Note:  September 2024:  I’ve been receiving kind comments and emails from strangers regarding my local Dallas history posts.  This got me thinking I need to revisit my unpublished posts and ephemera I’ve been STOCKPILING.  I put a lot of time into Part 4 of this post a few years ago and never published it.  No better than the present to post.  Thank you to the folks who gently nudge me to continue with these posts.  

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Intro:  Part 3 of my blog featured a Dallas Morning News article from 1946 that alluded to expansion already underway to the Tower Hotel Courts.  This post will highlight the completed expansion.

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The image below is from the Dallas Morning News, May 31, 1959.  I especially like finding grand openings/re-openings of hotels because the advertisers featured are the vendors who supplied the hotel with products and/or services.  These ads provide additional glimpses of the past and provide optional wormholes that are fun to research. To view the entire Dallas Morning News Article from Newsbank, click here: PDF version.   

I’ve included the text below from the 3 different articles for ease of reading.  I’ve made some key words bold for future reference.

The Dallas Morning News

Sunday, May 31, 1959

Newest Nightclub
The enchantment of the South Seas reflected in island murals sets a gay atmosphere for the Bamboo Room, the newest nightclub for North Dallas at the Tower Center on Harry Hines.  With seating capacity for 300 persons for dinner and dancing, the Bamboo Room will have an orchestra each night.  It will open 4 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays.

Murals depictive of the four seasons set the theme for the Four Seasons Room, one of four private meeting rooms in the Tower Center.  The room seats 400 persons for a dinner or conference, easily converts into a perfect location for a dance for up to 200 persons.  Better suited for groups of 70 to 150 are the Forum Room, Key Room and the Library Room.

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New Center Features Four Meeting Rooms
Business and private groups alike will find meeting facilities at the new Tower Center designed to fit their needs for a breakfast-luncheon-dinner meeting, conference, party, dance or any other affair.

Combined with restaurant, nightclub and other accommodations of the Tower Center and the finest in hotel lodging in the Tower Hotel Courts, the four meeting rooms of different sizes afford a complete atmosphere for a variety of meetings and gatherings.

The Four Seasons Room, largest of the four, is hailed as a versatile room which many groups have been asking for.  The Four Seasons Room will seat 400 persons for a dinner meeting or conference and can be easily converted into the perfect location for a dance for up to 200 persons.

The Forum Room is more ideally suited for breakfast-luncheon-dinner meetings for up to 150 persons.  It has a total of 1,500 square feet of floor space.

The Key Room, measuring some 35-by-45 feet, will comfortably seat up to 120 persons for meals and meetings.

Smallest of the four upstairs rooms at the Tower Center is the Library Room, with 1,250 square feet of floor area.  The Library Room will seat up to 70 persons for breakfast-luncheon-dinner meetings.

Each of the four meeting rooms is available between 6 a.m. and midnight daily.  Meals and refreshments are served direct from the new International Room which boasts the finest in foods from snacks to full dinners. 

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Tower Center, Hotel Courts Afford Complete Facilities

The new Tower Center – with restaurant, drug and beverage store, nightclub and four private meeting rooms – together with the Tower Hotel Courts give Dallas one of the nation’s most complete accommodations for a variety of business or social functions.

Open house for both the Tower Center and units in the Tower Hotel Courts began Saturday and was to continue Sunday.  Visiting hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The “tower” above the administrative offices, located at 10108 Harry Hines, has long served as a landmark at the Field Circle intersection of Highways 173, 77 and 114 in Northwest Dallas.

The latest addition is in step with the aim of the developer and owner, J. D. Blanton, to make the Tower Hotel Courts and the new Tower Center symbols of the most complete lodging, dining, entertainment and service facilities.

Another new features (sic) is a 1,250-square-foot adult swimming pool for visitors to the Tower Hotel Court.  This is in addition to the separated children’s pool which has 1,100 square feet of swimming and wading area.

“Everything is convenient to the Tower, whether it be highways, airports, sporting areas, shopping centers or what-have-you,” says Blanton.  “If you can’t find it at the Tower, you can find it close-by.”

The new restaurant, called the International Room, boasts the finest in foods served in a continental atmosphere, Seating 210 persons, the International Room is open from 6 a.m. to midnight, with courses from snacks to full dinners.

The International Room offers not only the finest in cuisine, but the cleanest and most modern in stainless steel kitchen.  To assure cleanliness, the kitchen is equipped with a double-tank Hobard dishwashing machine, an electric glass washer and a single tank Hobard for glasses.

The newest nightclub for North Dallas is the Bamboo Room, with seating capacity for 300 persons for dinner and dancing.  Open to the public at 4 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, the Bamboo Room will have an orchestra each night.

The four private rooms, on the second floor of the 30,000-square-foot Tower Center, are the Four Seasons Room, a versatile room that will seat 400 persons for a dinner or conference meeting or can be converted into the perfect location for a dance for up to 200 persons; the Forum Room, suited for breakfast – luncheon – dinner meetings for up to 150 persons; the Key Room, comfortably seating 120 persons for meals and meetings; and the Library Room, designed for smaller groups and easily seating up t0 70 persons for breakfast – luncheon – dinner meetings.

The Tower Hotel Courts boasts 180 of the finest hotel rooms in Dallas, yet at the same time provides the parking facilities of a motel.  Each room, whether single, double or multiple, is complete and modern in every respect.

Lodging is available for individuals, families or groups of various sizes.  These facilities include suites with roll-out beds, double rooms and single rooms, with units offered in combination to meet particular needs.  Studio rooms are also available.  All are air conditioned.

Room service for occupants of the Tower Hotel Courts is available form 6 a.m. to midnight, offering the finest in foods from the International Room.  Prices are moderate.

Each room at the Tower has an adjoining private garage.

In addition, there are two new free parking lots for persons using the new Tower Center.  Directly in front of the Tower Center is parking for 35 cars.  Just across the street to the north is parking for another 150 cars.

For out-of-town visitors, there is a free limousine service from nearby Love Field to the Tower Hotel Courts.

In addition to the Tower’s swimming pools, nearby recreation facilities include the Circle Theater, adjacent to the Tower Hotel Courts and the Tower Center and, just across the street, the Circle Bowling Lanes, open daily on a 24-hour basis.

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I’ve included a postcard from my personal collection that showcases the swimming pool.

Here’s a view of the back of the postcard.  You’ll note the features, “Coffee Shop, Drug Store, Bamboo Room, Gift shop, refrigerated air, radio, television, dancing, shuffleboard, croquet, wall-to-wall carpeting, studios.”

Below is a marketing piece from my personal collection showcasing the Bamboo Room.

“Enjoy real Southern Hospitality – and good food in the air conditioned Coffee Shop or dine at your leisure at the Famous Bamboo Room, where our mixoligist (sic) will prepare your favorite drink to suit your taste.

Come or send your friends to the Tower where gracious living and relaxation is paramount.

THE RIVIERA OF THE SOUTH

Year ’round swimming in our Steam-Heated Pool”

More posts and ephemera will unpredictably be posted! Thank you for reading.