The Adolphus hotel elevator shafts saw two back-to-back deaths in 1911 and 1912. Things seem to be quiet for the Dallas hotel until two more consecutive deaths take place in 1917. These were in a new wing of the hotel being constructed, the ‘Annex’ as it was called.
Building worker killed
Summary: R. A. Fore, 25 years old, an employee of the Otis Elevator Company, fell to his death while working on the elevators of the new Adolphus Annex. He was on a hoist and fell to the basement with a fatally crushed skull. No one saw the accident, so no one knows how far he fell or what caused the fall.
My take: the new Annex elevator shafts are craftier than their older brethren next door. No witnesses. No OSHA.
Original news article: April 22, 1917, Dallas Morning News
Photograph: FlashbackDallas website
The tall part is the original Adolphus. Next to it are two 12 story annexes. The middle annex is our lethal one in this story. The far annex won’t be built until the 1920s.
