The Madison Hotel at 1159 North Madison Avenue stands as a quiet but significant relic of Dallas’ past. Originally constructed in 1926 as The Wesley Inn, this two-story brick hotel has seen nearly a century of life, from its humble beginnings to whispers of intrigue surrounding President John F. Kennedy’s assassination.
When Proxy Properties owner AJ Ramler purchased the property in 2022, he knew it would be a challenging project.
“I actually looked at it many, many years ago, but didn’t have the resources to be able to do it,” Ramler says. “Then someone else bought it, and I heard it caught on fire.”
Ramler called the owner to inquire about buying the property. It was barely worth more than the land itself due to the condition of the building.
“It was in really bad shape,” Ramler says. “But we hit the ground running. We kept all the original layout. The whole reason we’re in this business is because we like fixing the whole building. There’s a gazillion ways to make more money if we go up to Dallas North Tollway and do real estate up there, but we like working down here, because it’s fun.”
Proxy’s other current projects include the Oak Cliff Assembly and the restoration of the Oak Cliff Methodist Church. The real estate firm focuses on redevelopment and adaptive reuse projects that contribute to the community.
The Madison Hotel has plenty of history. By the 1930s, ownership of the hotel had changed several times, and it wasn’t until Alice Carter took over in 1939 that the property gained some stability.
Carter had experience managing properties, and after the sudden death of her husband, returned to Dallas to take on the challenge of running The Madison Hotel. Under her stewardship, the hotel thrived as a haven for single women and young professionals, particularly during the years following World War II. Alice was known for fostering a sense of community among her tenants, many of whom stayed long-term.
Perhaps one of the most intresting aspects of The Madison Hotel’s extensive history lies in its possible connection to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. FBI files suggest that Lee Harvey Oswald may have stayed at the hotel in the days leading up to the event in November 1963. The hotel’s proximity to key locations Oswald frequented brought it under investigation, adding a layer of mystery to the hotel’s history.
Despite the building being nearly 100 years old, never renovated, and having caught on fire, Ramler never lost the vision to restore it to the way it once was.
“I really wanted to try and keep like this crazy feeling with the super long corridor that’s a little skinnier than you would normally see, and the rooms are all different shapes and sizes,” Ramler says. “It kind of feels almost Old Western a little bit. And I really kind of fell in love with that aspect of it. We have an awesome designer, and it was a gift to have someone so talented working on the team.”
That designer is Jen Stevens of Fonde Interiors. At no point did she take this project lightly.
“The first thing we did was a walkthrough, and I just got such a sense of excitement from the space. You could just feel the history in there,” Stevens says. “We went to a bunch of local places in Dallas and then tried to kind of distill what it is that they like about it. I think I understood the assignment — moody, you know, kind of cigar bar lounge, but also in a period-appropriate way that makes sense with the age of the building.”
Ramler says that during this outing, they all named three things they do and don’t like design-wise in each place, which gave Stevens the tools she needed to create a design idea.
“A couple of months later, we sat around a table and she was like, ‘This is what I want to do,’ and it was wild, because I just agreed about everything. She just nailed it,” Ramler says.
Stevens was all about the project, and she collected over 300 pieces of found art to make it all come together.
‘I just personally have a big penchant for historic architecture and just history in general, and antiques, so I kind of tend to gravitate towards work like that,” Stevens says. “So when I got connected with AJ, I knew it was such a good fit for me. It’s such a beautiful space, and we’re so thankful and grateful to have the opportunity to bring it back to its glory.”
The 27-room Madison Hotel has been submitted for state and federal historic landmark status and will now operate as a typical hotel. In August, Ramler said about 40 people had stayed so far.
“We have a bunch of bookings in September and October, all the way up till next June,” Ramler says. “It’s gonna be really great. We don’t want to be mistaken for an Airbnb, we’re a hotel.”
