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| St. Anthony Hotel lobby |
I love fascinating backstories, don't you? The historic 1909 St. Anthony Hotel's new parrot green and gold interiors were inspired by a set of china designed by Dorothy Draper, which had been long lost inside a storage room at the hotel. In the 1950s, Draper designed china for the ballrooms and the hotel’s exclusive St. Anthony Club, and a handful of pieces were discovered during its recent renovation. The inside scoop comes from Colletta Conner, an associate principal for ForrestPerkins, a design studio of Perkins Eastman, who worked on the multi-million dollar project for the hotel's new owners, The Luxury Collection from Starwood Hotels & Resorts.
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The "Peacock Alley" lobby area, added in 1930,
includes an original 1927 Steinway grand piano |
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| Lobby detail |
Shades of gray throughout the hotel give Draper’s jewel tones a sophisticated edge, Conner told me. The St. Anthony’s 107-year-old footprint remains intact and public spaces have been returned to their original grandeur, including Peacock Alley, built circa 1930 as a lounge and bar overlooking Travis Park, where San Antonio’s chicest would once gather to see and be seen. And what a grand era it was. In its heyday, the St. Anthony drew such luminaries as Eleanor Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower, Princess Grace and Prince Rainier of Monaco, Fred Astaire, Judy Garland and John Wayne. And, for the past 75 years the hotel has hosted coming-out balls for Fiesta debutants, as a part of the city’s most celebrated event.
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| Grand staircase in the lobby |
While most of the new furnishings are custom, an edited selection of antiques were kept and restored, such as a pair of gilt, carved 18th century settees and a 1927 Steinway, which was returned to Peacock Alley. All of the hotel’s original artwork was rehung, along with historic photographs of famous patrons and gloriously gowned Fiesta debs.
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| Light-filled dining room off the lobby |
Constructed by a trio of Texas cattle barons, the 10-story St. Anthony was so technologically advanced that it was considered one of the world’s most modern hotels, featuring doors that opened automatically and electric lights that turned off when guests locked their hotel room doors. Newly upgraded with all of the technology you’d expect and just three blocks from the Alamo and River Walk, the St. Anthony is poised to become the glittering center of San Antonio life — once again. Check more of it out here.
