Bobby Hotel, a newly opened lifestyle boutique hotel, located just a few boot-clad steps from Nashville's historic haunts in Downtown Nashville has opened in grand style.

What also just took place this summer at this location was the hoisting up, 10-stories high, of a 1956 Greyhound Scenicruiser bus to its rooftop.

Schweiss hydraulic and bifold doors have been known to reach high places 20 stories or more up. But the two hydraulic doors used for the Bobby Hotel 1956 bus conversion can be said to top them all.

Included in the conversion was the purchase of Schweiss hydraulic door components that when opened at the side and rear of the bus makes it convenient to serve rooftop customers and when closed, protects the interior contents of the bus.

A Schweiss dual-pump system for each door, with its electric motors, were placed 60 feet away inside the swimming pool mechanical room, they operate the hydraulic cylinders to lift and close a 18' 6" x 8' side door and 8' x 9' rear bus door. The doors can be opened and closed with handheld remote openers.

The 1956 Greyhound now serves as part of the Rooftop Lounge, and maybe more importantly as a landmark for visitors and sophisticated or specialized clientele. The bus was somewhat stripped down to lighten it before hoisting it to the rooftop with a crane. Its original road weight was 20,000 pounds.

Castlerock Asset Management, which undertook the adaptive reuse of the Wells Fargo Plaza building, which was a 1970s office building, enlisted Hemphill Brothers Coach Company to redesign the bus. The Nashville-based company is a creator of custom tour buses.

Castlerock envisioned Bobby Hotel "to create an immersive hotel that feels like the quintessential Nashville experience and mirrors musician's life on the road."

"We wanted to create a unique experience on our rooftop different than any other hotel in Nashville," noted Castlerock Vice President Ray Waters."

After extensive building renovation, Bobby Hotel became a vibrant lifestyle hotel, complete with a rooftop lounge and dipping pool, on-site restaurant and unexpected entertainment you'll only find in Nashville.

Brothers Joel W. Hemphill, Jr. and Trent Hemphill started the Hemphill Brothers Coach Company in 1980, with the assistance of their father, Joel W. Hemphill, Sr., who had retired from the coach leasing business. It was their job to give the 1956 bus their magical conversion touch.

Jeff King and Gary Favinger, a technical support and fabrication man for Hemphill Brothers Coach Company, said this bus is probably the only one of its kind in the world.

"Bobby Hotel purchased the bus which was not running when we got it. They were looking for someone to do the project. We had three months to do the conversion from start to finish; we actually didn't open the door until one day before delivery. The other company they had trying to do it wasted four months on the job before we got it - we had to have it done before they took the crane down. A lot of imagination went into Bobby, " said Favinger.

They gutted the whole drive train and interior and had to widen the bus by four feet to 12 foot. They built a five-inch I-Beam structure frame to make a platform for the bus. Where it's situated it looks like it could be driven off the building.

"Bobby wanted the front half of the bus to appear like the original coach. The seats were all reupholstered, with overhead lighting added," said Favinger. "We searched around and ran across Schweiss. The doors are amazing with fail-safes built into the hydraulics. We cut half the side off the bus and built a structure to support it and rebuilt the back door opening. When I first opened the doors I wasn't quite sure how it was going to go. When it opened up, it was just unbelievable."

Hemphill Brothers Coach Company operates a coach maintenance and conversion facility near Nashville, Tennessee, and it maintains a fleet of over 90 motor coaches for lease. The company deals in used coaches and new custom conversions.

"A bus looks and feels its best when you use the very best. All of our buses' interiors are handmade and custom designed. We create our buses with top of the line materials such as genuine leather, hardwood flooring, granite, marble and onyx. The combinations of these items produce a gorgeous bus interior. We also go the extra mile with what you don't see to make a bus more elaborate," said Joel. "On other projects we have included everything from an upright piano in the front lounge for Harry Connick Jr. to a treadmill in the back lounge for Taylor Swift to three rolling television studios for ABC news," said Joel Hemphill.

They also do all the wiring, plumbing and electrical work in-house in order to exceed the needs of their clients. They can upgrade sound systems, install televisions and additional video equipment utilizing top-of-the-line electronics. Heated marble bathroom floors, Apple TVs, WI-FI, powered blinds, air pocket doors and HDTVs are a few of their favorite high-end features. Every little detail is carefully selected to make a bus as elaborate as possible when combined for a finished product.

"We have also managed to create an indoor fireplace, tanning beds, a mobile museum complete with display cases, recording studios and numerous other outside of the box requests. You never know what the next person is going to ask for, but that is what makes building a bus so much fun. No two buses are alike and there is always going to be new challenges around the corner," noted Hemphill.

They have done an extensive array of elaborate bus conversions. On its website, the company claims a long list of celebrity clients, including Cher, Lady Gaga, Aerosmith, George Strait, Tom Hanks, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Marilyn Manson, Korn and Pope Benedict XVI and with the U.S. Secret Service for customized buses used by President Barrack Obama for a trip to Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois in 2011.

"We were kind of blown away with the size of the doors. The system is awesome. If I ever have any other big projects to do, it will be with no one else but Schweiss. Once we figured everything out, such as the hinges and all and with all your support - I had to call Schweiss several times; Brent and Jeremy were very helpful. The people at the Bobby Hotel were blown away by the whole deal. There's never been a bus with side and rear doors opening up and on top of a hotel. It's a one-of-a-kind, we just made it happen," said Favinger.

Bobby Hotel

Bobby Hotel opened during the Spring of 2018 as an immersion into Nashville's creative community. The 144-room hotel celebrates country life with urban appeal - from the rooftop lounge complete with a vintage tour bus to Bobby's Garage, evoking Printers Alley trademark grit.

Centrally located just steps from Nashville's main music and cultural artery, the 10-story property is a refuge for artistic freedom. There's impromptu live sets, moonlit cocktails on the rooftop and biscuit breakfast with bedside journals. Bobby's Tavern features locally sourced, globally tinged fare while an alfresco café serves local brew with a side of street scene. www.bobbyhotel.com

Hemphill Brothers Coach Company

Since 1980 Hemphill Brothers Coach Company has been rolling strong. They bring a personal and customized approach to every project they work on, which is why their client's love riding with them and why they trust the company to get them wherever they need to be.

Joel and Trent Hemphill have always done business as a team. They grew up playing together, singing together, and traveling together. "Trent and I grew up riding buses with our family, The Hemphill's, singing gospel music. The first bus I remember my dad owning was a 1962 Flexible." The boys learned even more about buses when their father, Joel W. Hemphill, Sr., started his own bus leasing company as a sideline in 1974. This provided the boys a solid foundation when they decided to go into the bus business for themselves in 1980.

Their fleet now includes more than 90 coaches and an unparalleled team of drivers and mechanics, and a client list that looks like a who's who roster of celebrities, musicians, sports figures, and politicians.

Joel and Trent, have appeared on Oprah, VH1-The Fabulous Life of Pop Stars, HGTV and are regularly featured on the new Travel Channel series, "Extreme RVs," with new episodes forthcoming. The two have also been on the cover of American Profile and in Billboard magazines. The company provides coach services to an extensive list of celebrities, such as Cher, Tom Hanks, Pope Benedict XVI, Beyoncé and Jennifer Lopez.

In 2006, and 2009 through 2012 Hemphill Brothers was presented with The Coach Company of the Year award at the annual Parnelli Awards in Las Vegas, NV. In 2013, Hemphill Brothers Coach Company was awarded the Top Dog Award by Tour Link. Trent and Joey were finalists for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2013 Southeast Award and nominated for 2013 Most Admired CEO by the Nashville Business Journal.

Hemphill Brothers Coach Company customized the buses that were used by President Barack Obama for a trip to Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois in 2011. Although the trip had the appearance of a presidential campaign event, it was designated an official trip by the Obama administration and was thus federally financed.

Two such buses were ordered by the United States Secret Service in 2010 at a combined cost of $2,191,960 to address security inadequacies encountered on previous such events where leased vehicles were used. The Secret Service intends to use the buses as a general asset, and they are not specifically dedicated to the President. As such, the second bus was used in a similar fashion by the Secret Service during in the 2012 presidential campaign to transport Mitt Romney. This second bus is now held, by the Secret Service as a backup vehicle.

The company operates a 28,000 square-foot conversion and maintenance facility located outside of Nashville. As part of its customizing operation, the facility maintains wood finishing and upholstery shops. The conversion operation provides a full range of customizing services to client specifications.

Despite all the accolades and success the core foundation and principles behind the Hemphill Brothers Coach Company have remained unchanged for than 30 years and the company still strives to deliver an unparalleled level of quality, comfort, safety, reliability, and client relationships. Hemphill Brothers is locate at 7471 Old Hickory Blvd, Whites Creek, TN Phone: (615) 876-9000. www.hemphillbrothers.com

Castlerock Asset Management

Castlerock is a premier real estate development and asset management firm specializing in unique-and-distinctive commercial properties designed to enhance and enrich the communities they serve. Headquartered in the heart of Nashville's bustling Downtow, Castlerock brings a highly creative and sophisticated dynamic to one of the nation's fastest-growing cities, honoring the region's rich history while breaking exciting new ground. Inspired by the city's creative energy and warm, welcoming vibe, the pair formed Castlerock, investing in prime urban property with the stated mission of bringing a new level of elegance and bold, contemporary design to Nashville's vibrant hospitality scene.

About the bus

The General Motors PD-4501 Scenicruiser, manufactured exclusively by General Motors for the Greyhound Corporation, was a three-axle monocoque two-level coach used by Greyhound from July 1954 into the mid-70's. 1,001 were made between 1954 and 1956. The Scenicruiser became an icon of the American way of life due to its presence throughout the USA in cities and along highways and popularity with the traveling public.

Power for the production models was originally provided by two GM Diesel 4-71 engines of 160 HP each connected by a fluid coupling because GM had never seen the need for a V8 version of its Series 71 diesel engine. Each coach had a single three-speed manual transmission with a two-speed splitter for six forward speeds

The first design prototype for the Scenicruiser, the GX1, was a double decker with access from the lower deck and the driver seated on the upper deck. It was soon decided that a split-level design would be better because the GX1 was too tall for many Greyhound garages and lacked luggage space for 50 people. The coaches were also unusual in having 10 wheels: each rear axle had four wheels and tires but only the most forward one was active. The GX-2 had a lower level containing the driver's area and entrance with 10 seats plus a restroom on the passenger's side and an upper level with 33 more seats. The Scenicruiser was equipped with an air-ride suspension and air conditioning.

"Bus Stop," a 1956 American romantic comedy film directed by Joshua Logan for 20th Century Fox, starred Marilyn Monroe featured in a Greyhound Scenicruiser bus.