Save and Revive the Riverside Hotel

The Historic Riverside Hotel is  located at 615 Sunflower Avenue in Clarksdale, MS. In 1943, Mrs. Z.L. Ratliff rented the 8 room structure that once was a hospital and drew up plans which extended the building to include 21 guest rooms over two floors.  It was opened as a hotel in 1944.  Mrs. Ratliff went on to purchase the building in 1957.  It has remained in the hands of the Ratliff family and was run by Frank "Rat" Ratliff for many years until his passing on March 28, 2013.  The hotel is currently run by Rat's daughter, Zelena "Zee" Ratliff.  The hotel and it's surrounding cabins has recently came under attack from the City's building inspectors.  The City demolished a couple of the buildings due to structural issues and has left the Riverside with the enormous bill for their "services".  As most of you know, Clarksdale is not the bustling city that it once was and that the Riverside relies on it's recurring guests that stay for festivals and the occasional tourists passing through town.  The small amount of income generated from these hotel stays is just enough to keep the Riverside runnning on day to day operations.  The hotel has now incurred legal fees associated with the fees set forth by the City for their "services" of demolishing the buildings on the property.  I know that this is "home" to many of you when you visit the Delta.  As Rat would always say, "Come on home" or "Welcome home" any time you talked to him or arrived at the hotel.  Rat treated us all as his family.  I feel that we should honor his memory and keep the Riverside alive with a donation to help with the fees that have recently occurred.  Any donations above the cost of the fees will be used for restoration to the existing hotel and structures as to prevent any more fees from "services" that the City deems necessary.  Please share this with everyone so that we can all continue to go "home" to the Riverside when visiting Clarksdale.