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The "Original Arcade Hotel" was first built as a square frame building in the township of Cross, which was then North-West of Ponca City and was owned by G. W. Light.
But the Arcade was destined for bigger things and in 1897, four years after the Cherokee Strip, the structure was moved to First and Grand, Mrs. Annie Rhoades acquired the hotel ownership after it was moved and later hired J. W. Wiker in 1904 as the hotel manager who had been a manager for the famous "Harvey Houses" and at the time he was offered the position he was leasing
the "Merchants Hotel" in Perry, the Arcade Hotel at that time was known as the "Rhoades House". The hotel became the grand lodge of a soon-to-be booming oil town.On the average the hotel employed nine waitresses, four maids, three cooks, two dishwashers, a baker, and a silver girl. The waitresses, dressed in Harvey House style, wore white starched pinafores with black long-sleeved sateen blouses, black shoes and stockings and white headbands.
When E.W. Marland came to Ponca City in 1908 he was broke. He told Mr. Wiker he didn’t have any money but said he knew there was oil, and if Mr. Wiker would trust him for his money he would pay him when he hit oil. The day after Mr. Marland’s first well came in he walked into the kitchen where Mr. Wiker was going over the menus and asked him about his bill, the bill came to $850.00 and Mr. Marland wrote Mr. Wiker a check for the full amount and then gave him a $10.00 bill for his help.
Mr. Marland and his family continued to live at the Arcade Hotel until 1916, after making a fortune in oil, he built the 22-room house located at
1000 East Grand Avenue.
In 1911, L.H. Wentz came to Ponca City looking for oil, it was Mrs. Rhoades that befriended Wentz when he first came to Ponca City, and she furnished him a grubstake, which he was able to parlay into millions. After he made his fortune, he stayed on at the Arcade, where many a deal were struck. Wentz had two apartments, one of the main floor for dining and entertaining guests, the other, his bedroom quarters, on the third. Wentz never married, and he maintained his living quarters in the Arcade where he died July 10, 1949, at the age of 73.
Following Mrs. Rhoades’ death in 1932, Wentz acquired the Arcade in the name of the Adeline Foundation, which was named for his mother.
In 1944, J.W. Wiker retired as the Arcade Manager after 40 years of service with the hotel and Mrs. Laura D. Valentine, who previously was a hotel and apartment house operator in Montana, heard of the Arcade while visiting in Ponca City, took over the lease from Wiker on the building and purchased the furnishings.
After Wentz’s death--although being in the Adeline trust the hotel was not part of the Wentz Estate--Mrs. Valentine purchased the building for an undisclosed sum.
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NOTE:
This site is provided by the Ponca City Publishing