The last few posts have been about Alex and Sarah Horton Cockrell.  After Alex’s death, Sarah built the St. Nicholas hotel – she named it after one of Alex’s most loyal friends.  This hotel was built in 1859 in the area that is now the JFK Memorial.  Within the year, a huge fire broke out in ‘downtown’ Dallas and wiped out all but one business.  That lucky business was *not* the hotel that Sarah built – she lost the hotel entirely.  She quickly rebuilt, though, and the 1860 version of the hotel stood (under various names) until 1966 when it was razed for the JFK Memorial.

Future posts will be about the fire of 1860.  But, until then, you can read about the businesses lost in this 1860 New York Times article.  Or, you can make a donation to the restoration of the JFK Memorial that sits where Sarah’s hotel once stood.

Book a tour to see these locations in person!

Photo of the JFK Memorial is taken from the Sixth Floor Museum website.