Hotel Alexander

Hotel Alexander. . As the Bonham business community neared the end of the nineteenth century, nearly all the traces of its frontier past had disappeared. The arrival of the Texas and Pacific Railway in 1873 helped stimulate a diversity of retail enterprises around the public square., The north and west sides of the square had been, almost from the beginning, the prime location for businesses along with the three blocks south and east which were much slower to develop. The 1870's and 1880's saw the construction of many beautifully designed brick structures that replaced the mainly frame buildings of the business district. , In 1889, the citizens of the town were eagerly anticipating what was promised to be the hallmark structure of downtown Bonham when Horace C. Alexander began construction on a magnificent late Victorian style hotel building. Designed by local architects Sparger and Peters, the three story structure was built at a cost of $50,000., The exterior of the building was of brick and limestone construction. Windows on the first and second floors were rectangular, framed by carved limestone pillars and capped by a limestone lintel. Bottom of the window sash was clear glass but the upper section had clear glass panels framed by small squares of colored glass, a popular convention of the time. Third floor windows were styled after Roman arches outlined by alternating sections of brick and limestone., The parapet of the building was made of carved, decorative limestone with an off centered arch and pseudo columns topped with decorative finials. The ground floor entry was below this decorative arch and immediately above on the second floors were balconies where patrons could sit and look over the courthouse square., In addition to 42 rooms and two suites, the hotel also contained a barbershop, coffee shop, dining room, a ballroom, and a hotel bar operated by Julius Knox. The ballroom was the scene of many a cotillion, private dinner, and recital performance. Roberta Dodd, African-American concert performer once gave a recital in the ballroom for the families and friends of several local women who helped finance Dodd's musical training and career., William Jennings Bryan in his last run for the presidency of the U.S. spent a night in one of the hotel suites after his appearance and political campaign speech at the Steger Opera House. Curtis Aircraft aviator R. Walsh spent three days at the hotel in 1912 while in town to give a series of stunt flying performances at the race track north of town., Al Jolsen, long before his success as a blackface performer, was guest of the hotel along with members of a traveling company who appeared for a two night engagement at the opera house., Around 1920 the hotel lobby and entrance were moved to the east side of the building and the ground floor was remodeled to accommodate several retail establishments including F.W. Woolworth which occupied the largest of these spaces., By 1975, the hotel had been closed for several years, fallen on hard times, and suffered the indignity of being condemned. The two top floors were razed and the remaining ground floor revamped for retail space. An era had ended.