Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1284203
T he Kimpton Pittman Hotel, which opened late July in Deep Ellum, breathes new life into a long-neglected landmark building in the historic neighborhood. San Francisco-based hospitality group Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants opened the neighborhood's first luxury hotel inside the newly restored Knights of Pythias temple, which had sat empty for decades. Built BY REBECCA S H E R M A N KIMPTON CALLING famed fourth-floor ballroom, where celebrated blues musicians Blind Lemon Jefferson and Sam Lightnin' Hopkins once performed, has been restored to its original glory. The building's 100-year-old Beaux Arts architecture blends a brick-clad exterior with modern LEED-certified interiors created by Connecticut-based Busta Studio, and artwork reflecting the neighborhood's creative history. The Kimpton Pittman Hotel, 2551 Elm St., pittmanhoteldallas.com. in 1916, it was the first commercial building built by and for African- Americans; the hotel is named after its architect, William S. Pittman, whose wife, Portia Washington Pittman, was the daughter of Booker T. Washington. Dallas architecture firm Perkins+Will was tapped for the building's redo, which includes 165 guest rooms and American farmhouse restaurant Elm + Good, led by chef Graham Dodds (formerly of Bolsa in Oak Cliff), a local pioneer of the farm-to-table trend. Other common areas include an indoor/outdoor lobby bar, resort- style pool, and meeting spaces. The Architect William S. Pittman, 1916 Elm + Good restaurant Kimpton Pittman Hotel lobby Former Knights of Pythias temple circa 1916, now The Kimpton Pittman Hotel Guest room bath Guest room at The Kimpton Pittman