The Eppley Hotel Company was located in
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...
. 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.
About
Owned by hotel magnate
Eugene C. Eppley, the company was established in 1917. By 1956 there were 22 hotels spread across six states.
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
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...
's
William Penn Hotel, the
Seelbach Hotel in
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...
the
Hotel Fontenelle
Hotel Fontenelle was an upscale hotel located at 1806 Douglas Street in downtown Omaha, Nebraska. Designed by noted architect Thomas Rogers Kimball in the Late Gothic Revival style, it opened in 1915 and was demolished in 1983. It was named aft ...
in
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...
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.
Omaha's
Hotel Fontenelle
Hotel Fontenelle was an upscale hotel located at 1806 Douglas Street in downtown Omaha, Nebraska. Designed by noted architect Thomas Rogers Kimball in the Late Gothic Revival style, it opened in 1915 and was demolished in 1983. It was named aft ...
was built in 1914. An exquisite venue, the Fontenelle hosted dignitaries and luminaries of all sorts, including Presidents
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...
and
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...
. 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
Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Iowa. The bulk of the city is in Woodbury County ...
, 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
Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. The city is the most populous in Southwest Iowa, and is the third largest and a primary city of the Omaha-Council Bluffs Metropolitan Area. It is loc ...
,
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.
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.
"Closing the Gap"
''Time magazine.'' June 4, 1956. Retrieved 2/3/08.
See also
* History of Omaha
The history of Omaha, Nebraska, began before the settlement of the city, with speculators from neighboring Council Bluffs, Iowa staking land across the Missouri River illegally as early as the 1840s. When it was legal to claim land in Indian Co ...
* Economy of Omaha, Nebraska The economy of Omaha, Nebraska is linked to the city's status as a major commercial hub in the Midwestern United States since its founding in 1854. Dubbed the "Motor Mouth City" by ''The New York Times'',Feder, J"Omaha: Talk, Talk, Talk of Telemarke ...
References
External links
Restaurant Ware Pattern & Other Ephemera
from the hotel chain
Defunct companies based in Omaha, Nebraska
Hotel chains in the United States
Hospitality companies established in 1917
1917 establishments in Nebraska
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