A while back I got an unexpected phone call from a family member of J. Sayles Leach, who served as a Rice trustees in the 1950s and 60s. I’ve written about Mr. Leach here, in a post about this courtyard, which is named for him:
I was delighted to learn that she had some Rice related materials, including the July 1975 issue of the Smithsonian magazine , which contains a long article about the history of the Rice Hotel. It’s possible that there’s a copy 0f this somewhere in the archives, but I’d certainly never seen it before so I was eager to read it. As soon as I opened the page a small piece of paper fell out. A quick glance revealed it to contain one of the most arresting sentences I’ve come across in years: “I have never seen the Charleston done with greater precision–and believe me, I know what I’m talking about.” If anything ever begged for explanation, this is it:
Daisy is Mrs. Leach and Collette Ray the wife of another Rice trustee, Robert Ray, who I’ve written about here and here. Ray has a courtyard named for him too:
Here’s the article, which is both accurate and interesting, and which includes a photo of Mrs. Leach in mid-dance. Don’t miss this–or the picture of Percy Foreman being served the last cup of coffee at the hotel:
Bonus: I was getting into my car in the Cohen House lot when a friend called my name. As I turned around I was struck again by the genius of this building.
