Saving The Belmont Hotel – A Historic And Cultural Icon
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Motels are hip again and Dallas is primed to benefit as a new generation discovers the beauty of the roadside motel. That is if we protect one of our most important architectural and cultural assets, the historic Belmont Motor Hotel.
The Belmont Motor Hotel opened in 1947 to the swinging sounds of Ted Parrino’s Serenaders and the Dude Ranch Buckaroos from WFAA, which presented a live broadcast of the event. There were tours of the buildings, an opportunity to meet the chef, have an early dinner at the “air-cooled” restaurant, and then attend an open-air fashion show. It was a massive hit and the talk of the town.
Motels were far from a new concept by 1947. They began popping up a couple of decades earlier, and architect Charles Dilbeck was at the forefront of this movement. While we may recognize Dilbeck for his unique residential work, he was also instrumental in the design of motels.
In the 1920s and ’30s, travelers could only rest their weary heads in multistory hotels in the downtown areas of major cities. You had to get off the highway, navigate through an unfamiliar city, and then schlep your bags from a parking lot to your room.
“The earliest places to stay were originally automobile camps,” architect and Dilbeck authority Willis Winters said. “They were almost like a state park where you could park your car, sleep in it, or pitch a tent beside it. As the highway system was developed, more people traveled, and the need for places to stay increased. Architects and developers saw the need and began to develop tourist lodges to meet it. Dilbeck was one of the first architects to address this as a building type.”
Dilbeck was as innovative in his designs for motels as he was for residences. His concept of driving through a two-story portal at a corner facing the highway meant the motor hotel was easily recognizable to those seeking accommodation. This area was covered so you could get out of your car in inclement weather and walk into the manager’s office without suffering from the elements.
Dilbeck came up with the concept of an apartment with a balcony above the motel’s office so the manager could live on-site. His design for individual covered parking spaces next to each motel room’s front door was also innovative. With Dilbeck’s established reputation in motel design, it’s not surprising that the owners, J.B. Malone of Wichita Falls and Walter Smith of Henderson, called upon him to design the Belmont Motor Hotel at 901 Fort Worth Ave.
“The Belmont is by far the best of the entire genre of motor lodges ever built in Dallas,” Winters said. “I’m not aware of any motor lodge anywhere in Texas on a hillside with views other than the Belmont. It’s also truly a complex with a lounge, a bar, rooms, and the restaurant next door. The restaurant was an important piece of the complex and was designed to blend with the motor lodge. The architecture is beautiful. It was built in a Moderne style, which you did not see often.”
The Belmont also offered the best choice of accommodation. The Davis Street side was a true hotel with an interior corridor with rooms on each side. The rest of the complex was motor court style, with covered carports.
“The Belmont is one of the greatest examples of roadside America building type from the 1930s-1940s. It’s also one of the last of the type. It would be a huge loss to our history and culture if the Belmont is not saved. It’s one of the remaining artifacts of American travel.”
Willis Winters
The Belmont Can Be a Game-Changer
The Belmont is not just a historic landmark. It’s a potential game-changer for Dallas’s tourism industry. With a city that already attracts 25.7 million visitors annually, a new transformation for The Belmont, which we have already seen rise once before, could be the next big thing. We’ve seen successful transformations like the Austin Motel in Texas, The Pearl and Hope Springs Resort in California, and The Vagabond in Florida. The Belmont could be our next success story.
The preservation of the Belmont is now in motion. It’s safe from the wrecking ball, and the new owner is now working with the city on the next steps toward a new and lasting life for this phenomenal architectural and cultural icon.
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Wonderful memories from the 60s. So happy with the restorations and improvements over time. Uniqueness is compelling. Bright future!
Hope it is resurrected soon. Thanks for the article.
Ensuring The Belmont remains and is celebrated for years to come is vital. Thank you Karen and Candy’s!
This is a great step in the right direction for the historic Belmont Motor Hotel. Thank you for sharing the importance and history. Saving pieces of our past and making them relevant to the next generation is a key cultural element. The Belmont started the resurgence of new development in West Dallas and will continue to be a beloved treasure.
I am hopeful that the current owners are aware of its importance, and that it can be enjoyed by the community once again.
Thanks for posting this – sounds promising.
I wish I could say we stayed at the Belmont. We drove by it a bunch traveling to down town Dallas .
I used to wonder who built and why. I mean it was not your typical motel. The Belmont was a work of art. I figured it was built for the high-class and rich Dallasites, fit for a king and not a weary traveler.
This was not the first. No, ma’am. That honor the Dal-Oak Tourist Camp.
When car travel was brand new, and Texas roads were just getting stitched together, roadside businesses cropped up to serve travelers.
U.S. Highway 80, which includes Davis Street, was part of the Bankhead Highway system that ran from Washington, D.C., to San Diego.
One business that catered to drivers on the Oak Cliff stretch of the Bankhead was the Dal-Oak Tourist Camp. The camp was situated near what is now El Tivoli neighborhood, and was an early development on what once was dairy farms west of Hampton.
The Dallas Automobile Club, which affiliated with the American Automobile Association and was influential in the city’s early development, opened the camp in 1923. It was located on West Davis Street near North Boulevard Terrace.
I’ll bow out now .i love me some Oak Cliff history. I have the pictures to prove it
The Belmont is such a gem and important part of Dallas history & architecture. Confident the preservation efforts will be successful!
I was thrilled when it was rehabbed years ago. It’s so very special and more than deserves another chance to shine again. I so hope the new owners respect this historic property and preserve it back to its real glory.
Thanks so very much to Monte Anderson, the creative and innovative guy who saved the place the first time!
Hi Steve!
Yes, Monte is amazing and did such a great job. I have planned a series on the Belmont and he’s the next part of the series.
After Monte’s rehab, that place was a gem. The apartments built across from it killed much of the view of the Dallas skyline and the place slowly saw the quality of its amenities including its terrace area decline. On one hand, I’m stunned that it declined to its current state in the years as Oak Cliff flourished. On the other hand, Dallas didn’t really know how to embrace smaller historic, boutique hotels as part of its tourist infrastructure in the way Austin and other cities have done so.
Kevin, you nailed it. Dallas was not ready, but Dallas is ready now. Great groups like Bunkhouse have refurbished motels all over the country, so the time is ripe for another revival. I believe the owner now realizes what he’s got, which is a goldmine. It will take time and money, but this city is absolutely ready for the Belmont to rise again.
The Belmont is an incredible piece of architecture and Dallas history built at a time when Fort Worth Avenue was awash with motor court hotels from the 1930s and 1940s. So many of the motel complexes along Fort Worth Avenue have been lost to new apartments and development in the past 15 years, including the Alamo Courts Motel and the Mission Motel. The Belmont must not suffer the same fate. With a little vision and work, it could be one of the most unique historic hotels in Dallas.
I’m looking forward to the next installment. I would like to understand why Monte Anderson’s vision and good work was allowed to decline to the point of closing down by subsequent owner(s).
Hey Mariana! That is what I’m planning to address. This story has many layers and I don’t feel it’s been told effectively. So I’m excited to dig in! We all love the Belmont and I think everyone involved now understands that and is on board for a new era.
This place was magical when I moved to oak cliff 15 years ago. I can’t wait to have those memories come back to life!
Please follow up on this—whatever happened to Todd Interests wanting to purchase the Belmont? Who owned it after Monte Anderson? What was their rationale for allowing it to decline?
Seems like we went backwards here.
Hi JE, Thank you for your comment. I believe it’s critical to go backward and tell the origin story before you can move forward. I’m working on the next installment in the series about the first revival and Monte’s work. The bottom line is that everyone involved is now doing the right thing, and that is important because we all love the Belmont.
I stayed once, in the late 2000s/early 2010s when the bar was fantastic, pool too. But the room was furnished cheaply, like someone had run out of budget and filled it with IKEA. I’m so excited to read the rest of this series and watch the Belmont revived again!
My parents stayed there the night they married. I heard from a lot of others whose parents did the same❤️
So excited to see this and thank you Willis it’s amazing. Coming that way soon! Changing venues
This is one of my favorite hotels in Dallas! I was gutten when it closed last! Thrilled it’s making a come back. Any details on the new ownership?! I didn’t see that here. Very exciting!
Hi Erin!
Thank you for your comment. We were all gutted when it closed but it looks to be set for a bright future. I am writing a series with the next installment in early August, so stay tuned for more details!
you should post the address
It was never protected when Monte Anderson sold it. It could have been. The consultants encouraged it. The restoration architect encouraged it. Preservation Dallas supported it. But the property could fetch a higher price with no development restrictions for the new owners.
Which is why there are efforts to landmark now.