Thomas Field’s dream, the Oriental Hotel, opened October 9th, 1893. The night before opening day, every single room in the building, from cellar to rooftop, was illuminated to draw attention. The opening day reception saw dances, music recitals and speeches. Governor Hogg (who does, in fact, have a daughter named Ima after a poem his brother wrote) was set to give the official opening day speech. Unfortunately, he would not arrive in time due to a train delay. It does not appear that Adolphus Busch was there at opening day either.
Also not on hand? Thomas Field. A bizarre speech was given by one J.C. Patton, esquire, who had an office next to Thomas Field in Dallas, and is labeled a ‘happy eulogium’ in the newspaper. The contents of the speech were published and our next post will deal with all of the odd references and clues in that speech.
While mulling all this over, you can feast your eyes upon this postcard that includes views of the inside and the outside of the famous Oriental Hotel circa 1908.
We tour the part of town that hosted the Oriental Hotel and the Field/Wilson house. If you are interested in history, book a tour with us!
