Welcome to the Arlington
If you were a weary traveller looking for a comfortable bed and a delicious meal, you would have been very happy to find yourself on Ninth Street, going through the main entrance doors of the Arlington Hotel.
Straight ahead, you would have seen the friendly reception staff behind the large, curved registration desk and a set of wooden stairs leading up to the rooms on the second and third floors.
Joe Rauw in the Arlington coffee shop.
To your right, through the large double doors, you would have possibly caught a whiff of what promised to be a delicious dinner in the hotel’s dining room. If you were in the mood for something less formal, you could continue on past the registration desk to find the kitchen and coffee shop.
Hilda Schimanowsky in the lobby of the Arlington c.1960.
To your left, you would have seen a well-appointed lobby, possibly with a card game or two in progress.
What you might not have seen was the entrance to Mr. and Mrs. Borget’s main floor apartment, kept private from the public.
Mr. and Mrs. Borget looking on as Eddie McNab blows out the candles on his birthday cake. The photo was taken inside their apartment at the Arlington.
Once you were registered, you would head up the stairs, room key in hand…
…head down the hall…
…to your room…
…with very comfortable furnishings…
…to rest, relax and enjoy the hospitality that the Arlington Hotel had to offer!
These candid photos of Hilda and her co-workers at the Arlington Hotel were donated to the museum by her nephew, Robert Schimanowsky.
It would appear that the hotel’s reputation for good housekeeping was upheld by a staff who enjoyed their work and each other’s company.
