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PaperCity_Houston_December_2020_with_insert

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W e love a great c o m e b a c k s t o r y. T h e T h o m p s o n Dallas hotel, which opened in downtown Dallas in mid-November in The National building, has teamed with developer Todd Interests to rescue one of the city's most important modernist s t r u c t u re s . W h e n p ro m i n e n t architects Thomas E. Stanley and George Dahl designed it in 1965 for the First National Bank of Dallas, the 52-story skyscraper was the tallest west of the Mississippi, with a dazzling façade of white marble and dark glass. The building's glamorous allure attracted powerful tenants, including the Dallas Petroleum Club, a private hangout for elite oilmen like H.L. Hunt and Clint Murchison Sr., where deals were made and fortunes lost. The building faced an uncertain future after it shut down in 2010 for lack of occupancy, but a ray of hope emerged when it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017, setting the stage for a preservation-minded developer to save it. In 2019, Todd Interests, in partnership with Moriah Capital, acquired controlling interest in the redevelopment project, which includes the Thompson Dallas, office space, retail space, and The National Residences, 324 high-rise apartments that share the hotel's room service and housekeeping amenities. Salvaging and restoring such a significant structure was a huge undertaking, and Todd Interests and Thompson Hotels — part of the Hyatt Hotels portfolio — make an ideal team. Todd Interests has given new life to a number of aging, historic buildings in Dallas, including Three Hundred Pearl, East Quarter, 400 North Ervay, and One Dallas Center; likewise, Thompson Hotels is known for taking historic sites and turning them into top hotels, such as The Beekman and Gild Hall in New York City, and the Thompson Nashville. The National's $460 million preservation project is touted as the largest adaptive reuse project in Texas' history and restores many of the exquisite original elements designed by Dahl. A prolific architect, Dahl's contributions include the 1927 N e i m a n M a r c u s D o w n t o w n building, the 1962 Gold Crest mid-rise apartment building, and dozens of Art Deco-era structures at Fair Park. Dahl used beautiful materials, and The National was no exception. Teakwood panels CHECKING IN BY REBECCA SHERMAN. PHOTOGRAPHY GuSTAv SCHMIEGE. THompsoN Dallas HoTEl brEaTHEs NEw lIfE INTo GeorGe Dahl's 1965 sKy-HIGH moDErNIsT masTErpIECE. Thompson Dallas reception, with restored teakwood and brass paneling The National building with original marble and dark glass exterior (Continued) 62

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