The Fate of the Stoneleigh’s Plans
When the Stoneleigh was constructed in 1923, it was the largest project of famed Dallas architect F.J. Woerner. After the formal opening of the property (originally known as the Stoneleigh Court Hotel) on October 18th, 1923, Woerner made sure to keep all of his plans on file. Rather than using paper, Woerner drew all of his plans on waxed linen, the traditional medium at the time.
Twenty years later, when Dallas realtor Leo F. Corrigan purchased the hotel, his company called Woerner’s daughter, Louise Sellers, to try and track down the original plans. Despite their best attempts, they were never able to get their hands on the original documents.
As it turns out, during the Great Depression, Louise’s mom boiled the wax off the plans and made clothes for her daughter. In an interview conducted in 2005 by Mary Morris, a freelance writer working for the Stoneleigh, Louise recalls, “It was the most beautiful thing you ever saw. It made gorgeous handkerchiefs, and shirts, and dresses and what have you. Being a German family, you didn’t throw anything away.”
You can look at the full transcript of the original interview here.
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