How the Omni Hotel renovated history
As the Omni Severin Hotel underwent a $24 million renovation in 2024, its history as a safe space for Black travelers was not overlooked.
Why it matters: Traveling while Black presented real challenges in America. Green Books helped Black travelers navigate those obstacles — even in northern states, where segregation was less visible but still enforced.
What they're saying:"We're honored to represent those businesses who chose to make a significant commitment to inclusivity and offer a safe place to Black travelers as they stay for business or pleasure, or as a waypoint to other destinations," Steve Quackenbush, general manager for Omni Severin Hotel, told Axios.
"That is a very important part of our history as a country, and it's nice to be cemented in that with other local places that have that history of inclusion tied to them as well, like the Slippery Noodle, which is also really close to us."
The big picture: While most of the approximately 115 Indianapolis businesses once listed in the Green Book have been demolished, Downtown Indy's art deco hotel is an opulent reminder of an oft-forgotten history.
From the 1930s through the mid-1960s, the guides served as encyclopedias of businesses and resources nationwide that welcomed Black travelers.
Driving the news: Quackenbush said the Omni renovation blended Indy's Civil Rights history with modern amenities.
The renovation included a reimagined hotel lobby and revamped dining options that draw inspiration from the days of train travel in a nod to the hotel's proximity to Union Station.
"We really wanted to lean into that because history gives you a sense of place and authenticity," he said. "It's very rare to find a place that has done its due diligence and really designs things that make sense for the place that they're at."
Zoom in: Quackenbush said considering the Omni's location at "the crossroads of the country," its importance as a travel hub during a dangerous time for Black people should be remembered.
"The fact that 50% of the U.S. population is only an eight-hour drive away makes us really central to that argument," he said. "We were the first Union Station built in the United States in the 1800s, and at its peak, we had 25,000 people coming through the station every single day on 120 trains or more."
Fun fact: Quackenbush said as crews were installing a new HVAC unit on the roof, a building scan revealed a tunnel running from the Omni directly to Union Station that has since been covered up.
"It was going from our laundry area to Union Station underground," he said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
MCQ Markets Launches McQueen Garage Inc For Rapid Collector Car Trades Powered by the Dogecoin Blockchain
McQueen Garage Announces First Sale, Generating 8.8% Return in Just Five Days MIAMI, June 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MCQ Markets, an emerging leader in the automotive alternative asset investment space, is proud to announce the official launch of its new entity, McQueen Garage. A dynamic new division designed to operate as a high-velocity auto trading platform providing investors exposure to high-performing, investment-grade luxury and exotic vehicles using the Dogecoin Blockchain. In its first major milestone, McQueen Garage successfully completed the sale of a 2021 Maybach S580, generating an 8.8% return in just five days. The Black/Silver Metallic S580, with just 12,904 kilometers on the dash, showcases how expertly selected collector vehicles can rival traditional asset classes in returns, especially during periods of economic uncertainty. McQueen Garage was developed in response to growing investor demand for short-hold, high-return automotive trades. Like its parent platform, MCQ Markets, the division focuses on liquidity-driven strategies that leverage the performance of collector cars, an asset class that has outpaced more conventional markets. According to Knight Frank, the collector car index has surged 185% over the past decade, exceeding returns from the S&P 500, fine art, wine, watches, and even real estate. Backed by a team with a verified 60.13% ROI on past automotive trades, McQueen Garage operates on a wholesale model, sourcing and selling vehicles within days rather than months or years. The company is targeting $40 million in total trades over the next 12 months. As MCQ Markets as a whole moves toward digital asset integration, McQueen Garage is accepting Dogecoin as a form of payment. This aligns with MCQ Markets' broader vision to tokenize iconic cars. Plans are underway to launch a tokenized auto fund in Q1 2026, which will bring liquidity and accessibility to the world of car collecting through blockchain technology. 'With McQueen Garage, we're unlocking a new era of speed, liquidity, and return potential in car trading,' said Curt Hopkins, CEO of MCQ Markets. 'Backed by the Dogecoin Blockchain, what we're creating is more than a garage, it's a gateway to the future of automotive investing.' Through its main platform, the company continues to offer fractional ownership in rare, investment-grade vehicles such as their sold-out Lamborghini Countach and the newly listed 2012 Lexus LFA, which is one of only 500 units ever produced. Originally priced at $375K, a recent LFA sale reached $951K, a staggering 154.57% value increase. MCQ Markets is empowering a new generation of investors to diversify through luxury vehicles and invest alongside renowned racing legends Romain Grosjean and Patricio O'Ward. To explore live offerings and learn more about MCQ Garage and MCQ Markets, visit About MCQ MarketsMCQ Markets is redefining luxury asset ownership by making exotic automobiles attainable through its innovative fractional ownership model. The platform serves both passionate enthusiasts and seasoned investors, democratizing luxury ownership and allowing more individuals to invest in assets that were previously out of reach. For more information, please visit: Investments contain a high degree of risk. You should carefully review the MCQ Markets offering circular before deciding to invest, a copy of which is available on the Securities and Exchange Commission's website, linked here: The mentioned individual, Lindsay Brewer, is a paid ambassador of MCQ Markets, receiving equity-based compensation. Contact Information: MCQ Markets Media Contact Angela GormanEmail: angela@ press@
Axios
2 hours ago
- Axios
Exclusive: Crypto security startup Hypernative raises $40M
Hypernative, a provider of real-time threat prevention for crypto companies, raised $40 million in Series B funding, its founders tell Axios exclusively. Why it matters: Security remains a major barrier to mass adoption of crypto, which is plagued by increasingly sophisticated hacks and exploits. How it works: Hypernative's technology monitors blockchain transactions to detect and respond to potential threats before they happen. "We know how to classify that preparation and then essentially front-run their attacks before they're actually triggering it," Hypernative CTO Dan Caspi explains. Its platform identifies patterns of on-chain preparations that attackers typically make before launching an exploit. Using AI and machine learning models, it tracks and analyzes on-chain and off-chain data sources, simulating transaction outcomes to protect users and assets in real time. State of play: The crypto security market is becoming increasingly competitive, with numerous startups offering solutions to prevent hacks, fraud and exploits. By the numbers: Israel-based Hypernative serves more than 200 customers, protecting assets totaling over $100 billion. In 2024, the platform detected over $2.2 billion in potential losses from hacks and exploits, a 22% increase from the previous year, the company says. "We've already saved huge amounts of money in real time for customers and non-customers," Hypernative CEO Gal Sagie says. Case in point:"Just yesterday, there was a protocol that was not a customer of ours, and we managed to reach out to them and saved around $10 million," he adds. Zoom out: Traditional financial institutions are increasingly becoming interested in blockchain technology, driven by regulatory clarity and institutional demand for digital assets. "With the new regulation and the new administration, we see a lot of demand from more traditional financial institutions," Sagie says. Zoom in: Ten Eleven Ventures and Ballistic Ventures led the round, which included participation from StepStone Group, Boldstart Ventures and the IBI Tech Fund.
Forbes
4 hours ago
- Forbes
Widespread Interactions With Criminal Justice System Cast Long Shadow On Retirement Savings
A lot of people get arrested and convicted in the United States. Those interactions with the criminal justice system cast long finacial shadows. This is true for retirement savings as well as calculations based on recently released Federal Reserve data show. People who have been arrested and convicted end up with lower retirement savings than people who have not been taken into custody. A recent Federal Reserve survey on people's economic situation includes a series of questions on whether people have been taken into police custody, convicted and served time. The same survey, the Fed's Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking (SHED) also asks questions about retirement savings. Interactions with the criminal justice system are fairly widespread. It is necessary to combine data years to make sure that sample sizes are large enough. In 2023 and 2024, 13.7% of adults said that they had been taken into custody in the past, 6.0% said that they had been convicted and 1.8% of people indicated that they served time. The respective shares of people are higher for Black and Latino people than for White people, with 17.3% of African-Americans and 17.9% of Latinos in 2023 and 2024 saying that they had been taken into custody, but only 12.5% of White adults said that this was the case. A lot of these racial differences are not explained by differences in criminal behavior, but rather, are the result of structural biases against Black and Latino adults. These interactions with the criminal justice system make it more difficult for people to save for retirement. For one, those who have a criminal record will face more labor market obstacles than those without a criminal record. They will work in less stable jobs and receive lower wages. This means that they will have a harder time qualifying for retirement benefits and have less money to put away towards retirement. In addition, people who have been arrested and convicted will have legal fees, but also face other economic challenges, for instance, in renting a house or apartment. They face higher costs, impeding their retirement savings and necessitating more liquidity in their retirement savings, for example, by withdrawing money pre-retirement or taking out loans on their retirement accounts. All of these factors could make it less likely that people have retirement accounts to begin with and more likely that the savings in those accounts grow more slowly. Earlier data already showed differences in retirement savings by interactions with the criminal justice system. Specifically, 48.4% of people that did not have a family member in prison or jail had any retirement savings in 2019, while this was the case for only 37.7% of people with an incarcerated family member. Recent Federal Reserve data for 2023 and 2024 provide additional details on the link between interactions with the criminal justice system and retirement savings. The data allow for a separation of respondents into three distinct groups: Those who were taken into police custody and were convicted, those who were taken into police custody, but were not convicted, and those who were not taken into police custody. The SHED also includes a number of key measures for retirement savings. It is, for example, possible to create one indicator whether people have any retirement benefit – a 401(k) type account, an IRA or a DB pension. It is also possible to create another indicator whether people increased the liquidity in their retirement savings by borrowing from their retirement accounts, withdrawing money from a retirement account or reducing their retirement account contributions. These actions all slow the growth of retirement savings as people need more liquidity. People who had any interactions with the retirement system fare worse in terms of retirement savings (see Figure below). The share of people who worked for somebody else and who were at least 25 years old with a retirement benefit is lower among those who were convicted (65.6%) than was the case for people who were taken into custody, but who were not convicted (76.5%), which was in turn much lower than the share of working people who were never taken into custody (84.5%). Having been convicted, regardless of whether the person served time or not, reduces the chance of having a retirement benefit by almost 19 percentage points, compared to somebody, who had never been taken into custody. And, those who were convicted also need more liquidity in their retirement accounts (see Figure above). In particular, 25.6% of those working for somebody else who were at least 25 years old and who had a retirement account also took out a pension loan, withdrew money before retirement or lowered their retirement plan contributions in 2023 and 2024. The respective shares for the other two groups were 16.2% and 16.0%. Having been convicted thus also goes along with a greater need for liquidity in retirement accounts, which could slow the growth of retirement savings. A substantial share of Americans are arrested and convicted. Convictions can cast a long financial shadow over people's lives. This includes negative correlations between arrests and convictions, on the one hand, and retirement savings, on the other hand. Those who have been arrested and convicted are much less likely to have any retirement plan, for instance. Financial insecurity follows criminal convictions for some time.
