A young, female ghost is said to haunt the 19th floor of the Adolphus hotel in Dallas. The story oft told is that she was jilted at the altar, hanging herself out of despair in the ballroom. I am not buying it as no one can name her, the year she died, how she died, what her fiance’s name was or any other type of supporting evidence.
However, if you are looking for ghosts in the Adolphus, might I suggest the elevator shafts? This post is about the first (of many!) elevator shaft deaths in the Adolphus hotel.
From the Dallas Morning News, October 20, 1912: “Camiro, an Italian waiter, age 30, fell down an elevator shaft from the lobby floor, down three levels. His skull was crushed. He lived roughly another two hours.”
How it happened: “Camiro had started from the dining room to go up in the elevator about 4:30 o clock. The car had stopped as it was upward bound and a busboy accompanying the waiter, had entered. The waiter turned to speak to someone in the lobby and the car started upward without him, the door going closed as the car rose. As he spoke, the man walked to the door and backed in to it before he could be warned, or before the doorway was barred by the closing shaft door. The door closed immediately behind him.”
Camiro came from Chicago and had been employed at the Adolphus since it’s opening. (This is how the Dallas News phrases it. However, the Adolphus had only formally opened on October 5.) There were rumors that there was an elevator operator’s strike that caused this to happen. The manager of the Adolphus said that was adamantly not true, although two operators had quit the Friday before.
Photo of the ballroom: WeddingWire.
