More proof that everything is bigger in Texas.
The Statler hotel opened in 1956 as a 1001-room hotel, convention center, and gathering place for the “Who’s Who” when visiting Downtown Dallas. The hotel has been restored and opened as The Statler Hilton. It is a 159-room Hilton Curio Collection Hotel featuring a 14,000 square-foot ballroom, 10,000 square-feet of meeting space, six restaurant venues, a fourth-floor roof pool deck and a 19th-floor roof top pool deck.
The concept for the architecture and interior design, done by Merriman Anderson/Architects, was to respect the mid-century aesthetic of the original building but not to be overly retro. Recently, The Statler was inducted as the 300th hotel into the Historic Hotels of America program.
The building, along with the Old Dallas Central Library, occupies an entire city block and is considered one of the better examples of mid-century architecture in the region. The hotel had its last occupancy in 2001 and was listed on the National Park Service “Top Ten Most Endangered Building” list in the country. In addition to the 159 guestrooms, The Statler now has 219 luxury rental apartments, 14,000 square-foot ballroom, 7,000 square-feet of meeting space, six food and beverage venues, two rooftop pool decks, ground floor lease space, and a 250-space interior parking garage.
Merriman Anderson/Architects worked with the National Park Service and the Texas Historical Commission to preserve and restore the character defining features of the historic building. On the exterior, the glass curtainwall, brick, and stone were repaired and restored. Molded porcelain enamel panels were cleaned and color matched touch-ups were applied over the façade of the building.
Molded Aztec-style cast stone blocks were restored with missing block replicated. Exterior storefronts and glazing were selectively repaired and/or replaced with new tempered glazing to match the original.
The entire building roofing was replaced, and the exterior envelope was restored and waterproofed. Two new exterior pool and amenity areas were constructed in the place of former roof areas and a heliport. A new grand entry porte-cochere was constructed to replicate the original that had been removed in previous renovations. Finally, new exterior signage was installed in keeping with the original historic configuration.