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Fun facts we learned on the Driskill hotel’s history tour

The door of the vault in the Driskill lobby, which reads "American National Bank"

Check out this 1890s-era solid steel vault in the the Driskill hotel lobby, a relic from when the hotel hosted the American National Bank. | Photo by ATXtoday

Quick, name a historic building in Austin.

Did the Driskill Hotel come to mind? No surprises there, as it’s been a landmark in Austin since 1886, making it the oldest operating hotel in the city.

The hotel recently opened its guided history tour to the public, so we took a trip downtown to learn more about the 137-year-old institution.

An old, black-and-white photo of the Driskill hotel, with old cars out front. — The Driskill has been a fixture in Downtown Austin since 1886.
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Photo provided by The Driskill

Origin story

Colonel Jesse Lincoln Driskill, a cattle rancher, opened the hotel on December 20, 1886. At the time, Austin was the westernmost city in Texas. When it was first built, the hotel held 60 rooms and cost $400,000 (or $92 million in today’s money).

The Driskill was completed before the state Capitol was, and quickly became a political hub of sorts, hosting inaugural balls for the following Texas governors:

Sul Ross (less than two weeks after the hotel opened)
William P. Hobby
Miriam Ferguson
Dan Moody
John Connally
Ann Richards

Colonel Driskill only owned the hotel for ~2 years before selling it. It passed hands over the years, and even appeared to be doomed for demolition in 1969 — that is, until the Austin Heritage Society (now Preservation Austin) helped save the hotel by raising $700,000.

An old, black-and-white photo of people — including President Lyndon B. Johnson — watching a TV in the Driskill's Hogg Parlor. — President Lyndon B. Johnson watched the results of his successful reelection campaign in the Driskill’s Hogg Parlor.
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Photo provided by The Driskill

More fun facts

Former President Lyndon Baines Johnson had a secret passage from his favorite suite to the Hogg Parlor, where he watched the results of his successful 1964 presidential election.
The portrait of Colonel Driskill in the lobby has two cleverly restored bullet holes from a duel that took place in the early 1900s.
The eight golden and diamond-dusted mirrors in the Maximilian Room on the second floor were bought as a wedding present for former Mexican empress Carlotta Maximilian, before her husband Ferdinand was executed by Benito Juarez’s regime.

Driskill history tours run daily, starting at 4 p.m. Book yours for $10 here.

Asked

What other historic Austin buildings do you want to learn about?

Click the button below to send us suggestions for our next history deep-dive.

Let us know

Events

Tuesday, May 2

Morning Glories | Tuesday, May 2 | 10-11 a.m. | Moody Amphitheater, 1401 Trinity St., Austin | Free | This early childhood education series promotes literacy and cultural learning.

Wednesday, May 3

Tom Jones | Wednesday, May 3 | 8 p.m. | ACL Live, 310 W. Willie Nelson Blvd., Austin | $79-$89 | The award-winning musician will select from 50 years of hits on his “Ages & Stages” tour.
Taste of Mexico 2023 | Wednesday, May 3 | Mexic-Arte Museum, 419 Congress Ave., Austin | $70-92 | Sample bites from 50+ local food trucks, restaurants, and beverage vendors.

Thursday, May 4

Kalu & The Electric Joint | Thursday, May 4 | 8 p.m. | The Paramount Theatre, 713 Congress Ave., Austin | $20-$25 | Catch Kalu James’ Nigerian roots with Afrobeat flourishes as well as the sounds of his new home in Austin.

Friday, May 5

Spring Native Plant Sale | Friday, May 5-Sunday, May 7 | 9 a.m.-1 p.m. | Wildflower Center, 4801 La Crosse Ave., Austin | Free with admission | Stock up on native flowers, vines, and trees for your garden.
Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival World Tour | Friday, May 5 | 7 p.m. | The Paramount Theatre, 713 Congress Ave., Austin | $26 | This lineup of outdoor adventure films is sure to get your heart pumping.

Saturday, May 6

Blue Genie Art Bazaar’s May Market | Saturday, May 6-Sunday, May 28 | 10 a.m.-8 p.m. | Blue Genie Art Bazaar, 6100 Airport Blvd., Austin | Free | Find locally made gifts, drinks, snacks, and artisan-made objects at the third annual edition of this market.

Events calendar here

Click here to have your event featured.

News Notes

Development

The Frank Erwin Center will be demolished by the end of 2024. The UT System’s Board of Regents will meet this week to discuss the potential $25 million demolition of the landmark events center, which will make way for more Dell Medical School properties. (KXAN)
Irene’s and Taquero Mucho could soon be replaced with a new 48-story residential building downtown. The project at 506 and 508 West Ave. is still in early stages, but the city’s Planning Commission did vote in favor of rezoning on the site last week. (Austin Monitor)

Biz

Han’s Laser, a company that supplies technology for Samsung and Tesla, may build a factory on 262 acres in Manor. The project would start with a 400,000-sqft building, but the development could eventually total 1.6 million sqft. (Austin American-Statesman)

Number

169,637. That’s how many tons of debris Austin Resource Recovery has collected since Winter Storm Mara after completing its final round of pickups last week. For context, that’s roughly 28 times as much as the agency collects in a year, and could fill Q2 Stadium more than four times.

Civic

Williamson County has entered into a mutual cooperation agreement with the Korea-Trade Investment Promotion Agency. What does that mean? Essentially, the county will provide South Korean companies with resources and information in hopes of bringing business to WilCo. (KUT)

Sports

The Texas Smoke, Austin’s newest pro sports team, will play at Concordia University’s Roberts Family Field. The pro women’s fastpitch team will kick off its inaugural season on Thursday, June 15.

Plan Ahead

Aerosmith’s farewell tour will stop in the Moody Center this fall. Prepare to see the iconic rock band — and special guests The Black Crowes — for their “PEACE OUT” tour on Monday, Oct. 23. Tickets go on sale this Friday, May 5 at 10 a.m.

Holiday

How to win Mother’s Day? Send the mother figure in your life iconic meals and desserts from across the country with Goldbelly. Think: Ina Garten’s coconut cake, a New York bagel brunch kit, and a chef’s steak dinner for four. Yup, it’s all on Goldbelly.

Watch

A taco you can’t refuse

Austin’s “Taco Mafia” highlighted in new docuseries

A portrait of Edgar Rico and Sara Mardanbigi from Nixta Taqueria.

Nixta Taqueria’s Edgar Rico and Sara Mardanbigi are founding members of the “Taco Mafia.” | Photo provided by Austin PBS

Austin PBS announced a new series documenting the work of Austin’s own “Taco Mafia,” a group of local chefs including:

Edgar Rico and Sara Mardanbigi from Nixta Taqueria
Anthony Pratto and Xose Velasoco from Discada
Luis “Beto” Robledo from Cuantos Tacos
Gerardo “Jerry” Guerrero from La Tunita 512

The four-episode series, which premieres this fall, highlights the Taco Mafia’s mission to support local chefs and the community.

This isn’t the first time this talented group of chefs have been featured on the big screen. The Netflix series “Somebody Feed Phil,” also highlighted The Taco Mafia during its Austin episode.

Watch the trailer for the new show, and let us know — where do you get the best tacos in Austin?

Answered

The hardest question on our April news quiz

A gif of a person holding an enormous piece of newspaper, which keeps tangling and nearly flying away — Start brushing up on the headlines now to ace our May news quiz later this month.
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Gif via Giphy

Last week, we quizzed you on the top headlines of April, and y’all have really been paying attention.

Unfortunately, we don’t know the names of our six top scorers — who each scored 9 out of 10 — but we can tell you which question stumped the most people. Just 37% of test-takers got this question right:

Q: What type of business is the Graduate Austin, a new, 18-story structure headed to the corner of Guadalupe and West 18th streets?
A: Hotel

Think you can do better? Click the button below to take the quiz.

Test your knowledge

The Wrap

Today’s edition by:
London

From the editor

I’m back after four grueling days of moving, and now I have no idea what to do with all of the cardboard boxes I have leftover. Before I recycle them, do any of y’all have some creative uses for cardboard that I should try out?

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