Saturday, May 17, 2025
The Barfield Hotel in Amarillo has a speakeasy that dates back to the 1920s. It was known then as the Paramount Recreation Club. To get to it, you follow the six-shooter and bullet trail to the basement and go to a cigarette machine. Pull the lever under the Paramount brand of cigarettes and the speakeasy opens.
“This is what it looked like,” says Kelsey Pratt, hotel sales manager. “Every divot, every nook and cranny everything was intentionally kept and not repaired or restored. We wanted to keep the original elements.”
The Barfield is part of the Marriott Autograph collection.
“We don’t have to be a cookie cutter Marriott Hotel. We get to bring the West Texas individual Amarillo style here to this hotel. The décor and services we provide are all individualized specifically to the area.”
The hotel has ten stories and one hundred and twelve rooms.
“It is Amarillo’s first boutique luxury hotel, so this is the first hotel of its kind in Amarillo.”
It’s a favorite overnight stopping point for travelers exploring Route 66. The hotel hosts a lot of activities for local folks.
“We have had the opportunity to host a number of guests for social events, weddings, receptions, formal dinners, business meetings and retirement parties.”
The Barfield was an office building until the nineteen seventies. It was vacant a long time but was restored and reopened as a hotel in 2021.
“Back in the 1920s, this was a building full of offices. You had dentist offices, you had lawyers, and you had a Penney’s store downstairs. It was just a business building. It was the first skyscraper in Amarillo. People were rushing to claim their stake here in the building.”
Melissa Dora Oliver Echols, a prominent businesswoman, owned the building.
“She was openly against drinking and pro prohibition with the people, but realized the financial opportunities of having a place where people could have a drink and opened a speakeasy.”
“The name Barfield actually comes from her children marrying into the Barfield family.”
Kelsey grew up in Amarillo, moved away, then came back home.
“I went to New York City for eleven years and I worked in hotels and restaurants my entire life. I’ve been here since they began converting the Barfield into a hotel, and it is such a thrill to see what has happened and to see how much people appreciate it. It’s not the biggest hotel in town and it’s not the smallest, but it’s the most unique.”
