Austin: Driskill Hotel

Large, four storey building with skyscrapers in background
Large, four storey building with entrances on two sides dated 1888

Driskill Hotel 1888 (Austin History Center)

Five men in suits posing for a photograph

Jesse Driskill’s son Bud (standing, left) with other cattle barons in Dodge City, KS, 1880s. (Kansas State Historical Society)

Lounge area with wood paneled walls, tiled ceiling, leather chairs and sofas

Driskill Hotel bar.

Large room with tall columns and central walkway to to a flight of stairs

Lobby at the Driskill.

Large room with tall columns and central walkway to to a flight of stairs

Lobby at the Driskill today

Much of the Texas cattle industry’s lobbying and deal-making took place near the State Capitol in Austin, not far from a spot where herds of Chisholm Trail cattle crossed the Colorado River. Many a politician would belly up to the ornate bar of the landmark Driskill Hotel and be followed by a cattle baron seeking a law or regulation that would benefit him. Established by prominent Texas cattleman Col. Jesse Driskill in 1886, the hotel today has been beautifully restored and stands as a shrine to the wealth made in cattle in 19th-century Texas.

Driskill Hotel

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