Cotton Belt Hotel

Cotton Belt Hotel. . , "The only building of truly imposing stature in the frontier community would be the principal hotel." , - William C. Davis (author and historian), In frontier times, travellers were regarded as strangers. At the local hotel, travellers would find a friendly place to stay. Today, the Cotton Belt Hotel, with its very tall tower and Visitor Information Center, welcomes everyone to Grapevine., Earliest known hotels were constructed in the 1870's. Most notable were the Baker Hotel and the Wallis Hotel. The Cotton Belt Hotel Tower and façade were constructed in 2010 to call attention to Grapevine's prosperous hospitality and tourism industry. A railroad hotel façade was chosen because of Grapevine's long-standing presence as a transportation center. Today rail, road and air all play an important part in Grapevine's prosperity. It beckons visitors and represents today's hoteliers, airlines and railroads., Tower: The central, angular placement of the 127-foot brick tower, topped with a 25-foot green French tile pyramidal roof, is the focal point of the entire 38,000 square-foot Grapevine Convention and Visitors Bureau complex and is the main portal through which entrance is made into the building. Pink Texas granite blocks form the base of the tower and support a capital embellished with cotton flower motif and egg and dart trim. Inscribed letters in the arch, which spring from the capital over the main entrance, spell out the building's name. Courses of red brick followed by a soldier course of brick carry the eye upward to an arched gallery opening which may be entered through the second floor lobby. On the front of the tower, the double arches are circumscribed by an elliptical projecting arch with a keystone of carved sandstone with grape motif. Cast stone capitals with a grape relief band mark the top of the second story, leading the eye upward to an area of broken end brick in a running bond pattern. A checked granite face rests on cast stone capitals decorated with grapes which support the overhanging, projecting landing with ornamental iron cresting supported by projecting cast iron brackets upon which the figures enter the viewing area through arched doorways and move along tracks mounted in the projecting landing. Above the cast arches in alternating halves are stacked brick and soldier course patterns. The 1880s era mechanical clock is located on the left and mechanical thermometer on the right. A wind direction indicator located at the intersection of the four alternating brick patterns is mechanically connected to the weathervane at the pinnacle of the roof. Massive brackets support the tapered green French-tiled roof. The roof is topped by a gilded weathervane with arrow, star and grape ornamentation., Cotton Belt Hotel Building: The thresholds of this building contain a specially-designed grape motif. The Cotton Belt Hotel Building storefronts, which face both Hudgins Street and Main Street, contain cast metal vertical pilasters supporting spandrel beams that contain wood panelled bases, tall glass show windows and transom windows made of leaded glass. The storefront unit is topped with a basket weave brick pattern marking the second floor line. Pairs of arched wood windows with cast stone sills are toped by an overlaying arch. Projecting brick pilasters are crowned in the second floor above by an elliptical brick arch. Star and ring cast iron rosettes embellish the area between the arches. Above the elliptical arch, broken brick detail is repeated again in the elliptical arches and parapet. The brick parapet has corbelling and is capped with cast stone. Two bays back begin cast iron balconies with diagonal braced railings. Double doors open from the lobby onto the second floor balconies. Above the doors, a cast stone lintel supports a lunette of green Andes marble., This building celebrates the heritage of Grapevine's hospitality industry, from the 1870s into the new millennium. , Dedicated May 18, 2012 . This historical marker is in Grapevine in Tarrant County Texas