The Cecil was built in 1924[7] by three hoteliers—William Banks Hanner, Charles L. Dix and Robert H. Schops—[8] as a destination for business travelers and tourists.[4] Designed by Loy Lester Smith in the Beaux Arts style, and constructed by W. W. Paden,[9] the hotel cost $1.5 million to complete and boasted an opulent marble lobby with stained-glass windows, potted palms, and alabaster statuary. The three hoteliers invested about $2.5 million[9] in the enterprise, with the knowledge that several similar hotels had been established elsewhere downtown, but within five years of its opening, the United States sank into the Great Depression.