The Magnolia Hotel
Growing up, I'll always remember that when I'd be riding with my parents into or around downtown Dallas, Texas; I'd always get really excited at the red Pegasus on top of what is now the Magnolia Hotel. It was a bright red symbol of Dallas then, the greatest and biggest city that my young mind imagined, was in the whole world. The Red Pegasus is the symbol of that Hotel, and before that, Rockefeller's Mobil Oil headquarters. It used to be that that building was the tallest building West of the Mississippi River, and only the Empire State Building was taller. Times have changed, and the Red Pegasus is no longer clearly visible from the outskirts of Dallas, Texas; and though the Empire State Building hasn't always been the tallest building in New York City, it is again now.
History
Opening in 1922 next to the Adolphus Hotel, the Magnolia Oil Building had cost $4 million dollars to build, but the red Pegasus, the symbol of the Magnolia Petroleum Company wasn't erected until 1934. The rotating winged neon red Pegasus is, and always has been one of the most loved symbols of Dallas, Texas. The lovely red Pegasus hasn't rotated, due to mechanical problems, since 1974, one would think repairing that would be more of a priority. In 1977 the Magnolia Petroleum Company moved it's headquarters out of the building, and sold it to the City of Dallas, and in 1997 the building was bought by developers in Denver, Colorado; and transformed into the beautiful luxury hotel that it is today.
The Magnolia Hotel of Dallas
It's early Spring 2009, and though I don't recall having done so, I'd applied for a job as wait staff there, but surprisingly, someone else saw my resume, and gave me a call.
"Hi Wes, can I call you Wes? Todd, okay, look, I saw your resume, and it looks like you'd applied to be a part time server here at the Magnolia Hotel, but I wanted to ask you if you'd be interested in interviewing for a full time maintenance position here. You would? That's great! Come on down, what do you say? Monday morning fine with you? Monday after noon is better, that's fine too, what do you say, two o'clock? Fine! I'll be looking for you, just go into the lobby and tell the people at the counter that you are here to meet Bruce."
I'd taken the DART bus into Deep Ellum, and got off the bus, and walked over to the DART rail station, got on, and rode a few, maybe three stops down into the proper place in downtown Dallas, and walked over to, and inside the Magnolia Hotel. I couldn't believe how beautiful the building was and is; and it's probably the most beautiful buildings that I've ever been inside. If you're a well to do visitor to the Dallas and Fort Worth Metroplex, then let me recommend that Magnolia Hotel to you, you won't be disappointed with your stay there, and the pictures I've provided here do not do the building justice.
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