Grand opening,
February, 1884 - The St. Louis, Ft. Scott, and Wichita railroad ran a special
train for the ball, and it was reported:
Guests began
arriving as early as eight o-clock, and at 10:00, when the ceremonies were
begun, the elegant and spacious parlors and corridors were thronged with the
most brilliant gathering ever seen in Eureka. The toilets of many of the ladies
were elaborate and elegant."
At least 250
guests attended. The seating capacity of the dining room was eighty, and "three
times that number partook of the supper, which was all that the appetite of an
epicure could suggest."
The formal
ceremonies took place in the dining room, and by ten o-clock that large room,
together with the offices, halls and grand stairway, were filled with a
brilliant company. Judge Phenis, master of ceremonies, welcomed the guests. Mr.
Taylor, of the Presbyterian church, offered a prayer. Then T.L. Davis delivered
an appropriate address, summing up the history of the efforts that had led to
the completion of the hotel project."
After the guests
had dined, those inclined went to the Opera House, where they danced to the
music of Romain's string band, from Emporia, until three in the morning. Others
remained at the hotel until a late hour, and passed a most delightful time in
social enjoyment."
T.L. Davis's speech -
he praised C.W. Squires of Emporia, who was the architect for the project. Davis
summarized the importance of the hotel to Eureka:
"There is a vast
difference in the Eureka of today and that of five years ago. Then it was known
as the town with a courthouse - for that was about all we could boast of in the
county. Now we have three Iron rivers (railroads) coursing through our county,
from north to south and from east to west, and Eureka can boast, not only of her
courthouse, but of fine business buildings and a magnificent hotel, as elegantly
equipped as any in the state."
In 1885, the editor of the American Sheep
Breeder issued a Handbook of Greenwood County. This
particular issue contained the following description of the hotel:
"The Hotel
Greenwood is a model of architectural beauty and elegant finish, without and
within, and abounds in fine effects from every point of view. Fine contrasts of
form and color are everywhere visible in the plans of the architect, and the
work of the master builders, both of which are happily supplemented by the
master and mistress, with equally elegant furnishings, that from office to
attic, bring out the best effects of reflection and refraction."