The historic Statler Hilton Hotel in downtown Dallas has been a vacant eyesore for 16 years, but new owners plan to reopen it this summer after a $220 million renovation.
It first opened in 1956 with tremendous excitement.
"It was considered the premier convention destination for the Southwestern United States," said promotion executive Rachel Roberts. "There are many things about this building that were unheard of at the time in the hospitality industry."
The hotel was the first with elevator music. Soaring, cantilever design ceilings in the lobby and a 14,000 square foot ballroom with no obstructions were made possible by strategically placed support columns.
"This was a new feat in hotels, hotel design," Roberts said.
The hotel's 1,000 small guest rooms have been reconfigured into 219 apartments and 159 larger hotel rooms. The boutique hotel will operate under the Hilton Curio brand.
"We are bringing back that mid-century modern aesthetic, but we will have certain features in our rooms that are very contemporary," Roberts said.
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Five restaurants are planned, along with retail space on the first floor.
The Statler intends to be a music performance venue again, reviving a history that includes Liberace and Tony Bennett.
"It was the place to see and be seen, basically," Roberts said.
One entertainer who did not stay at the old Statler was Elvis Presley. Roberts said Presley, arriving in his military uniform in 1959, was told by a desk clerk that he could not afford the expensive hotel. Presley left angry.
"So, as a result of that, we have named one of our presidential suites 'The King' in honor of the stay Elvis never had here," Roberts said.
One famous guest was "Llinda Lee Llama," a live animal that served as a cultural ambassador to the city of Dallas for the hotel and the nearby Neiman Marcus department store.
Recalling that animal's famous stay, llama images are incorporated in the new hotel décor.
Roberts said the original hotel construction the 1950s was a push for downtown Dallas revival after World War II.
"This revitalization of the Statler finds kind of a parallel, too, where we are experiencing a renaissance in downtown Dallas," she said.
The hotel is the final side of the square to be renovated around Main Street Garden Park. Old Dallas City Hall on Harwood Street is being renovated for the University of North Texas Law School. A former department store on the north side hosts classes for several universities. On the west side, the former Mercantile Bank Building is already apartments. The Dallas Morning News plans to move later this year into the former Dallas Public Library building adjoining the Statler.
A soft reopening of the new Statler Hotel is planned later this summer with a big grand opening early in 2018. Statler apartments are available for lease now.
The city of Dallas invested $46.5 million to help make the Statler renovation happen after previous owners allowed serious code violations and nearly demolished the historic structure.
