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THE OMAHA SUNDAY BEE: NOVEMBER 28, 1918.
From the
It'i a tar cry from the Ant (unity
, hotel la Omaha to the Blackston
" th latest on.
' Tha first family hotel la thie city
was ths Bt Nicholas. They called It
"family" because everybody, masts
and all, slept in the same room in bad
weather. , In rood weather the men
folks all went outside and slept under
tha wagons or wrapped in their
blankets, with nothing orer them but
the sky.
When that hotel, the St. Nicholas,
waa completed, all guests came in
wagon or on horseback. They couldn't
take a train because there was no rail
road closer than the Mlsslrsippt river.
They couldnt tak a troley car be
cause they bad not bees invented
Ther couldn't walk (rem 'J nearest
town because there wasn't any near
est, town: they were all tar away.
The St. Nicholas could be picked up,
bodily, house, chimney and all, and
. put over in one corner of tha Black'
stone's office. I (act. tha St Nich
olas could be placed in tha writing
room at the Blaekston and thart
would ba sufficient room left on all
sides (or a procession at those who
used to IIto at tha earlier hotel to
oass round and round tha ancient
lidding. f
The St Nlcholaa stood at Twelfth.
and Jackson street. It was Omaha a
first hotel. It was bulH Of Cottonwood
logs, cut on the site of the building
and Its one room waa just sixteen by
eighteen (eet
A Difference In Frame.
All the building material need In the
St Nicholas would scarcely build a
single room of tha modern Blaekstone.
The Blaekstone has 137,000 worth of
steel in Its frame. The old St Nlcb j
ola didn't have any (ram at all. A
' (ew dollars' worth of nails waa all
the Iron used in the frontier hotel.
' Iron was so scarce in Omaha in those
days that the hinges on tha door were
made of wood Instead of metaL '
As a tact ther waa hut one door
In the first family hotel In Omaha.
There were no partitions In the build
Ing and consequently, there was a
use for but a single door. And that
door was made of "puncheons" slabs
cut out of logs, not sawed. It waa
too far to a saw mill to get hold of
- sufficient planking out of which to I
make a door. So the builders of the
St Nicholas spent a day-or two in cut
, ting out thick puncheons tor thsjdoor.
Now the Blaekstone has so many
.doors, that the little old hotel at
Twelfth and Jaokson would ba too
small to hold them It they were taken
from their polished brass and nickel
hinges and nicely stacked up within
' the building.
Aa Ta Window.
There waa a window In the St Nich
olas and the. Indiana used to come
100 miles to see tha wonder. They
. couldn't fathom tha substance which
could be seen through Ilk
spring ;
water but which they could not stick
their angers Into.- -
To Blaekstone ha nor glass In
just on basement window than the
St Nlcholaa had, all told.
It waa about lUt that tha St Nich
olas waa thrown open to the public
The building belonged to the Ne
, braska ft Council Bluffs Ferry Co. and
waa operated by "Uncle" Billy Snow-
Thay did some fast budding m those
days, despite the fact that Omaha was
so tar from tha edge of civilisation.
Ill St Nlcholaa waa built and ready
for th public within leas than one
weak from tha time it first sill waa
laid. Th Blaekstone has been build-.
Pioneer Glass and Paint Co.
Furnished and Instilled
All Glass for the
Blaekstone Hotel
Pioneer Glass and Paint Co.
"The House of Personal Service"
Phone Douglas
First Omaha Family Hotel
4alV!
lit f j llffi i
IB A r: !!
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.... toL'f'&r K
Hook la Blackitone Lobby. The Painting In the Picture Is "The Head uf
Loch Katrine," by Charles Stuart.
Ing Just about eighteen months. But
the Blaekstone la somewhat more
elaborate than was Omaha's "finest"
and "only," In those daya.
The St Nlcholaa didn't have a
kitchen stove. All the cooking In the
establishment waa done over the coals
In the fireplace. That the way tney
cooked the bear meat th antelope,
the venison, and the buffalo hump.
They bad two or three pots and ket
tles, a big cone pot ana a trying pan
that waa sometimes used as a wash
basin if the little one-room hotel hap
pened to be crowded. ' And it didn't
take many guests to crowd it either.
Imagine the chef at the Blaekstone
planning his dinner with nothing but
tba utensils o( tn at. monoias in
which to prfepar it
Th management of th Blaekstone
takes a pride in the equipment ot its
kitchens. Why, there's a single stove
In the new hotel which would reach
from end to end of th Bt Nicholas
and still ther would b many feet
sticking out tha window. If the St.
Nlcholaa cook h,d to prepare a meal
for a down, there was arum suns ana.
sometimes, actual fighting. Anyway.
t waa sn all-day's Job. But imagine
th Blaekstone serving dinner to
twelve people when ther is room In
on banquet hail for S60. And that
la only on of th five or six dining
rooms in th building. '
No Menu Card.
It Is imposslbl to secure a menu
ot th' St Nlcholaa. They didn't have
things ot that kind in Omaha in those
days. Tou at that which waa placed
before you. And usually you war
hungry enough to eet it all, too. Ot
course you could hav two or three
piece ot venison, but you. couldn't
get a beefsteak for love or money.
They didn't hav aueh things in those
days.
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J5th and
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I, ! V
Baked potatoes baked In the ashes
corn pone, black coffee sweetened
with New Orleans sugar, and an
abundance' of wild meat That was
th usual menu ot the St Nicholas
dining room. Just compare that with
a menu from the Blackatone' dining
room. But It would take an expert,
the head chef of the Blaokstone, for
Instance, to explain the difference. So
don't try to compare them. Get the
chef to explain to you. .
And th dish. They had a set of
tin plates and also a set of "Iron
stone" china at th Bt Nicholas.
Ther were some tin cups and some
iron stone cups. Ths china waa used
on apecial occasions, but not often. It
cost almost its weight m gold to
freight china out to the new country.
And there was too much danger of
breaking a piece, even though the
ware was a quarter of an inch In
thickness.
What would b the result If the
ghost of the. old cook at the St Nlch
olaa ahould get Into the modern
Blaekstone and place th ancient
"china" on the tables In place of the
elaborate table war which la used In
th modern first-class family hotel?
There would probably be a riot
And th beds. There were two In
the on room ot the St. Nicholas hotel.
One fitted under the other and during
the day time was pushed beneath It.
They called it a "trundle" bed, because
it could be trundled underneath the
other on and gotten out of sight It
was the original disappearing bed ot
the trans-Missouri region.
-. Hundreds of Beds.
The Blaekstone hss hundreds of
beds, most ot them ot th disappear
ing kind, yet others are regular mahog
any beds of the latest models. Black-
stone mattresses, springs and bedding
Jar ot th very latest sanitary sort
Q
Davenport Sts.
St Nicholas bedding waa somewhat
different The "ticks" were filled j
with sweet-scented bay. It ther were I
any sheets, that fact has been forgot-i
ten, now. The bedstead waa nome
made. It waa in one corner of the
room where It would not be in the way
of th cook, th waiter, the diners or
the dancers.
They sometimes bad a dance at the
St Nicholas. It waa not of the
cabaret kind, either. Just plain dance.
The music was made by an old fiddler.
The dancing waa done on the floor of
the on room and th furniture must
bo moved back against the wall.
Now, when they go to have a dance
in th Blaekstone hotel, the proposi
tion is aa entirely different one. There
are two or three dancing rooms and
if th crowd of dancers is large enough
they adjourn to th big banquet and
dancing hall on th eighth floor. The
orchestra balcony ot this ' room Is
larger than the whole of St. Nicholas
hotel.
When a guest of the St Nicholas
hotel wanted to wash his face, he got
th tin washpan, filled it with water
from th bucket and went to it. It he
wanted a bath, he went down to 'the
Missouri river and got it If it was
winter time, be didn't want a bath.
They do things differently at the
modern Blaekstone. Every apartment
has an enamel lavatory with hot and
cold water all the year. And the tiled
bathtubs are things of beauty and con
venience. After dinner, at the St. Nicholas
family hotel, th guests went outside,
lighted their pipes and leaning back
in home-made split-bottom chairs
smoked until time to go to bed. The
one little candle afforded by the hotel
people did not even turn the night Into
twilight, much less Into the brilliant
sunshine ot the flaming arc or th soft
light of th indirect incandescent
globes. There were no newspapers
nor magazines similar to those fur
nished the guests of ths Blaekstone:
there was no house library. Instead
of th music of th house orchestra.
mere was in evening song of the coy-
ote from the hills as the light faded'
to the Latest, a Big Change
. IU
i O ilk i ' . '
A Corner of One of the Blaekstone
in the west and the stars came nut
After that there was nothing to do
but to retire. The guests had to go
to- bed in self-defense. There waa
nothlnx else to do. In those days. In
Omaha, the night was made to sleep
1 : i I 1 i l. 1 1
ernes
One of the Corridor Davenports in the New Blaekstone.
llITH the opening of Omaha's newest hotel, the
" Blaekstone, another name is added to the long list of public build
ings that have been furnished and decorated throughout by the Orchard &
Wilhelm Co.
In its splendid lobby, in' its beautiful dining room, in its luxurious
lounging rooms, in its corridors and its many perfectly appointed suites
is seen the completeness of the work of the artists and the artisans com
prising the corps of decorators that are a part of the Orchard & Wilhelm
organization. - v
The task cf furnishing a hostelry of the magnitude of the Blaekstone
is not merely one of selecting harmonious carpetings, hangings, furniture
and wall coverings. It is of utmost importance that the expenditure be
confined to a sum that will not jeopardize the possibility of profitable re
turns on the total investment. And more, the character of the furnishings
must be such as to demand only a reasonable outlay for future replenish
ment. Such are the problems in the furnishing and the decoration of build
ings like the Blaekstone, the Scottish Rite Cathedral, the University Club,
the Fontenelle and many others.
You see in them the completed work, you are privileged to judge how
well it is done. Permit us to suggest, that you consider the desirability of
this store's undertaking your own home's decoration.
Orchard & Wilhelm
414-416-418 South 16th Street
rarty Koums wa the Eighth. Floor.
in. Guest ot the St. Nicholas family
hotel epuld not run out to one of the
clubs, go to the movies, go up to the
music room, the lounging room, the
billiard room, the roof garden, or the
many other places provided by the
Blaekstone for the entertainment and
pleasure of its guests.
. It's a far cry from the first family
hotel in Omaha to the Blackatone tha
latest one.
HOW THE DIFFERENT
FLOORS WERE PLANNED
FOR FAMILY USE
(Continued from Page Two.)
In Omaha or the west. The roof baa
t-ie arch effect. At the north end is
a small nook of a roof garden; at tha
south end, the orchestral balcony. Th
small lounging room is only 19x22 feet
but the larger lounge Is 47x22 feet
Each of them has an open fireplace
and mantel.
At the south end Is the party room
22x24 feet.-where the ladies may hold
their receptions.
There's a soda fountain up here
and a refectory, where light lunches,
pastries and confections may be se
cured.. A service kitchen is one of
the equipments of the top floor,
i And the basement; you must seeth
' basement before you leave the build
ing, where they make cold air, cold
water, ice, etc. See the big refrig
eration rooms with their milk, cream,
fruits, meats. 'etc. Sea th linen
.rooms, the laundry, the paint shop, th
carpenter shop, th storage rooms for
the residents ot the building, th fif
teen rooms for the servants, th ser
vants dining room, kitchen and rec
reation rooms. See the big baking
rooms, the pastry rooms, the great
oven. There is a billiard room with
three tables and a barber shop.
The heating plant Is in an entirely .
separate building where none ot tha
heat, smoke or dust can interfere with
the pleasure and comfort of th rest
dents of the hotel.
When Solomon said "There Is. noth
ing new under the- sun," he had not
seen the plans and specifications of
the Blaekstone. For the Blackston
Is new. There is nothing like It
Co.
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