Adolphus Busch, Honorary Dallasite: the Investor Chronicles
So, what did Adolphus do with all of his bags of money made from his un-skunked, ice-cold, consistent-tasting Budweiser beer? He became an investor in booming Dallas, Texas.
His first investment in Dallas was not done solely with his money nor was the investment his vision. Adolphus joined a group of investors in bailing out the construction of the most extravagant hotel in Dallas at the time – the Oriental Hotel. (I have written about a death at the Oriental Hotel under the title The Opposite of Twelvetide.)
The Oriental Hotel is going to be the focus of the next few posts before we start discussing the Adolphus Hotel and the Kirby Building. (Both buildings are in Dallas, both backed by Adolphus Busch, but later than the Oriental).
The Oriental started out as the dream of Thomas Field. He chose the area where the huge AT&T building now stands at 208 S Akard Street. If you are picturing a bustling part of town in the late 1880s when Field bought the property, you would be sadly mistaken. There was a hill, a few houses, and farm land in this area. The business area was crowded much closer to the river, while this was a solid 6 city blocks from ‘civilization’ at the time. People took to referring to this as “Field’s Folly” as no one believed that a hotel that far out in the sticks would survive, let alone a fancy hotel for fancy people who would have to trudge up the incline.
But prove them wrong, he did. The Oriental Hotel’s opening would be one of the most anticipated social events of the year in 1893. More on this Swanky McSwankovich hotel and how Adolphus Busch became an investor in future posts.
