Magnolia Hotel
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Magnolia Building | |
|---|---|
| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
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| Location: | Dallas, Texas |
| Coordinates: | Coordinates: |
| Built/Founded: | 1921 |
| Architect: | Blossom,Alfred C.; Lang & Witchell |
| Architectural style(s): | Beaux Arts, Renaissance, Skyscraper |
| Added to NRHP: | January 30, 1978 |
| NRHP Reference#: | 78002915 [1] |
| Governing body: | Private |
The Magnolia Hotel (sometimes still called the Magnolia Building, originally the Magnolia Petroleum Building) is a 29-story, Beaux-Arts style, upscale hotel in the Main Street District of downtown Dallas, Texas (USA) that for many years was the tallest building in the state of Texas.
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[edit] About
The building, which opened next door to the Adolphus Hotel in August 1922 [2] at a cost of US$4 million, was originally the headquarters for the Magnolia Petroleum Company. In 1934, the company erected its trademark neon Pegasus on the building's roof (the Pegasus logo later became the logo of Mobil Oil who merged with Magnolia Petroleum in 1959) to celebrate the American Petroleum Institute's annual meeting, held in Dallas for the first time. The rotating winged horse came to represent the city of Dallas and became one of its most recognizable and endearing landmarks, even after the building became obscured by much larger skyscrapers (the neon Pegasus can now only be seen in the downtown skyline approaching from the south).
By 1974, however, the Pegasus stopped rotating due to mechanical problems and in 1977, the Mobil Oil Company moved their headquarters out of the aging building and the property was sold to the city of Dallas. The building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
The building was purchased by Denver developers in 1997 and was converted into a 330-room luxury hotel.
In 1999, in preparation for Dallas's Millennium Celebration, the Pegasus was taken down to be completely restored. However, the sign was beyond repair and instead it was completely rebuilt from scratch. At midnight on 1 January 2000, the new Pegasus, complete with rotation, was lit for the first time. The original sign was relocated to Dallas Farmers Market and has since been moved to the Old Red Museum.
[edit] References
- ^ National Register Information System. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service (2007-01-23).
- ^ Dallassky.com - Magnolia Building. Retrieved 24 August 2006.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Magnolia Hotels, the company that owns and operates the Dallas Magnolia
- Dallas City Hall's page on the Magnolia Building
- Restoration of the Pegasus sign
| Preceded by Adolphus Hotel |
Tallest Building in Dallas 1923—1942 150m |
Succeeded by Mercantile National Bank Building |
| Preceded by Adolphus Hotel |
Tallest Building in Texas 1923—1927 150m |
Succeeded by Niels Esperson Building |
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