Driskill Hotel
Encyclopedia
The Driskill Hotel, a Romanesque
style building completed in 1886, is the oldest operating hotel
in Austin
, Texas
, USA, and one of the best-known hotels in Texas generally. The Driskill was conceived and built by Col. Jesse Driskill, a cattleman who spent his fortune constructing "the finest hotel south of St. Louis
".
busts of Driskill and his two sons, Bud and Tobe, crowned the hotel on each of these sides. Six million bricks went into the structure, along with limestone features.
The hotel's 60 rooms included 12 corner rooms with attached baths, an almost unheard-of feature in any hotel of the region at that time.
The hotel included an open design to encourage airflow throughout the building and keep it cool; its primary feature was an open rotunda
at the center that extended from the first to the fourth floors and culminated in a domed skylight.
Other embellishments included an electric bell system, marble bureaus and washstands, steam heating, and gas lighting. The gas pipes throughout the building particularly led Driskill to make the hotel as fireproof as possible, with eighteen-inch-thick walls between the rooms and two layers of iron between each floor. The steam boilers, kitchen, and laundry facilities were relegated to the back (north) side of the hotel to prevent their odors from permeating the hotel.
The building is also said to have been built with a special ladies' entrance that allowed female guests to proceed directly to their rooms, thereby avoiding the rough talk of the cattlemen in the lobby.
, he decided to diversify by constructing a grand hotel in Austin, his adopted hometown. In 1884, Driskill purchased land at the corner of 6th and Brazos for $7,500 and announced his plans. He hired the architectural firm of Jasper N. Preston & Son to design the structure.
The hotel enjoyed a grand opening on December 20, 1886, and was featured in a special edition of the Austin Daily Statesman
. On January 1, 1887, Governor Sul Ross held his inaugural ball in its ballroom, beginning a tradition for every Texas governor since.
Driskill unfortunately did not have the clientele to match the splendor of his four-star hotel. At a time when other hotels were 50 cents to one dollar per night, Driskill charged $2.50 to $5.00 (including meals), an exorbitant sum at what was then still relatively a Wild West town. Following the loss of a great fortune in cattle drives, Driskill was forced to close the hotel in May 1887, less than a year after it opened, when half his staff were poached by the Beach Hotel in Galveston.
According to legend, he finally lost the hotel in a game of poker
in 1888 to his brother-in-law, Jim "Doc" Day, who became its second owner. Driskill died of a stroke in 1890.
The hotel changed hands several times through the turn of the century, and went through boom and bust cycles along with the city of Austin. Local magnate George Littlefield
, responsible for other Austin landmarks like the Littlefield House
, obtained the hotel for $106,000 in 1895 and vowed that it would never close again. Littlefield invested over $60,000 in renovations, including ceiling frescoes and 28 additional lavatories, but still sold the hotel at a loss of $25,000 in 1903.
The original building was expanded in 1930 with a thirteen-story tower designed by Trost & Trost
. During the same renovation, each of the original 60 rooms was converted to include a private bathroom.
In 1934, future President Lyndon Johnson met his future wife, Claudia Taylor
, for their first date at the Driskill dining room. The Johnsons continued a lifelong love of the Driskill, and stayed there dozens of times for the rest of their lives. It became his campaign headquarters during his congressional career especially during his famous 1948 Senate race, and became a favorite place on return trips to Austin during his presidency. He watched the results of the 1964 Presidential Election from its presidential suite and addressed supporters from its ballroom after his victory.
In a 1950 renovation, air conditioning was added to the building, and the dramatic skylit rotunda was permanently removed.
The Driskill was threatened with demolition in 1969, after a planned renovation fell through. Most of its furnishings were sold, and an American-Statesman article declared, "Driskill Hotel's Fate 'Sealed'." The hotel was saved from the wrecking ball at almost the last minute, however, when a non-profit organization called the Driskill Hotel Corporation raised $900,000. The hotel re-opened in 1972 and has remained successful since.
The most recent renovation began in 1996 and reached a symbolic conclusion on December 31, 1999 with a grand reopening millennium celebration, though renovation efforts of individual areas have continued since then.
The restaurant in the Driskill was used in the movie Miss Congeniality (2000), although it was represented as the restaurant in the St. Regis in Manhattan
.
Today the Driskill remains one of the premier hotels in Texas, featuring lavish bridal suites, two restaurants, and a grand ballroom. It is also well-known as one of the most haunted
hotels in the United States, featuring a variety of alleged supernatural activity throughout the building including the spirit of Colonel Driskill himself.
The hotel is located at 604 Brazos Street. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places
November 25, 1969.
Romanesque Revival architecture
Romanesque Revival is a style of building employed beginning in the mid 19th century inspired by the 11th and 12th century Romanesque architecture...
style building completed in 1886, is the oldest operating hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
in Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, USA, and one of the best-known hotels in Texas generally. The Driskill was conceived and built by Col. Jesse Driskill, a cattleman who spent his fortune constructing "the finest hotel south of St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
".
Features
The hotel was completed at a cost of $400,000. Its four stories occupied almost half a block, with three arched entryways on the south, east, and north sides. Carved limestoneLimestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
busts of Driskill and his two sons, Bud and Tobe, crowned the hotel on each of these sides. Six million bricks went into the structure, along with limestone features.
The hotel's 60 rooms included 12 corner rooms with attached baths, an almost unheard-of feature in any hotel of the region at that time.
The hotel included an open design to encourage airflow throughout the building and keep it cool; its primary feature was an open rotunda
Rotunda (architecture)
A rotunda is any building with a circular ground plan, sometimes covered by a dome. It can also refer to a round room within a building . The Pantheon in Rome is a famous rotunda. A Band Rotunda is a circular bandstand, usually with a dome...
at the center that extended from the first to the fourth floors and culminated in a domed skylight.
Other embellishments included an electric bell system, marble bureaus and washstands, steam heating, and gas lighting. The gas pipes throughout the building particularly led Driskill to make the hotel as fireproof as possible, with eighteen-inch-thick walls between the rooms and two layers of iron between each floor. The steam boilers, kitchen, and laundry facilities were relegated to the back (north) side of the hotel to prevent their odors from permeating the hotel.
The building is also said to have been built with a special ladies' entrance that allowed female guests to proceed directly to their rooms, thereby avoiding the rough talk of the cattlemen in the lobby.
History
Jesse Driskill, a successful cattle baron, had moved to Texas from Missouri in 1849. Flush with cash from his service to the Confederate Army, to which he supplied beef throughout the Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, he decided to diversify by constructing a grand hotel in Austin, his adopted hometown. In 1884, Driskill purchased land at the corner of 6th and Brazos for $7,500 and announced his plans. He hired the architectural firm of Jasper N. Preston & Son to design the structure.
The hotel enjoyed a grand opening on December 20, 1886, and was featured in a special edition of the Austin Daily Statesman
Austin American-Statesman
The Austin American-Statesman is the major daily newspaper for Austin, the capital city of Texas. It is an award-winning publication owned by Cox Enterprises. The Newspaper places focus on issues affecting Austin and the Central Texas region....
. On January 1, 1887, Governor Sul Ross held his inaugural ball in its ballroom, beginning a tradition for every Texas governor since.
Driskill unfortunately did not have the clientele to match the splendor of his four-star hotel. At a time when other hotels were 50 cents to one dollar per night, Driskill charged $2.50 to $5.00 (including meals), an exorbitant sum at what was then still relatively a Wild West town. Following the loss of a great fortune in cattle drives, Driskill was forced to close the hotel in May 1887, less than a year after it opened, when half his staff were poached by the Beach Hotel in Galveston.
According to legend, he finally lost the hotel in a game of poker
Poker
Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
in 1888 to his brother-in-law, Jim "Doc" Day, who became its second owner. Driskill died of a stroke in 1890.
The hotel changed hands several times through the turn of the century, and went through boom and bust cycles along with the city of Austin. Local magnate George Littlefield
George W. Littlefield
George Washington Littlefield was a Confederate officer, cattleman, banker, and regent of the University of Texas. Born in Mississippi, Littlefield moved to Texas with his family as a boy.-Early life:George W...
, responsible for other Austin landmarks like the Littlefield House
Littlefield House
The Littlefield House is an historic home in Austin, Texas on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin. The home was built in 1893 for Civil War veteran George Littlefield, who was a successful businessman in the bank and cattle trades and a major benefactor to UT...
, obtained the hotel for $106,000 in 1895 and vowed that it would never close again. Littlefield invested over $60,000 in renovations, including ceiling frescoes and 28 additional lavatories, but still sold the hotel at a loss of $25,000 in 1903.
The original building was expanded in 1930 with a thirteen-story tower designed by Trost & Trost
Trost & Trost
Trost & Trost Architects & Engineers was an architecture firm based in El Paso, Texas. The firm's chief designer was Henry Charles Trost, who was born in Toledo, Ohio in 1860. Trost moved from Chicago to Tucson, Arizona in 1899 and then on to El Paso in 1903...
. During the same renovation, each of the original 60 rooms was converted to include a private bathroom.
In 1934, future President Lyndon Johnson met his future wife, Claudia Taylor
Lady Bird Johnson
Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Taylor Johnson was First Lady of the United States from 1963 to 1969 during the presidency of her husband Lyndon B. Johnson. Throughout her life, she was an advocate for beautification of the nation's cities and highways and conservation of natural resources and made that...
, for their first date at the Driskill dining room. The Johnsons continued a lifelong love of the Driskill, and stayed there dozens of times for the rest of their lives. It became his campaign headquarters during his congressional career especially during his famous 1948 Senate race, and became a favorite place on return trips to Austin during his presidency. He watched the results of the 1964 Presidential Election from its presidential suite and addressed supporters from its ballroom after his victory.
In a 1950 renovation, air conditioning was added to the building, and the dramatic skylit rotunda was permanently removed.
The Driskill was threatened with demolition in 1969, after a planned renovation fell through. Most of its furnishings were sold, and an American-Statesman article declared, "Driskill Hotel's Fate 'Sealed'." The hotel was saved from the wrecking ball at almost the last minute, however, when a non-profit organization called the Driskill Hotel Corporation raised $900,000. The hotel re-opened in 1972 and has remained successful since.
The most recent renovation began in 1996 and reached a symbolic conclusion on December 31, 1999 with a grand reopening millennium celebration, though renovation efforts of individual areas have continued since then.
The restaurant in the Driskill was used in the movie Miss Congeniality (2000), although it was represented as the restaurant in the St. Regis in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
.
Today the Driskill remains one of the premier hotels in Texas, featuring lavish bridal suites, two restaurants, and a grand ballroom. It is also well-known as one of the most haunted
Ghost
In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
hotels in the United States, featuring a variety of alleged supernatural activity throughout the building including the spirit of Colonel Driskill himself.
The hotel is located at 604 Brazos Street. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
November 25, 1969.