CTroyMathis
04 January 2003, 02:28 PM
Bringing back Rogers Hotel's storied past
Developer fell in love with historical building on courthouse square
01/03/2003
By STELLA M. CHÁVEZ / The Dallas Morning News
More than 50 years ago, the four-story dark mottled brick building on the corner of Rogers and Main streets was the talk of the town. Where else could Waxahachie residents find celebrities like Frank Sinatra and Ty Cobb?
On Saturday nights, young people would dance on the rooftop to the belting sounds of orchestral music while couples and families watched from their parked cars on the square.
Today, the Rogers Hotel still is the talk of the town, but for different reasons. After sitting closed for decades, the renovated hotel is open for business. Many in this small Texas town, especially those who saw the building in its heyday, are glad to see it.
"I'm tickled to death," said Bill Pitts, who as a young boy played inside the hotel with his friends. "We just kept wondering when it would happen. It's a good, sound structure but it just sat empty."
Anthony Cimino, the hotel's current owner, bought the building in 2000 and opened it in April 2001.
He said he saw the hotel two years before buying it, but wasn't sure he wanted it. His experience is in office buildings, but there was something about the building that caught his eye. One day, the Addison resident took his wife and mother-in-law to see the hotel.
"I basically sat in the lobby, and I loved it," he said, adding that his wife and late mother-in-law also approved. "I loved the tile, and the lobby was still intact. That pretty much did it."
Before long the building was his for more than $500,000.
In 1990, the Ellis County Sheriff's Department auctioned the property for $76,000 to four Waxahachie families. The hotel was sold to pay back taxes owed to the city, county and school district.
The owners restored the lobby, kitchen and dining area before putting the hotel back on the market in 1998.
Mr. Cimino said he has tried to maintain the historical integrity of the building, which was built in 1912 for $100,000.
The hotel is named for Emory W. Rogers, the founder of Waxahachie, who built his log cabin home in 1847 where the building now sits. Mr. Rogers donated land for the Ellis County Courthouse in 1850.
In 1856, Mr. Rogers replaced the cabin with a two-story hotel, but a fire in 1881 destroyed it. The Waxahachie Real Estate and Building Association built a second hotel on the site, but it too was destroyed in a fire in 1911.
The existing hotel, with its twin four-story towers, was built with reinforced concrete, Mr. Cimino said.
The original 63 rooms have been reconfigured to 27 rooms, including nine suites. Banquet or meeting rooms are also available.
A swimming pool in the basement is no longer in use but was once used by professional baseball teams in spring training, including Ty Cobb and the Detroit Tigers. But much of the building's other original details remain intact, such as hardwood doors, antique light fixtures, mosaic tile and radiators.
Some of the marble from the original bathrooms now forms the bar downstairs. The original Otis elevator, once hand-operated, also is used.
"I haven't thrown out anything that wasn't worth keeping," Mr. Cimino said.
Mr. Pitts, 83, remembers riding the hotel's hand-powered freight elevator. He and his friends would release the rope used to move the elevator while inside, causing the elevator to free-fall. But the boys would pull on another rope just in time to stop the elevator from hitting bottom.
One of the boys' fathers managed the hotel and often let them inside, or he'd have them operate the switchboard.
It's those memories and the hotel's history that Mr. Cimino said he hopes will inspire people to visit the restored structure, which sits just north of the recently renovated courthouse.
In addition to overnight accommodations, the hotel also offers a fine-dining restaurant, Emory's Bistro, and a bar, Emory's Lounge, which sometimes hosts local musical acts.
Plans include a gift shop, scheduled to open this spring, and a deli.
Employees of the hotel say they enjoy working there and hope that its spurs more revitalization downtown.
"I have guests that came in when it was a hotel [years ago]," said Tammy Strickland, hotel and restaurant manager. "I just love to hear their stories."
There are other stories she hears, too, the ones about the ghosts. Some of the hotel's employees say they've seen and heard unexplainable things.
The ghosts haven't bothered Ms. Strickland, though. She jokes that they probably like her.
While the building did not operate as a hotel for many years, it had other uses.
Film director Robert Benton used the hotel lobby for a bank in his 1983 movie Places in the Heart, which starred Sally Field, who won an Academy Award for her performance.
Singer Don Henley filmed part of his "End of the Innocence" music video at the hotel in 1989.
Now that the hotel has been revived, local historians and residents say they hope it stays that way.
"I was hoping it would happen," said Shannon Simpson, curator for the Ellis County Museum, located on the square.
"From as far back as I can remember, there was always some party that was going to reopen the hotel and do something with it. You heard that but then never saw anything come from it."
Developer fell in love with historical building on courthouse square
01/03/2003
By STELLA M. CHÁVEZ / The Dallas Morning News
More than 50 years ago, the four-story dark mottled brick building on the corner of Rogers and Main streets was the talk of the town. Where else could Waxahachie residents find celebrities like Frank Sinatra and Ty Cobb?
On Saturday nights, young people would dance on the rooftop to the belting sounds of orchestral music while couples and families watched from their parked cars on the square.
Today, the Rogers Hotel still is the talk of the town, but for different reasons. After sitting closed for decades, the renovated hotel is open for business. Many in this small Texas town, especially those who saw the building in its heyday, are glad to see it.
"I'm tickled to death," said Bill Pitts, who as a young boy played inside the hotel with his friends. "We just kept wondering when it would happen. It's a good, sound structure but it just sat empty."
Anthony Cimino, the hotel's current owner, bought the building in 2000 and opened it in April 2001.
He said he saw the hotel two years before buying it, but wasn't sure he wanted it. His experience is in office buildings, but there was something about the building that caught his eye. One day, the Addison resident took his wife and mother-in-law to see the hotel.
"I basically sat in the lobby, and I loved it," he said, adding that his wife and late mother-in-law also approved. "I loved the tile, and the lobby was still intact. That pretty much did it."
Before long the building was his for more than $500,000.
In 1990, the Ellis County Sheriff's Department auctioned the property for $76,000 to four Waxahachie families. The hotel was sold to pay back taxes owed to the city, county and school district.
The owners restored the lobby, kitchen and dining area before putting the hotel back on the market in 1998.
Mr. Cimino said he has tried to maintain the historical integrity of the building, which was built in 1912 for $100,000.
The hotel is named for Emory W. Rogers, the founder of Waxahachie, who built his log cabin home in 1847 where the building now sits. Mr. Rogers donated land for the Ellis County Courthouse in 1850.
In 1856, Mr. Rogers replaced the cabin with a two-story hotel, but a fire in 1881 destroyed it. The Waxahachie Real Estate and Building Association built a second hotel on the site, but it too was destroyed in a fire in 1911.
The existing hotel, with its twin four-story towers, was built with reinforced concrete, Mr. Cimino said.
The original 63 rooms have been reconfigured to 27 rooms, including nine suites. Banquet or meeting rooms are also available.
A swimming pool in the basement is no longer in use but was once used by professional baseball teams in spring training, including Ty Cobb and the Detroit Tigers. But much of the building's other original details remain intact, such as hardwood doors, antique light fixtures, mosaic tile and radiators.
Some of the marble from the original bathrooms now forms the bar downstairs. The original Otis elevator, once hand-operated, also is used.
"I haven't thrown out anything that wasn't worth keeping," Mr. Cimino said.
Mr. Pitts, 83, remembers riding the hotel's hand-powered freight elevator. He and his friends would release the rope used to move the elevator while inside, causing the elevator to free-fall. But the boys would pull on another rope just in time to stop the elevator from hitting bottom.
One of the boys' fathers managed the hotel and often let them inside, or he'd have them operate the switchboard.
It's those memories and the hotel's history that Mr. Cimino said he hopes will inspire people to visit the restored structure, which sits just north of the recently renovated courthouse.
In addition to overnight accommodations, the hotel also offers a fine-dining restaurant, Emory's Bistro, and a bar, Emory's Lounge, which sometimes hosts local musical acts.
Plans include a gift shop, scheduled to open this spring, and a deli.
Employees of the hotel say they enjoy working there and hope that its spurs more revitalization downtown.
"I have guests that came in when it was a hotel [years ago]," said Tammy Strickland, hotel and restaurant manager. "I just love to hear their stories."
There are other stories she hears, too, the ones about the ghosts. Some of the hotel's employees say they've seen and heard unexplainable things.
The ghosts haven't bothered Ms. Strickland, though. She jokes that they probably like her.
While the building did not operate as a hotel for many years, it had other uses.
Film director Robert Benton used the hotel lobby for a bank in his 1983 movie Places in the Heart, which starred Sally Field, who won an Academy Award for her performance.
Singer Don Henley filmed part of his "End of the Innocence" music video at the hotel in 1989.
Now that the hotel has been revived, local historians and residents say they hope it stays that way.
"I was hoping it would happen," said Shannon Simpson, curator for the Ellis County Museum, located on the square.
"From as far back as I can remember, there was always some party that was going to reopen the hotel and do something with it. You heard that but then never saw anything come from it."