Eppley Hotel Company

Last updated
Eppley Hotel Company
Company typePrivately held
Industry Hospitality
Founded1917
Founder Eugene C. Eppley
Headquarters,

The Eppley Hotel Company was located in Omaha, Nebraska. At the time of its acquisition by the Sheraton Corporation in 1956, it had 22 properties, and it was the largest privately held hotel business in the United States. [1]

Contents

About

Owned by hotel magnate Eugene C. Eppley, the company was established in 1917. By 1956 there were 22 hotels spread across six states. [2]

Properties

Of the 22 hotels in the Eppley Hotel Company's portfolio that were sold to Sheraton in 1956, some of the most notable hotels included Pittsburgh's William Penn Hotel, the Seelbach Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky the Hotel Fontenelle in Omaha, Nebraska and Sioux City's Warrior Hotel that was built in 1929 but had its Grand Opening December 20th 1930.

Eppley Hotels sold the Warrior and most of its hotel assets to the Sheraton Corporation of America in 1956. [3]

Omaha's Hotel Fontenelle was built in 1914. An exquisite venue, the Fontenelle hosted dignitaries and luminaries of all sorts, including Presidents Harry S. Truman and John F. Kennedy. After Eppley sold it to the Sheraton corporation, the hotel eventually went to ruins, closing in the 1970s. It was demolished in 1983.

The West Hotel in Sioux City, Iowa, which was built in 1903 and became part of the Eppley chain of hotels in the mid-1930s was razed in 1953.

In 1927, Eppley commissioned four murals by Grant Wood for his hotels in Council Bluffs, Cedar Rapids, Waterloo and Sioux City. The original piece painted for Eppley's Martin Hotel dining room in Sioux City, one of the Corn Room series, is now located in the Sioux City Art Center. [4]

The Hotel Fontenelle, located from 1915 to 1983 in Downtown Omaha, Nebraska. Hotelfontenelle.jpg
The Hotel Fontenelle, located from 1915 to 1983 in Downtown Omaha, Nebraska.
List Hotels in the Eppley chain
NameCityNotes
Hotel Norfolk Norfolk, Nebraska
Hotel Lincoln Lincoln, Nebraska
Hotel Capital Lincoln, Nebraska
Hotel Lindell Lincoln, Nebraska
Hotel Fontenelle Omaha, Nebraska Built in 1914, this hotel was Omaha's prominent hotel for more than 50 years. It was demolished in 1983.
Hotel Rome Omaha, Nebraska
Logan Apartment Hotel Omaha, Nebraska
Hotel Alex Johnson Rapid City, South Dakota
Hotel Cataract Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Hotel Carpenter Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Hotel Warrior Sioux City, Iowa
Hotel Martin Sioux City, Iowa
Hotel West Sioux City, IowaRazed in 1953
Hotel Tallcorn Marshalltown, Iowa
Hotel Chieftain Council Bluffs, Iowa
Hotel Lafayette Clinton, Iowa
Hotel Montrose Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Hotel Magnus Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Hotel Seelbach Louisville, Kentucky
Hotel Fort Pitt Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Hotel William Penn Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Hotel Alexandria Los Angeles, California
Elms Hotel Excelsior Springs, Missouri

Merger

Eugene Eppley sold the company to Sheraton Hotels in 1956 for $30 million. The hotel chain's sale was, at the time, the second largest hotel sale in United States history. [5]

See also

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References

  1. "Closing the Gap", Time magazine. June 4, 1956. Retrieved 2/3/08.
  2. "Closing the Gap", Time magazine. June 4, 1956. Retrieved 2/3/08.
  3. Take a step back in time: Nebraska Street walking tour. Archived 2008-02-08 at the Wayback Machine Sioux City Museum. Retrieved 2/3/08.
  4. "Introduction" [ permanent dead link ], Sioux City Art Center. Retrieved 2/2/08.
  5. "Closing the Gap", Time magazine. June 4, 1956. Retrieved 2/3/08.