A moment in history Read Hotel and Those Longhorns
The Read Hotel was constructed the same time as the Settles and on the heels of the Crawford and Douglass; however, the small hotel was overlooked. It was not prominently located like the Crawford, Douglas, and Settles. It was built on the corner of Runnels and East 2nd Streets by pioneer Earle Read. The bottom floor was designed for small businesses and the top floor consisted of 25 rooms.
June 22, 1929, a grand opening was held for the Read. The opening was not as big and splashy as the Settles and
Crawford, but the hotel was carefully designed and constructed. Each guest room had a bath attached with either a shower or tub. On the north of the building was a courtyard/patio area that opened from the lobby. It was beautifully decorated with window boxes, shrubbery, patio furniture and a swing. The lobby had overstuffed chairs and Kroehler carpeting that carried onto the second-floor guest rooms.
The hotel was designed by David S Castle, an architect firm from Abilene, the same firm that designed the Settles Hotel. Throughout the years, several businesses occupied the bottom floor including
Photos courtesy Big Spring Heritage Museum a hat maker, dry cleaner, café, domino parlor, and the Howard County Health Department.
The hotel showcased Read's vast collection of longhorns.
Earle Reed said there had been a man by the name of Dr. Tanlac, who came through Big Spring about once a month with a medicine show. During one of his visits, he presented Earle's father with a set of longhorns. The horns were Earle's favorite only because they were the first that he received. He ended up adding over 65 more sets to the collection.