Editor’s note: Take a look back into The Dallas Morning News Archives.
Dallas is known for its changing skyline through the decades, as buildings were torn down and built up in the blink of an eye. At the 1953 mayoral inauguration, R.L. Thornton was quoted as saying that Dallas’ motto should be “Keep the dirt flying!” Hotels and establishments that early visitors to the city would call their temporary homes, and where residents would go for parties, events and a night on the town, were not immune to the continuous construction.
Hotels like Forest Inn, Southland Hotel, Hotel Jefferson and the Baker Hotel are just a handful of those buildings that were torn down to make room for the expanding city.
Oak Cliff Hotel/Hotel Cliff/Forest Inn
History: The Oak Cliff Hotel — in original plans known as the Park Hotel — opened in 1890 on the corner of Jefferson and Crawford streets in Oak Cliff. The three-story structure, “built on a plan combining beauty and comfort,” didn’t last long as the Oak Cliff Hotel, however. Constructed by Thomas Marsalis as part of his “resort spa promotion” of Oak Cliff, the hotel closed for “winter renovations” in 1891 and never reopened. It was converted to a girls’ school in 1892. The building was sold at auction in 1903 and turned into Hotel Cliff. It lasted under that name for several years until it reopened as the Forest Inn in 1921, which it stayed until 1945.
What happened: The property was sold in 1945 and the hotel was demolished.
What’s there now: The Oak Cliff Municipal Center
Southland Hotel
History: The Southland Hotel opened in 1907 at 1200 Main St. in downtown Dallas. The eight-story building had — in addition to guest rooms, a restaurant and writing rooms — three storefronts on the ground level: a drugstore, a “haberdasher’s store” and a saloon.
The hotel was also part of the notorious Benny Binion’s “Southland Syndicate” dice game operation. According to Doug J. Swanson, former News writer and author of Blood Aces: The Wild Ride of Benny Binion, “To get to the Southland dice room, a gambler would cross the lobby and climb stairs to the mezzanine. At room 226, he pressed a button next to a door marked Private. One of Binion’s men slid a speakeasy-style vent, eyed the potential entrant, and decided if he would be allowed inside. On a normal night, the place filled with perhaps 50 men in suits who were drinking, laughing, and throwing dice.”
In 1967, the hotel was renovated to have a “Spanish style.” According to a News article that year, the hotel used “handmade wallhangings, a combination of painting and collage on burlap, made in Guadalajara, Mexico, and prints of Spanish paintings” to accessorize, along with “Mexican wrought iron and painted ceramic lamps.”
What happened: The hotel was torn down in 1971 to make way for the 25-story Main Tower. Developers purchased the building in 2005 to convert it to multifamily residences.
What’s there now: The Metropolitan Condominiums at 1200 Main.
Jefferson Hotel/Hotel Dallas
History: The Jefferson Hotel was built across from Union Station on Wood Street, just north of Ferris Plaza, in 1917 by Oak Cliff businessman Charles A. Mangold.
The hotel underwent renovations and expansions in the early decades. It had doubled in size by the early 1930s. News staff writer Robert R. Penn wrote about the hotel’s “good construction” in 1921: “The entire building is constructed of reinforced concrete, the first floor faced with ornamental terra cotta and the upper stories with tapestry brick of dark brown. The architecture is of a simple, but highly pleasing and imposing type, with only the iron-columned portico at the south entrance and the terra cotta designs and cornices for ornamental effects.” At the time, the lobby of the Jefferson Hotel was the largest lobby in Dallas.
In late April 1953, the hotel was leased to Alsonett Hotels, and the name changed to Hotel Dallas later that year. The new management also added air conditioning, a motor entrance and a “new lobby featuring high speed automatic elevators.”
What happened: The hotel was condemned in the early 1970s when it failed to meet fire department safety standards. It then declared bankruptcy and in 1974, it was purchased by the city of Dallas for $385,000 as part of efforts to provide access to the new Reunion development.
What’s there now: A Courtyard Marriott and Cindi’s NY Deli & Restaurant.
Baker Hotel
History: The Baker Hotel opened in 1925 across the street from the Adolphus. The building had 18 floors, most dedicated to guest rooms, and 10 retail shops surrounding the lobby as well as a coffee shop. At its opening, the 11th floor was “set aside strictly as the women’s floor, with a resident matron in charge at all times.”
The hotel hosted many balls, galas and other events attended by prominent Dallasites and even movie stars and former presidents. The WFAA broadcasting studio adjoined the hotel’s rooftop garden.
The Baker was popular for its Peacock Terrace and Crystal Ballroom, so named for its six crystal chandeliers. The Idlewild debutante ball was held annually in the Crystal Ballroom until 1959.
What happened: Southwestern Bell Telephone Co. bought the block that the Baker Hotel stood on and deemed the hotel could not be converted to fit its needs. The hotel closed in 1979 and interior items, including chandeliers and doorknobs, were auctioned. At the hotel’s closing, manager Lonnie Witte told staff reporter Ann Atterberry that Dallas society “outgrew our ballroom” when new hotels began opening in 1959. The hotel was demolished in 1980 to make way for Southwestern Bell’s headquarters.
What’s there now: Whitacre Tower and One AT&T Plaza
Other bygone hotels
- Powell Hotel & Court
- St. George Hotel/Hotel Whitmore
- Maurice Hotel
- Bluebonnet Hotel
- Ambassador Hotel
- Troxy Hotel
- Birdwell Hotel
