old blackstone brochure
#1
Posted 17 April 2005 - 09:40 PM
#2
Posted 17 April 2005 - 09:43 PM
thems the days..
#3
Posted 17 April 2005 - 10:32 PM
Parents stayed there last year, really enjoyed the Main St. views.
I'm sure back in them days it was quite a gem without all the mid and highrise buildup in FW.
It has a very interesting lobby story that can be read as soon as you walk in.
It tells of a time in which "celebrities" once adorned the
very fancy entry way staircase. I believe it was of imported Italian marble.
A piece of it's history is still present for all to experience and imagine them olden golden days.
www.iheartfw.com
#4
Posted 18 April 2005 - 07:36 AM
#5
Posted 18 April 2005 - 10:36 AM
Notice no mention of the terms 'Art Deco' or 'Moderne'. Just Italian, Venetian, etc.
#6
Posted 01 May 2005 - 04:16 PM
Thank you so much for posting those images. I have been trying to locate pictures of what the Blackstone looked like on the inside for several years now and, until a couple of months or so ago, I had absolutely no luck whatsoever.
Finally, I did come across a brochure that the Chamber of Commerce put out plugging the virtues of the city of Fort Worth - and included in that brochure was the photo below. If you look closely at the photo and compare it with the same room in the drawing, there are certain differences in the decor - so they are probably from different eras. My brochure is dated 1939.
Despite these images, I am still having a difficult time figuring out how the original floor plan was laid out. Considering that the lobby area was open, I haven't quite figured out how there would have been room for the Italian Dining Room on the second floor. But I know for a fact that it was on the second floor. The first bit of evidence is the images - the only floor in the building with such large windows is the second floor.
The second bit of evidence comes from a 97 year old gentleman I recently met and spent a couple of hours with at a Dallas retirement home. He was a very fascinating former musician who actually played for the Paul Whiteman Orchestra in 1936 when it was in Fort Worth as part of the Texas Centennial activities at the original Casa Manana. He also played in the band for the Billy Rose production Jumbo which had its own building shaped like a circus tent. The show was not successful and had to close in large part because of the hot weather and the building's lack of air conditioning.
My conversation with the gentleman was one of the most fascinating that I have ever had. He knew a lot of famous musicians and bandleaders of the era and the stories he told were just incredible. Since he was based in Fort Worth, he told me a lot of stores about prominent local people as well - some of which were not always flattering.
Anyhow, when WBAP opened its studios in the Blackstone, he was in the band that performed for the morning show. I asked him if he could describe for me what the Blackstone looked like on the inside. He started to tell me that the lobby was very grand and that, on the right as one walked in, was a very grand staircase that led up to the dining room. That is when his description of the Blackstone ended. Once he described going up the stairs to the dining room, he told me about it being the place where he met Will Rogers who, as a friend of Amon Carter, was in Fort Worth quite a bit back them. Rogers was dining alone in the empty dining room. When the room was opened up for business, Rogers moved and hung out with the band rather than having to deal with autograph seekers and such once the patrons recognized him. He ended up getting into a friendly conversation with Rogers. He also talked with Rogers back stage at the Worth Theatre. The theatre was near Carters' office and Rogers would occasionally drop in. He ended up running into Rogers on several occasions in different cities afterward and was pleased that Rogers always recognized and remembered him. The conversation then moved on in other equally fascinating directions and I never got back to asking him to continue his description of the Blackstone.
Anyhow, that is an interesting but admittedly long-winded bit of evidence that the dining room was on the second floor. The gentleman insisted to me that the second floor extended south from the main tower to the end of the block as it does today. Today, that portion of the building is where the parking garage and rooftop swimming pool are located. However, all of the early postcards and photos of the building I have seen do NOT show such an addition. They show some earlier typical commercial structure from the late 19th or very early 20th century. Furthermore, the current annex to the south of the building is very obviously an addition. The time frame when the gentleman played at the Blackstone was in the very early 1930s when the hotel just opened. So what he was talking about there is a bit of a mystery to me. My assumption is he may not remember correctly - though his memory of specifics across the decades is nothing short of remarkable.
My guess is the Venetian Room must have been on the third floor.
I do know that when you walk the fire stairs in the Blackstone (and there are two sets of them) you can see that the number of stairs per floor for floors 2 and 3 are quite different than all of the higher floors. Next time I am downtown and have some time, I will see if I can figure out how those images might help me make some sense of the old floorplan
Again, thanks so much for posting the images.
#7
Posted 01 May 2005 - 08:26 PM
I talked with Larry K. of the Collectors of Fort Worth Art (COFWA) and N.M. Davidson didn't ring any bells as a local Fort Worth artist, so that didn't help date the brochure.
#8
Posted 03 May 2005 - 09:43 PM
The second bit of evidence comes from a 97 year old gentleman I recently met and spent a couple of hours with at a Dallas retirement home. He was a very fascinating former musician who actually played for the Paul Whiteman Orchestra in 1936 when it was in Fort Worth as part of the Texas Centennial activities at the original Casa Manana. He also played in the band for the Billy Rose production Jumbo which had its own building shaped like a circus tent. The show was not successful and had to close in large part because of the hot weather and the building's lack of air conditioning.
I don't suppose you were able to tape the conversation? A small tape recorder and permission of the interviewee would make for a great permanent record of what the old guy had to say.
NTHT is starting to do recorded histories for the streetcar and subway system. Unfortunately, the people who remember the streetcars have passed or are in nursing homes.
#9
Posted 03 May 2005 - 09:53 PM
I don't suppose you were able to tape the conversation? A small tape recorder and permission of the interviewee would make for a great permanent record of what the old guy had to say.
I asked him with the thought of posting the interviews either in audio or text form (giving him a final ok of the content before it was posted) on my website. Sadly, he seemed very reluctant. Obviously, it is his life's story and his memories so one has to respect that. But it sure would be a shame to have them die with him. He is a fascinating individual - and talking to him is remarkable because his mind is sharp as can be. He has a better memory of people he worked with 8 decades ago than I do of people I worked with only 5 years ago. Talking with him is not like talking to an "old person" where one has to speak slowly and raise one's voice. It is no different than having a conversation with someone who is, say 50 - except very few 50 year olds have led as fascinating lives as he has.
1 user(s) are reading this topic
0 members, 1 guests, 0 anonymous users