The Driskill

Why go

Look above the entrances for carved portraits of Jesse Driskill and his sons, a personal signature on a building intended to advertise prosperity. The hotel also carries political and social associations, including Lyndon and Lady Bird Johnson, adding context to a street more often approached through its entertainment venues.

What to look for

• Limestone busts depict Jesse Driskill and his sons Bud and Tobe.
• Arched entrances and a Romanesque facade distinguish the 1886 hotel.

The full story

Jesse Driskill used wealth from cattle to finance an ambitious hotel at Sixth and Brazos. His business had included supplying beef to the Confederate Army during the Civil War. He bought the site in 1884 and hired Jasper N. Preston & Son to design the building, which opened in December 1886. The portraits of Driskill and his sons on the exterior made the family's role visible in stone. The original hotel paired architectural display with technologies intended to suggest comfort: steam heating, gas lighting and an electric bell system. Thick walls and layers of iron between floors addressed the fire risks associated with those gas pipes. An open central rotunda was designed to encourage airflow. These details place the hotel within the practical ambitions of its era, when a grand building had to communicate both prestige and modern convenience. Its subsequent political and social role grew from that original statement of confidence.

Useful to know

• Include the facade in a walk along historic East Sixth Street.
• Ask the hotel about any intended interior visit before planning around its public rooms.

Your next visit

Estimated · Declared scenario and planning estimates; no live opening, weather, queue or booking service.