived from 1903 to 1993, that her family says she’d likely approve.

“It was amazing,” said Jennifer Pitt, Beech’s granddaughter. “I mean, truly. They’ve done an outstanding job in every way.”

Her first reaction, however, was shock.

“Then it was like, ‘Why?’ ”

Sadie Gardner, president of 322 Hospitality Group, explained that the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks was the starting point.

“We really wanted to connect the university with the downtown community,” Gardner said.

Around the same time, she said she met several female graduates from the school’s aerospace program, and they decided they wanted to focus on females in aviation.

“Just the perseverance that it would have taken a female, just everything she succeeded in in her lifetime was incredible,” Gardner said.

She said she learned more about other women in aviation after her team had already decided on Beech.

“We had already decided that Olive Ann’s story needs to be told,” Gardner said.

She said Beech lived through the Depression, World War II, decades of change and was a female in a male-dominated industry throughout.

Beech “never wavered . . . from who she was,” Gardner said. “That was something that I personally respected about her.”

She spoke to Beech successor Textron Aviation early on.

Pitt offered photos from throughout her grandmother’s life, which now fill built-in bookshelves at the hotel.

Beech’s famous Oleg Cassini-inspired Beech Blue is visible throughout the hotel as are the florals she loved.

Gardner said Beech always was “very proper — white gloves, fur coats.”

She said the hotel has marble and brass traditional tones “just for that richness” that is reminiscent of Beech.

Gardner and others, including the hotel’s interior designer, researched Beech and felt like the hotel brought her to life, in a sense.

There are other vintage and aviation touches such as rotary telephones and alarm clocks that are altimeter clocks.

“Again, just like a throwback a little bit to history,” Gardner said.

Her staff toured Textron, and Textron executives and Pitt flew up for the grand opening.

“How it’s all come together is pretty incredible,” Gardner said. “It has been a nice group effort.”

Project architect Andrew Budke of JLG architects said the hotel is in the heart of downtown Grand Forks and is a companion building to the 1917 building that adjoins it.

“That original building is very iconic, it’s very striking, and it has a very traditional style,” Budke said. “Some might even describe it as masculine. It’s very neoclassical.”

He said the addition is more feminine.

Beech’s daughter, Mary Lynn Oliver, said a hotel being named for her mother is “a rather unusual thing,” but she’s appreciative.

“Well, I think it’s a lovely tribute, and I think she would probably think the same.”

Pitt said it’s all a little surreal, and she noted that her grandmother was a humble woman.

“She didn’t think she was anything special.”

Pitt called the tribute an honor, as did her mother.

“We’re going to go on road trip this summer for fun,” Oliver said of visiting the hotel.

“They couldn’t have done a better job, I don’t think,” Pitt said. “I can’t wait to stay.”