Mary Elizabeth Hotel was built in 1921 by Dr. William B. Sawyer. The hotel was operated by his wife, Alberta Sawyer, a businesswoman at a time when such a vocation for women was unusual. The Mary Elizabeth was the tallest building in Colored Town at the time with ninety rooms. It was considered a well-equipped edifice with elevator service and an inter-communication system that connected the rooms to the desk clerk in the lobby. The hotel had private bathroom facilities available for thirty-seven of the rooms. There were two lounges: the Flamingo Room and the Zebra Lounge.

The Mary Elizabeth served as a favorite retreat for many dignitaries. W.E.B. DuBois, who was a mentor to Dr. Sawyer, frequented the hotel on his way to and from conferences in the West Indies. Mary McLeod Bethune’s son Bart managed the hotel-based drug store for many years, so it was not unusual to see Mrs. Bethune coming or going. Other dignitaries who stayed at the hotel included: A Phillip Randolph, Thurgood Marshall, and Adam Clayton Powell. The hotel was an integral hub of Colored Town’s festive night life. Many renowned African-Americans, such as Marian Anderson and Bessie Smith, lodged in Colored Town because they were denied the right to stay in the hostelries where they were performing because of racial segregation. These entertainers often held all night jam sessions in the hotels in Colored Town for their African American audiences. On July 23, 1950, the Mary Elizabeth Hotel hosted the Miss Latin American beauty pageant. Representatives of many Latin American countries, as well as numerous guests from across the United States, attended the beauty contest where Monica Major of Puerto Rico was crowned Miss Latin America.

A September 1953 press clipping proclaimed a development was being planned by George Talianoff, a Miami Beach attorney, and David Berwick, former Philadelphia manufacturer. This new one-million-dollar luxury motel to be named “Booker T. Motel” was being developed in include a “50-room main motel building, 12 apartment motel building and 2 combination apartment-motel-store buildings. They promised a center that would “cater to high class professional people, entertainers and other substantial Negroes rising here.” The building would be buffed colored, squared by landscaped lawns and including a swimming pool for the motel and a children’s playground for the apartments.

The Booker Terraces was officially opened in July of 1954 with much fanfare. Miami’s then mayor Abe Aronowitz was photographed cutting the ribbon during the inaugural ceremonies. To reinforce this image, bathing beauties were often photographed around the motel’s pool (Brownsville’s first). Film footage exists of the Booker Terrace pool as a popular spot for swimming demonstrations and relaxation. Promotional packages advertised special rates for couples, with “air conditioned rooms, swimming pool, dining room, cocktail lounge, luxury at low cost.” The motel quickly became a popular and leading black social center.

In 1960-1961, after a default in a lease agreement, Harry and Florence Markowitz (owners of Booker Terrace), received the property back from the investors who had built and managed the Booker Terrace Motel and Apartments. In January of 1961, the Markowitzs’ sponsored a contest to rename the motel and apartments. The Booker Terrace underwent a complete renovation, remodeling and refurnishing. Mrs. Verneka Silva, a school teacher from Coconut Grove, won the contest. She suggested that they change the name to the “Hampton House.”

Among the notable and historic events held there, were the repeated visits and press conferences by the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., who is reported to have been accommodated in room fifty-one. Film footage exists of Dr. King giving at least two press conferences there. Malcolm X and Cassius Clay (Mohammad Ali) celebrated Clay’s victory over Sonny Listrom to capture the boxing Heavy Weight Champion Crown on February 25, 1964 there. Ali routinely stopped by the Hampton House Motel during Miami visits.