The Kimpton Schofield Hotel on the corner of Euclid Avenue and East Ninth Street is celebrating Pride Month with a special package that combines cocktails with cause.

Throughout the month of June, guests can book a Cadillac Lounging Pride package that includes two complimentary cocktails at the Betts bar. Kimpton will also donate $10 to The Trevor Project—a nonprofit suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ+ young people that is available around the clock.

"Kimpton has always been super LGBTQ positive and very inclusive," says Jena Salupo, Kimpton Schofield director of sales. "They always [emphasize] Pride promotions and make sure it's not only activating the Pride offerings, the fun stuff, but it’s also adding the philanthropic additions as well with money to The Trevor Project."

The hotel's location holds special significance in Cleveland's LGBTQ+ history. The historic Schofield Building once housed the Cadillac Lounge, Cleveland's first gay bar. Gloria Lenihan opened the Cadillac in 1946 with her husband, Charlie Lenihan. The couple owned a number of other night clubs in the city, including another gay bar in Cleveland, the Pickwick Lounge on Clifton Boulevard.

Lenihan had a knack for making the small Cadillac Lounge bar look larger and more elegant—filling the space with strategically-placed mirrors, red velvet booths, blond wood paneling, and aluminum marine details. Its most notable decorations, according to the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History, were a set of eight murals of tropical scenes, painted by local artist and teacher William C. Grauer.

The murals today are stored at the Western Reserve Historical Society (WRHS), where they have been undergoing years of restoration by Cerulean Conservation. “For the last couple of years, we have been restoring the main panel of the Cadillac Lounge mural,” says Dennis Barrie, WRHS vice president of experience design. It depicts a "South Seas" dancer.

Additionally, the Cadillac had had a reputation for strict rules and good behavior, requiring men to wear shirts, ties, and jackets, and keep their physical distance from each other, while often hosting popular musicians who came through town. The bar periodically had troubles with liquor control and closed in 1970.

"It was just an early safe space for the LGBTQ community," Salupo explains. "The fact that Betts is [in the exact same spot] as the city’s first LGBTQ bar is fantastic. It wasn't hidden away in the suburbs—it was right in the middle of the city."

The Pride package is easily accessible through the hotel's website, where guests can automatically book the special offer. While there isn't a signature Pride cocktail this year, guests can choose from the hotel's extensive summer cocktail menu, featuring more than ten seasonal offerings.

The Kimpton Schofield continues to embrace inclusivity in all aspects of its operations. The hotel is also completely pet-friendly, offering amenities for both dogs and cats, including pet beds and food bowls. "Making them as comfortable as we're making you is something that we love," says Salupo.

The Pride Month package runs through the end of June, and the hotel hopes to raise awareness for The Trevor Project through this initiative. "We're basically just trying to get the Trevor Project name out there. That's honestly what's most important to us," Salupo says.