Hold The Mayo

Friend Maggie and I had the pleasure of getting to tour inside of the iconic Mayo hotel that is under total renovation. The Mayo was built in 1925 and has a very rich history- and I mean that in so many ways! (think oil=$)

We were told to meet at the front entrance, under the scaffolding. We arrived early and waited and waited to finally be let in, donned with a hard hat and begin the tour (I was a little nervous because I tend to sweat. A LOT. And wearing a hat, hard or soft, is never a good thing for me)
While the building manager talked I snapped a picture of this light fixture behind her that I thought was cool:

She explained the layout of the lobby/entrance area; where the restaurant would be, etc. Here is how it looked in it's heyday, and what (I presume) they are striving for again (since this IS a restoration):

The pillars are there, the chandeliers are being made. The elevators are off to the right:

And over the top of the elevator entrance was:

Our first stop was the Crystal Ballroom which will be complete with the crystal chandeliers for which it is named after. The plaster moulding is being reproduced precisely. One good thing: it was nice and COOL up there.

The views from various windows were awesome:

Next up: the rooftop! What a thrill to be so close to the infamous Mayo sign!!

as well as more great views:

Then it was time to view the apartments, lofts and hotel rooms. It's all fine and well if you can afford it, but for those of us who can't quite cut that much for rent, it's kind of bittersweet.

Back down we went (thanks to Jason the awesome elevator operator who probably hated us by now) to the lobby where I was able to get this last, parting shot of the stained glass window over the front door.

I took my hard hat off and was freaked by how totally, completely saturated my head/hair was! I was SOAKED. Did I mention I sweat profusely?