Exhibit - Table of Contents ...... Esenwein & Johnson - Table of Contents

E. M. Statler

Images from
Art Nouveau and Other Expressions: Rediscovering the Architecture of Esenwein and Johnson

A 2005 Exhibit at the 
Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society Museum

Curated by Martin Wachadlo

TEXT Beneath Illustrations


Click on illustrations for larger size -- and additional information

Ellsworth M. Statler
1863-1928

Ellsworth M. Statler Residence
154 Soldiers' Place

Ellsworth M. Statler Residence, 154 Soldiers' Place

Fence detail -
Ellsworth M. Statler
Residence,
154 Soldiers' Place

       

Hotel Statler (later Hotel Buffalo)

Hotel Statler (later Hotel Buffalo)

Hotel Statler (later Hotel Buffalo)

Hotel Statler (later Hotel Buffalo)

Hotel Statler, Washington Street - later Hotel Buffalo.
1905-1908

Hotel Statler,
Art Nouveau masterpiece

Hotel Statler

Hotel Statler,
Colored postcard

Hotel Statler,
Building fragment, Hotel Statler.
Terra cotta
Atlantic Terra Cotta Company
ca. 1906

Hotel Statler,
   detail
Hotel Statler
during demolition 1968.

Hotel Statler,
Cornice detail
ca. 1910

Hotel Statler,
Lower exterior view c. 1910

Hotel Statler,
Window
Leaded and stained glass

Hotel Statler,
Ca. 1910. The Statler's entrances
were embellished with curvilinear canopies
reminiscent of Hector Guimard's
entrances to the Paris Metro.

Hotel Statler

Hotel Statler,
1968 demolition

1901 Pan-American Hotel

     

     

Statler's 1901 Pan-American Hotel,
one block from the grounds

     


Ellsworth M. Statler

Entrepreneur E. M. Statler came to Buffalo in 1895 to open a restaurant in the new Ellicott Square Building. He parlayed his success into the 2,084 room Pan-American Hotel of 1901 and the even larger Inside Inn at the St. Louis World's Fair of 1904. Statler incorporated the innovative design and service ideas he introduced in these temporary hotels into his first permanent hotel, the original Hotel Statler in Buffalo.

Statler turned to the New York firm of George B. Post & Sons for subsequent buildings in his hotel chain, including the second Hotel Statler in Buffalo, at Niagara Square. The Statler chain was taken over by Hilton in 1954.

Hotel Statler

In 1905 E. M. Statler decided to build, in Buffalo, a hotel unlike any that had ever been built before. Opened in 1908, the path-breaking 300-room hotel had numerous innovations that became standard throughout the hotel industry. These included circulating ice water in each room, inside -the-door light switches, single-handle lavatory faucets, built-in bathroom elements and , most remarkably of all, a private bath for each guest room. The original Hotel Statler was reputably the first hotel in the world with his feature.

For this hotel unlike any other, Esenwein & Johnson produced an extraordinary Art Nouveau design quite distinct from anything yet build in America. The exterior form was clearly derived from Adler & Sullivan's Guaranty Building, but while that building featured unglazed, monochromatic terra cotta, the Hotel Statler's concrete-encased, steel frame was clad in glazed polychrome terra cotta of stylized plant forms. Cream-colored terra cotta with a light green background covered most of the façade. Certain areas at the top and bottom featured a red background This was the most extensive use of glazed polychrome terra cotta in the nation up to that time.

This was not a luxury hotel, but as intended for the average businessman or tourist. Rooms that faced the street had full baths, at a rate of $2 to $3 per night, while those that faced the interior light courts had showers only, at $1.50 per night.

Hotel Statler slogan: "A room and a bath for a dollar and a half."

Hotel Statler Demolition

When the new Hotel Statler (1921-23) opened on Niagara Square, the original Statler was renamed Hotel Buffalo. The Hotel Buffalo closed in 1967 due to competition from suburban motels. Despite an attempt to turn the building into a culinary school, it was demolished in 1968 to create what is now known as a "shovel-ready site." The site is now part of the open plaza in front of Dunn Tire Park. The parking lot from which this photograph was taken was cleared of buildings around 1965, and has remained "shovel-ready" to this day.



Photos and their arrangement © 2005 Chuck LaChiusa
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