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Settles Hotel
Update - "The hotel is no longer a "ghost" hotel. It has
been fully restored and has resumed operations in Big
Spring to an enthusiastic community." - G. Brint Ryan, February
02, 2013
Completed
just as the Great Depression was beginning, the Settles is said to
have cost $500,000. The Settles Hotel was built by Mr. and Mrs. Settles
– the most unlikely “Mom and Pop” in the annals of Texas business.
Poor, until oil was discovered on their land, the Settles gave Big
Spring the biggest hotel between Ft.
Worth and El
Paso. The 1930 date over the entrance is a rare one in Texas
architecture. |
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In 2006 the
Settles was brought for a mere $75,000. The project was to restore
the building to its former glory and in doing so, riding the city
of what some considered an eyesore.
The groundbreaking for the restoration was on August 21, 2008 with
a planned completion date of March 2010.
In the 1990s the building looked much worse – with scores of broken
windows and pigeons nesting in the vacant rooms. Someone came up
with a clever program where local business and individuals could
sponsor the replacement of windows which was quickly done.
Today, the hotel is being restored by Big
Spring native G. Brint Ryan. According to the restorer’s website,
the asbestos has been removed along with 700 tons of the building’s
interior - some of which was removed by explosive demolition.
Artifacts long
missing have been returned – including a vintage phone booth, one
of the registration desks and even the centerpiece chandelier which
has been held (in safe keeping) by the Big Spring Heritage Museum.
But what about
the missing sign? Good news. The letters have been measured and
will be used as templates for new signage. The name will once again
appear on the Big Spring skyline (the
hotel is the Big Spring skyline).
Further information is available from the restorer’s website: www.settleshotel.com
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The Settles (Sans
Signage)
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, December 2009 |
Settles Hotel
TE Photo, 2001 |
Settles Hotel
TE postcard archives |
Big Spring with
The Settles Hotel in the center
Photo courtesy Doyle Phillips / FotoGrafica |
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