Venture to the Statler Hilton

A visit to the historic Statler-Hilton hotel in Dallas, prior to its renovation into "The Statler."

A work in progress, recovering photos and information from 11 years ago.

Sept 1st, 2023

On a cool January afternoon in 2012, I was walking around downtown Dallas with fellow photographer Jamil Sneed, when we stumbled onto a rare opportunity. We had originally set out to take some photos around downtown, and to see if we could scope out some cool spots to bring clients for future photo shoots. We noticed the old bank building was being renovated, and hoped we might get access to see the old vault. There was a contractor's office right by the entrance. Jamil and I walked in and asked if there was a way we could see the vault, and promptly had to explain that we were photographers looking to take pictures of interesting stuff in Dallas.

Turns out, the man we met was the man in charge of the entire renovation. He gave us a tour of the building and explained what the plans for it were. Then he asked if we were interested in seeing the ol' Statler-Hilton, which his company was also renovating. We didn't have other plans, and it sounded fun. We walked all throughout it, from the huge basement network of rooms (the keymaster's room was really cool), to the ballroom where Tina Turner left Ike, to the grand staircase, all the way to what remained of a rooftop lounge. In the present day, of course, it's a very snazzy hotel.