The Eppley Hotel Company was located in Omaha, Nebraska. At the time of its acquisition by the Sheraton Corporation in 1956, it had 22 properties, and it was the largest privately held hotel business in the United States."Closing the Gap", Time magazine. June 4, 1956. Retrieved 2/3/08.
About Owned by hotel magnate Eugene C. Eppley, the company was established in 1917. By 1956 it owned 22 hotels spread across six states."Closing the Gap", Time magazine. June 4, 1956. Retrieved 2/3/08.
Properties During its operation, the Eppley Hotel Company owned and operated hotels throughout the Midwestern United States and Pennsylvania. By 1956, its portfolio consisted of 22 properties across six states. Some of the most notable hotels included Pittsburgh's William Penn Hotel, the Seelbach Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky, the Hotel Fontenelle in Omaha, Nebraska, and Sioux City's Warrior Hotel that was built in 1929 but had its Grand Opening December 20th 1930.
Eppley Hotels sold the Warrior and most of its hotel assets to the Sheraton Corporation of America in 1956.Take a step back in time: Nebraska Street walking tour. Sioux City Museum. Retrieved 2/3/08.
Omaha's Hotel Fontenelle was built in 1914. The Fontenelle hosted dignitaries and luminaries of all sorts, including Presidents Harry S. Truman and John F. Kennedy. After Eppley sold it to the Sheraton corporation, the hotel eventually went to ruins, closing in the 1970s. It was demolished in 1983.
The West Hotel in Sioux City, Iowa (which was built in 1903 and became part of the Eppley chain of hotels in the mid-1930s), was razed in 1953.
In 1927, Eppley commissioned four murals by Grant Wood for his hotels in Council Bluffs, Cedar Rapids, Waterloo, and Sioux City. The original piece painted for Eppley's Martin Hotel dining room in Sioux City, one of the Corn Room series, is now located in the Sioux City Art Center."Introduction", Sioux City Art Center. Retrieved 2/2/08.
Hotels in the Eppley chain Name City Notes Hotel Norfolk Norfolk, Nebraska Hotel Lincoln Lincoln, Nebraska Hotel Capital Lincoln, Nebraska Hotel Lindell Lincoln, Nebraska Hotel Fontenelle Omaha, Nebraska Built in 1914, this hotel was Omaha's prominent hotel for more than 50 years. It was demolished in 1983. Hotel Rome Omaha, Nebraska Logan Apartment Hotel Omaha, Nebraska Hotel Alex Johnson Rapid City, South Dakota Hotel Cataract Sioux Falls, South Dakota Hotel Carpenter Sioux Falls, South Dakota Hotel Warrior Sioux City, Iowa Hotel Martin Sioux City, Iowa Hotel West Sioux City, Iowa Razed in 1953 Hotel Tallcorn Marshalltown, Iowa Hotel Chieftain Council Bluffs, Iowa Hotel LafayetteClinton, Iowa Hotel Montrose Cedar Rapids, Iowa Hotel Magnus Cedar Rapids, Iowa Hotel Seelbach Louisville, Kentucky Hotel Fort Pitt Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Hotel William Penn Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Hotel Alexandria Los Angeles, California Elms Hotel Excelsior Springs, Missouri
Merger In 1956, Sheraton Corporation agreed to acquire the Eppley Hotel Company for $30 million. At the time of the acquisition, Eppley operated 22 hotels across six states. The transaction was then the second-largest hotel sale in U.S. history.
See also History of Omaha Economy of Omaha, Nebraska
References
External links Restaurant Ware Pattern & Other Ephemera from the hotel chain