Eugene C. Eppley (April 8, 1884 – October 14, 1958) also known as Gene, was a hotel magnate in Omaha, Nebraska.[1] Eppley is credited with single-handedly building one of the most successful hotel empires,[2] by the 1950s the largest privately owned hotel chain in the United States.[3]
Born in Akron, Ohio, Eppley graduated from the Culver Military Academy in Indiana in 1901.[4][5] At the age of 19, he bought his first property, the McKinley Hotel in Canton, Ohio. At age 33, in 1917, he formed the Eppley Hotel Company. At its peak in the 1950s, the Eppley Hotel Company owned 22 hotels in six states. Eppley sold the company to Sheraton Hotels in 1956 for $30 million (equivalent to $336 million in 2023).[6][7]
"He fought hard and held his own... and success was prompted by the love of the game. He was acquisitive and altruistic, proud and modest, but beneath it all humble and compassionate. His life seemed a struggle to keep his soft side from showing. He taught and inspired and disciplined... but exacted more of himself than any other. He was an organizer, leader, teacher, fighter, talker and giver. All of his facets added up to a rather heroic figure."[10]
Eppley was a renowned philanthropist, who gave primarily to educational, civic and medical research causes in the Midwestern United States and especially in Omaha. He was active in Omaha's social club Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben, which supported local philanthropy and was elected the King of the Court of Ak-Sar-Ben in 1932.[11]
In an unusual event, in 1955 Eppley through his hotel company donated food to the nuclear test experiment conducted with civilian witnesses, known as Operation Cue. His and other private efforts were meant to demonstrate the ability of companies to ship and distribute food for "survivors" of a nuclear blast. Many witnesses were involved with civil defense organizations.[12]
Eppley also personally commissioned paintings by artist Grant Wood. He commissioned the well-known "Fruits of Iowa" grouping in 1932, for murals for four of his hotels in Midwestern cities. Several of the paintings of this series are now housed at Coe College in Iowa.[13][14]
Dalstrom, H. A. (1969) Eugene C. Eppley: His Life and Legacy. Lincoln, Nebraska: Johnsen Publishing Company.
Dalstrom, H. A. "Eugene C. Eppley: His Life and Legacy". The Journal of American History, 57:2 (September 1970). pp. 466–468.
External linksedit
The Reach of Eugene Eppley's Generosity
January 01, 1970
eugene, eppley, april, 1884, october, 1958, also, known, gene, hotel, magnate, omaha, nebraska, eppley, credited, with, single, handedly, building, most, successful, hotel, empires, 1950s, largest, privately, owned, hotel, chain, united, states, bornapril, 188. Eugene C Eppley April 8 1884 October 14 1958 also known as Gene was a hotel magnate in Omaha Nebraska 1 Eppley is credited with single handedly building one of the most successful hotel empires 2 by the 1950s the largest privately owned hotel chain in the United States 3 Eugene C EppleyBornApril 8 1884Akron OhioDiedOctober 14 1958 1958 10 14 aged 74 Omaha NebraskaNationalityAmericanOccupationHotelierKnown forBusinessman philanthropist Contents 1 Career 2 Philanthropy 3 See also 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External linksCareer editFurther information Eppley Hotel Company Born in Akron Ohio Eppley graduated from the Culver Military Academy in Indiana in 1901 4 5 At the age of 19 he bought his first property the McKinley Hotel in Canton Ohio At age 33 in 1917 he formed the Eppley Hotel Company At its peak in the 1950s the Eppley Hotel Company owned 22 hotels in six states Eppley sold the company to Sheraton Hotels in 1956 for 30 million equivalent to 336 million in 2023 6 7 Among many activities he was a director of Sheraton Hotels 7 Mid Continent Airlines and the Mount Rushmore Foundation 8 After purchasing the Hotel Fontenelle in downtown Omaha in 1920 Eppley lived at his flagship until his death in 1958 9 He fought hard and held his own and success was prompted by the love of the game He was acquisitive and altruistic proud and modest but beneath it all humble and compassionate His life seemed a struggle to keep his soft side from showing He taught and inspired and disciplined but exacted more of himself than any other He was an organizer leader teacher fighter talker and giver All of his facets added up to a rather heroic figure 10 Philanthropy editFurther information Eppley Foundation Eppley was a renowned philanthropist who gave primarily to educational civic and medical research causes in the Midwestern United States and especially in Omaha He was active in Omaha s social club Knights of Ak Sar Ben which supported local philanthropy and was elected the King of the Court of Ak Sar Ben in 1932 11 In an unusual event in 1955 Eppley through his hotel company donated food to the nuclear test experiment conducted with civilian witnesses known as Operation Cue His and other private efforts were meant to demonstrate the ability of companies to ship and distribute food for survivors of a nuclear blast Many witnesses were involved with civil defense organizations 12 Eppley also personally commissioned paintings by artist Grant Wood He commissioned the well known Fruits of Iowa grouping in 1932 for murals for four of his hotels in Midwestern cities Several of the paintings of this series are now housed at Coe College in Iowa 13 14 See also edit nbsp Biography portal History of OmahaReferences edit Erwin P F 1970 Eugene C Eppley His Life and Legacy by Harl Adams Dalstrom A Review Journal of American History 57 2 pp 466 468 Important people Archived 2008 09 27 at the Wayback Machine The Gateway University of Nebraska at Omaha Retrieved 2 2 08 Closing the Gap Time June 4 1956 Retrieved 2 3 08 Hotelman Eppley gives 1 400 000 to Culver Pittsburgh Post Gazette October 8 1956 p 23 Eugene C Eppley Club Archived 2008 05 13 at the Wayback Machine Culver Academies Retrieved 2 3 08 Hotels added by Sheraton buys Eppley chain Milwaukee Journal May 22 1956 p 19 part 2 a b Sheraton Corp buys William Penn Pittsburgh Post Gazette May 23 1956 p 1 Denslow W R 10 000 Famous Freemasons from A to J Part One Kessinger Publishing LLC p 23 Dalstrom H A 1969 Eugene C Eppley His Life and Legacy Johnsen Press Dalstrom H A 1969 Eugene C Eppley his life and legacy Lincoln NE Johnsen Publishing Company Kay Tukey September JLO This Month s Sustainer of the Month Junior League of Omaha Retrieved 2 2 08 Witnessing an Atomic Blast Archived 2008 02 04 at the Wayback Machine NebraskaStudies org Retrieved 2 2 08 January June 2006 News Archived 2006 09 08 at the Wayback Machine Coe College Retrieved 2 3 08 The Corn Room Retrieved 2 3 08 Further reading editDalstrom H A 1969 Eugene C Eppley His Life and Legacy Lincoln Nebraska Johnsen Publishing Company Dalstrom H A Eugene C Eppley His Life and Legacy The Journal of American History 57 2 September 1970 pp 466 468 External links editThe Reach of Eugene Eppley s Generosity Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Eugene C Eppley amp oldid 1214306166, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
