The Lions Sleep Tonight at the Stoneleigh Hotel

We hadn't been to the Stoneleigh Hotel blog in a while, but we stopped by this morning only to find the just-posted answer to a question we never really had: Just where did those lions guarding the front door come from? Long story short, courtesy the mysterious "Dave W": They were done by an Austrian sculptor named Oswald Lassiz, about who there's nothing at all on the Interwebs. And for whom did he craft the beasties? That's on the site. But in the 1930s, the Stoneleigh’s original owner, “Colonel” Henry Stewart, had them moved from a vacant lot in Houston to his hotel in Dallas.

You'll also find there some updated info about the hotel's redo -- including news of two "tribute rooms" to be unveiled in the hotel. One's for Margo Jones; the other, for Judy Garland (no idea why). The hotel has also just launched its new Web site, full of info about what it'll look like when the Stoneleigh re-opens its doors in the fall. Because, really, who needs the Ritz Carlton anyhoo? --Robert Wilonsky