Continuing on my introduction to my work-in-progress novel, Love At the Mayo, if you’re not from Tulsa, you might wonder, What is the Mayo, anyway? Why the Mayo?
The Mayo Hotel is on the National Registry of Historic Places. Located in downtown Tulsa, the Mayo has endured a colorful, and at times, tumultuous history, starting in 1925 when it opened during the city’s oil boom period.
In 1903, two brothers, John Mayo, leaving his family’s farm in Missouri, and Cass Mayo, leaving the real-estate business in Texas, came to Tulsa on a business venture. They opened a furniture store in now downtown Tulsa and shortly after, the Glenn Pool oil boom occurred in 1905, ushering in wealth, oil businesses, and need for office space. Tulsa quickly became known as the “Oil Capital of the World” and the Mayo’s furniture store prospered.
In 1910, the brothers built the Mayo Building in a residential area, despite warnings they were too far south from commerce. Fortunately for the Mayo brothers, more oil was struck in 1910, ushering commerce farther south as the need for expansion grew. Their newly constructed office building was quickly occupied by oil-related businesses. Their business ventures including their real-estate holdings prospered.
Seeing a need for a place for traveling businessmen to stay, they opened the Mayo Hotel in 1925, a 250,000-square-foot hotel offering 600 luxurious, modern hotel rooms. It was the first hotel in Tulsa offering running ice water, and at one time, was considered the tallest building in Oklahoma.
The Mayo Hotel hosted notable celebrities such as Lucille Ball, Bob Hope, Babe Ruth, Charlie Chaplin, and even politicians such as JFK (when he was a senator) and Lyndon Johnson. It served as a residence for J. Paul Getty and John Mayo and his wife (they resided there for over thirty years). It was the place to be, hosting debutante balls, weddings, fashion shows, and conventions.
I took this pic inside their restaurant. They were able to restore the original tile floor.
But once the oil boom busted by the 1980’s, downtown Tulsa and the hotel did as well, becoming like a ghost town. By 1981, the Mayo Hotel closed its doors. Then for the next thirty years, the hotel changed hands only to have financing for renovation fall through each time (six failed renovation attempts). A few times, new owners planned on converting the hotel into a senior living complex, but like the other investors, those deals fell through. With neglect, the vacant hotel fell into disarray.
But in 2001, The Snyder family of Tulsa, a local commercial and real-estate company, purchased the hotel for $250,000 and over time, they slowly renovated it as financing monies came in. In 2008, the $42 million renovation began. To help raise monies, the hotel’s bottom floor was renovated and opened for hosting events.
In 2009, tenants moved in. September of that year, they opened the hotel privately for Britney Spears who booked 80 rooms on her tour stop. At the end of September, they officially reopened to the public and had a grand re-opening celebration that December. And it’s stayed open ever since.
Like the Mayo, my protagonist, Celine, had a promising beginning. Valedictorian at school, one of the top business students at university, and a top performer at her former job. But she experiences several setbacks and has to build herself back up. During the most difficult times, she almost lost hope of ever recovering.
And the iconic hotel played an important role in her life. Her grandparents met and fell in love there. They frequented the hotel not only on their anniversary, but throughout their lives, and of course, exposed their son (Celine’s father) to the hotel as well. Their son rallied for its revival when it shut down, viewing the hotel as an important monument in Tulsa’s history and for its renewal as well.
Once it re-opened, he frequented it with Celine who got exposed to the inspiring family history woven into the tapestry of the hotel. And the Mayo became one of her favorite places for staycations, dining, and socializing, as she enjoyed a variety of events there.
But now, with the unfortunate association with her ex, the nostalgic memories are replaced with painful ones. Gone is the allure the hotel once had on her. Will she ever recover the innocence lost with the hotel? Maybe, to even find love?
Those are a few of the many questions posed in Love At the Mayo.
Next week I’m vlogging with my husband. He was instrumental in encouraging me to write the story and to actually experience it as well.
References:
- History: Make history, Make It The Mayo, The Mayo Hotel, accessed September 14, 2020, http://www.themayohotel.com/history-en.html.
- Mayo 420 and the Mayo Brothers, Wiggins Properties, LLC, accessed September 14, 2020, https://www.mayo420.com/features/history.php.
- Cass A. Mayo and John D. Mayo, Tulsa Historical Society and Museum, accessed September 14, 2020, https://www.tulsahistory.org/halloffame/cass-a-mayo-john-d-mayo/.