Adolphus Busch, investor in the Oriental Hotel
As mentioned in our last post, one of Adolphus Busch’s first investments in Dallas was the Oriental Hotel. However, by the time he and his group of investors got on board, the hotel was almost complete.
The Oriental Hotel was the wild dream of Thomas Field. He sunk an enormous amount of money in to the hotel and contrary to what the naysayers printed, his hotel was the talk of the town before it was even opened. The Dallas News printed stories about the building’s progress, going so far as to discuss the types of wood, windows, fixtures and plants being delivered to the site.
Field wanted a hotel that invoked ideas of the ‘Orient’. This ended up being quite a mish-mash of cultures and styles to our eyes, but people of the 1890s thought it was incredibly opulent and exotic. Rich woods, mirrors every where to reflect light, and plants imported from around the world leant a feeling of being transported to a far-away land.
The opening day was scheduled to be even more extraordinary than the hotel itself. Stay tuned to find out the guest list and why Thomas Field was not among those in attendance. Busch’s investment proved to be an astute one as the hotel was hopping with the rich and famous from the day the doors opened.
Image – Thomas Field’s home while the Oriental was being built. In addition to throwing money at the hotel, he had this incredibly swanky home built not too far away from the hotel construction site. Neither the hotel nor the home exist today.
