First Look: Dallas’s Newest Luxury Hotel Revives a Historic Bank Building
The Thompson Dallas hotel has transformed the First National Bank tower into a sleek and sophisticated space. Luxury residences and shops are coming soon, too.
Mood lighting casts a warm glow throughout the Catbird restaurant: delicate crystal sconces warm up lacquered walls, and sculptural fixtures vary from corner to corner. The quality furnishings are matched with a seasoned restaurant staff: culinary director Jeramie Robison was formerly at Uchi and the Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek, and chef Preston Paine previously worked at New York’s famed Eleven Madison Park.Photograph by Moyo Oyelola
Mood lighting casts a warm glow throughout the Catbird restaurant: delicate crystal sconces warm up lacquered walls, and sculptural fixtures vary from corner to corner. The quality furnishings are matched with a seasoned restaurant staff: culinary director Jeramie Robison was formerly at Uchi and the Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek, and chef Preston Paine previously worked at New York’s famed Eleven Madison Park.Photograph by Moyo Oyelola
Discover the best things to eat, drink, and do in Dallas with our expertly curated city guides. Explore the Dallas City Guide
When Dallas’s skyline was voted the world’s best in 2014, the city earned the honor for its impressive illumination: the bright, flashy lights that outlined the soaring buildings, old and new—except for one. The iconic pinstripe lights of the First National Bank tower had been dark for years. This month they’re back on, signaling the recent opening of the new Thompson Dallas hotel there.
The tower has long been a symbol of Dallas’s bold, showy style. When it was completed in 1965, the building was the tallest west of the Mississippi River. Texas Monthly writers William Broyles and Alex Sheshunoff explained in a 1974 article how the skyscraper came to be: “The major banks of Dallas had been contending in a rivalry which extended into everything. The most visible evidence of the competition between the emerging giants, Republic and First National, appeared in a characteristic way: a seesaw struggle to build the tallest building. … Erecting the biggest bank building, like growing the tallest pine tree, is a contest which extends over generations, and, unlike the ever-changing score on ledger books, leaves behind a very tangible result.”
Indeed, First National’s brick-and-mortar legacy outlasted the institution it was built to hold. The structure is still one of the tallest buildings downtown and is protected by the National Register of Historic Places. It’s even keeping part of its name (“the National”), but when the real estate investment firm Todd Interests took on the $460 million preservation project last April, the tower had been dark and vacant for about a decade. In addition to the hotel, the building will include more than three hundred luxury apartments, two restaurants opening this month (with two more on the way), and a florist, a barber, and a Lucchese boutique.
Today the former finance offices have been transformed into more than two hundred modern hotel rooms. It was a family affair: managing partner and CEO Shawn Todd worked alongside his children—including Philip Todd, 27, a partner at Todd Interests; and Caroline Todd, 25, who debuts her new design firm, Todd Interiors, with the National. They preserved as many elements original to the George Dahl–designed building as they could: teak-and-brass art deco walls line high-traffic corridors; mid-century modern structures shade the pool deck; the marble facade, with slabs mined from the same Greek quarry used for the Parthenon, shines brightly on the downtown block.
The Todds envisioned a sleek but welcoming look for the hotel. “It’s London social club meets sophisticated finishes and art,” Shawn says. They brought in a family friend, local interior designer Cindy Zelazny, to help with the design—“She has been a mentor to me since the days she was spray-painting my soccer cleats gold in elementary school,” Caroline says—and traveled across the pond last year to shop for inspiration and standout furnishings.
At the PAD London decorative arts fair, the team picked up eye-catching, limited-edition items like couture marble coffee tables from French furniture maker Hervé Langlais and a laser-cut leather console from Mexican design duo Ad Hoc. They also visited social clubs and eateries, later paying homage to them in Dallas. As at London’s famed Connaught Bar, for example, there are no stools at the bar in Thompson Dallas’s Catbird restaurant. Instead, the space is filled with ample, intimate seating arrangements. A pair of ottomans made from shagreen, or stingray leather, look almost too special to sit on; custom chairs from local Dallas showrooms feel fresh and feminine; and festive, fuzzy stools that resemble hair brushes are begging to be Instagrammed. Even the powder room wallpaper was selected for its selfie possibilities.
The overall effect is a boutique experience on a Dallas scale, for the Dallas set. Perhaps fittingly, art takes center stage. The $2 million-plus portfolio ranges from heavy international hitters like Damien Hirst and David Yarrow to local talents like San Antonio–based Matt Kleberg, whose works are on view in the guest rooms alongside half a dozen contemporary artists. But wherever you are in the hotel—sitting in one of the pool cabanas, lounging in your suite, even taking a bath—it’s hard to look away from the incredible views of the award-winning skyline outside each of the Thompson Dallas’s historic windows. Scroll down to see those and more in our exclusive virtual tour.
The historic marble on the building’s facade shines anew thanks to the painstaking process of removing and restoring each piece.
Photograph by Moyo Oyelola
The lobby is filled with books and artifacts handpicked to make the space feel like home—a fitting gesture for the residents of the new National Residences. “We wanted to both capture ideas from travels abroad and design spaces that would resonate with Texans,” says Caroline, “all while remaining true to Thompson’s brand DNA.” Just in time for the holidays, there will soon be a florist, a barber shop, and a Lucchese boutique on this floor.
Photograph by Moyo Oyelola
There’s no shortage of snapworthy moments at Catbird. On the left is a shagreen stool, one of the many luxurious textures featured in the space. Nearby seating runs the gamut from burled wood sculpted chairs to vintage leather finds.
Photograph by Moyo Oyelola
When the Catbird restaurant opens later this month at the Thompson Dallas, there will be ample space for socially distanced dining.
Photograph by Moyo Oyelola
As is the case throughout the hotel, Catbird features art in many forms. The Chanel motifs on this Swarovski-crystal-covered sculpture by Metis Atash speak to the “ladies who lunch” set, who would also feel at home at the nearby Nine at the National restaurant, which opened at the hotel this week. (There, Caroline installed shimmering banquettes and tweed-backed chairs that nod to Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel herself.)
Photograph by Moyo Oyelola
Along the edges of the dining room, intimate spaces kitted out with cozy custom textiles were designed for groups wanting a bit of privacy.
Photograph by Moyo Oyelola
The bar counter, an agate wonder from Italian stone dealer Antolini, is almost too pretty to cover up with cocktails like this signature daiquiri, which is made with rum, Aperol, lime, and mango.
Photograph by Moyo Oyelola
Designed to encourage relaxed mingling, Catbird feels more like a (very well-appointed) parlor than a traditional dining room. Appropriately, there’s no dress code: when the doors open, Philip hopes you’ll feel right at home whether you’re wearing yoga pants or a suit.
Photograph by Moyo Oyelola
Most of the furnishings are as delightful as they are practical, with perhaps the exception of these whimsical Ad Hoc–designed stools: if you lean too far back, you might topple over.
Photograph by Moyo Oyelola
With fire pits and shaded areas, the deck is optimized for enjoying the mild North Texas climate year-round. In a nod to the famed Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles, the trellis is interwoven with faux evergreen flora.
Photograph by Moyo Oyelola
What was once the main banking lobby is now a ballroom sized for grand affairs. The floor-to-ceiling windows bring in natural light by day, and these Preciosa Lighting chandeliers brighten up the 14,000 square feet by night. There’s enough clearance for cars to drive into the event space, too.
Photograph by Moyo Oyelola
Residents at the new National Residences enjoy all of the hotel’s amenities, in addition to exclusive spaces including a wine-tasting room, a man cave outfitted with a golf simulator, and a library lounge, shown here. Wall coverings, including the Schumacher paper on this ceiling, are an integral part of many of the common areas.
Photograph by Moyo Oyelola
The art collection is on full display in the guest rooms. Shown here above the bed, from left, are works by Lily Ludlow, Susan Metrican, and Jesse Littlefield.
Photograph by Moyo Oyelola
At the end of the long, narrow powder room, a bathtub (tucked away on the left) faces a skyline view. Amenities are from D.S. & Durga.
Photograph by Moyo Oyelola
In most guest rooms, the beds also face views of downtown Dallas (a TV is discreetly situated off to the side). The hotel is a short stroll away from the Adolphus Hotel, which also underwent a recent renovation, and the Dahl-designed Neiman Marcus flagship.
Photograph by Moyo Oyelola
“The experience developing during COVID has been transformative to say the least,” Shawn says. “It’s grown us as a firm and individuals. It’s strengthened relationships. It’s exposed how people react (or don’t) to challenges. Schedules set were schedules not met.” The hotel, which delayed its opening slightly, is now taking reservations.
Photograph by Moyo Oyelola
“George Dahl left us a jewel in the Dallas skyline with design that is still relevant today,” Caroline says, referring to the building’s original architect. Not far away, another of Dahl’s buildings, the former Dallas Morning News headquarters, completed in the forties, will undergo a similar multi-use renovation by 2023. Dahl also oversaw Fair Park, the flagship Neiman Marcus, and more.
Photograph by Moyo Oyelola
The Nine at the National restaurant opened this week with a menu that caters to professionals, including grab-and-go offerings and libations like this one, the Hello Sunshine—a kiwi and pineapple twist on the classic gin and tonic.
Photograph by Moyo Oyelola
The ninth-floor pool is an urban oasis complete with private Cabo-esque cabanas. The tall, decorative, mushroom-shaped structures on the right are original to the historic building.
Photograph by Moyo Oyelola
The team opted for performance fabrics whenever possible, to stand up to wet bathing suits.
