21c MUSEUM HOTELS
21c combines a multi-venue contemporary art museum, boutique hotels, and chef-driven restaurants to create a new kind of travel experience.
We believe in the power of contemporary art.
Art can anchor and energize a community, be used as an agent for positive change, be a part of everyday life. Art can provide insights and start conversations. It can enrich the travel experience, and coexist harmoniously with commerce.
The 21c Museum Hotel experience has seamlessly blended art and hospitality. Our multi-venue contemporary art museum, unique boutique hotels and chef-driven restaurants together create a new kind of travel and cultural experience, globally connected yet rooted in the local community.
“Old looks better in the presence of new.”
21c Museum Hotel was founded by preservationists and contemporary art collectors Laura Lee Brown and Steve Wilson. The couple wanted to take an active role in the preservation and revitalization of downtown Louisville motivated by changes happening in and around their hometown.
With the belief that art can be a vital part of daily life and a spark to ignite new energy and ideas, they created 21c Museum Hotel in Louisville. Their innovative idea developed into a center for culture, community, genuine hospitality, and artistic expression.
Growing organically, from one location to seven.
While it was never their intent to open more than one 21c Museum Hotel, the couple’s vision inspired others to consider bringing the unique blend of culture and hospitality to their communities. In 2007, Brown and Wilson formed 21c Museum Hotels and assembled a team to develop and manage additional 21c Museum Hotel properties and farm-to-table Food & Beverage outlets.
Today, 21c pushes the boundaries of both the museum and hospitality worlds, employing a team of more than 1000 employees to operate a multi-venue contemporary art museum, 7 hotels, 6 food & beverage outlets, and develop more to come.
21c FOUNDERS
LAURA LEE BROWN & STEVE WILSON
21c founders Laura Lee Brown and Steve Wilson sought to share their passion for contemporary art and help revitalize downtown Louisville. Both native Kentuckians, this husband and wife team has found success by letting their passion and intuition serve as a guide in hospitality, farming, preservation, philanthropic giving, investing and collecting contemporary art. Brown and Wilson also own and operate Hermitage Farm, a historic, working thoroughbred and sport horse farm in Goshen, Kentucky. Native Kentuckians, they share a deep appreciation for the Commonwealth’s rural and urban architectural landscapes alike.