Big Spring, TX: Hotel Settles & Settles Grill
Address: 200 E 3rd St, Big Spring, TX 79702 (corner of E 3rd St & Runner St)
Coordinates: 32.252972, -101.475040
EP Date: Late-April 1955
Built/Opened: October 1, 1930
Reopened: 2012
Building Status: Open
Date Visited: September 12, 2024
My Experience
Hotel Settles is in the middle of downtown Big Spring, and the surrounding stores are mostly abandoned--I'll admit, it was a little worse than I expected, but I talked to some of the locals and found out why, which I'll share with y'all in the next section. One of the only functioning store fronts in downtown appears to be the Visitors Center across from Hotel Settles. They've tried, in recent years, to rejuvenate the area, but the efforts appear futile. Unfortunately, they'll need more than a few big investors and a fancy hotel to save the town.
The exterior of the hotel pretty much looks how it likely did in the 50s when Elvis visited, and in the 30s when it was first opened. The same can be said for the interior, for the most part, although it has been updated to function for the world today, with the exception of room #311, so I'm told. #311 was Elvis' room and the receptionist said that it is "just as he left it."
The hotel, the interior especially, is gorgeous. There was a massive renovation to the hotel in the early-2010s (more info in next section), but they kept all the features that would have been natural wood in the 30s, natural wood in the renovation, including the check-in area and surround, the elevator surround, and the bar area. The lobby/downstairs sitting area is one of those really gorgeous two-sided splitting staircases with a picture at the top.
The hotel has a spa and hair salon, as well, and West Texas women have been noted as saying, they go there as a retreat and it's pretty much "the place" here in West Texas.
I'm planning on going back and staying in room #311 sometime before I move back to East Texas, but we'll see what happens.
Hotel History
The Hotel Settles was commissioned by Will R. and Lillian Settles after they struck it rich after finding oil on their ranch in 1929. Designed by Abilene architect, David Castle, this solid concrete, 15-story, 150 room hotel with restaurant and pharmacy, opened to the public for the first time on October 1, 1930.
Unfortunately, the Settles only owned the hotel for 2 years; they had to sell the property in 1932 after their fortune waned when their oil revenues began to dry up, and the Great Depression began to effect them. After them, the hotel had a number of other owners.
Believe it or not, Big Spring used to be a military town with the Air Force base bringing in a great deal of revenue for the local businesses--Big Spring was booming. But the 70s brought in the end of the booming Big Spring that the locals had become accustomed to when the energy crisis ended in 1974 (the demand for oil decreased again), and the Vietnam War ended in 1975, there wasn't as much of a need for pilots, and the Air Force base was decommissioned, removing thousands of rotating residents away from the town. To add to their troubles, in the early 1980s, the whole of West Texas suffered from a crippling oil bust, leaving a virtual ghost town where the bustling Big Spring used to be. After all of this, Hotel Settles was forced to close its doors in 1982, after 52 years of operation.
Over the next 30 years, the hotel sat unoccupied and falling further and further into decay. During the first few years it was closed, all of the windows were removed, along with all of the wood, stone, and metal, from the interior of the building. Fortunately for this property, Big Spring's residents never stopped loving the hotel and in the 90s, the community came together and raised enough money to replace all of the windows, at roughly $130 a pop.
In 2006, G. Brint Ryan, a rich Big Spring native and current resident of Midland, purchased the hotel and many of the surrounding buildings. He was determined to revitalize Big Spring, starting with the historic hotel. After Ryan sunk 30 million dollars into the project, the property was finally restored as close to its former glory as possible, while adding modern touches/amenities.
Following the completion of most of the renovations, the hotel reopened to the public on December 28, 2012, although construction continues on various parts of the hotel through 2013. When renovations were complete, the hotel boasted of having 65 guest rooms and 15,000 square feet of functional space.
On April 18, 2015, Hotel Settles was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Elvis at Hotel Settles
In late-April 1955, Elvis, Scotty Moore, and Bill Black, rolled into town with the purpose of performing at Big Spring's Municipal Auditorium, so it only makes sense that they got rooms at a hotel within spitting distance of the venue--Hotel Settles. I don't know what rooms Scotty and Bill stayed in, but Elvis is said to have stayed in room #311, which is said to have been restored during the recent renovations to look exactly as it would've when Elvis stopped by.
It is also noted that Elvis and the boys frequented the hotel's restaurant while staying there. The restaurant is still in operation.
Other Notable People That Visited the Hotel
Lawrence Welk
President Herbert Hoover
Jerry Allison
Sources:
Comments