On the
National Register of Historic Places, the Menger Hotel is one of the best-known
and oldest hotels in the state of Texas. Continuing to cater to travelers
today, the hotel is also said to be home to several resident ghosts.
Opened by
William Menger on February 1, 1859, the hotel was constructed on the site of
Menger’s brewery, the first brewery in Texas. Said to have been the finest
hotel west of the Mississippi River, it once hosted such notables as Sam
Houston, Generals Lee and Grant and Presidents McKinley, Taft, Eisenhower, and
Roosevelt; Babe Ruth, and Mae West.
Menger, a
German immigrant, arrived in San Antonio in the early 1840s and operated a brewery at the site
with Charles Phillip Degen. In 1857 he decided to build a hotel to accommodate
the many carousers who frequented his brewery. Soon, he hired local
architect, John M. Fries to design the two-story cut-stone building, which
featured an abundance of classical detail.
The hotel
was so successful that Menger immediately made plans to build an addition
between the hotel and his brewery. Construction on a forty-room annex was begun
in August 1858 and completed the following year. The hotel featured a tunnel
opening of the basement, through which Menger led groups of selected guests on
tours of the adjacent brewery. Menger died at the hotel in March 1871, and his
widow and son took over the management.
When the
Civil War and Reconstruction were over, and especially after the railroad
arrived in 1877, the Menger became the best-known hotel in the Southwest. It
was praised for the cuisine offered in the Colonial Dining Room, which included
such specialties as wild game, mango ice cream, and snapper soup made from
turtles caught in the San Antonio River.
An east wing
was added in December 1881. Hermann Kampmann became manager in 1887 and
supervised the installation of a new bar, a replica of the taproom in the House
of Lords Club in London. The solid cherry bar, cherry-paneled ceiling, French
mirrors, and gold-plated spittoons were the marvels of San Antonio. The beer
was chilled by the Alamo Madre ditch, which passed through the hotel courtyard, mint juleps
were served in solid silver tumblers, and hot rum toddies came to have wide
renown. Theodore Roosevelt first visited the Menger in 1892 on a javelina hunt;
he returned to recruit his Rough Riders at the hotel in 1898, and in 1905 he
was back for a banquet.
In 1909 the
hotel was again enlarged with an addition to the south side. Architect Alfred
Giles altered the main façade, adding Renaissance Revival details
in stuccoed brick, pressed metal, and cast iron; he also designed an
interior rotunda that provided light and served as a circulation hub. The hotel
was a center of San Antonio social affairs and a meeting place for visiting
celebrities. It declined during the Great Depression, but in the mid-1940s the
building was reconditioned, and the more celebrated dining rooms were restored.
By 1951 a new wing had been added, and the building had been completely
modernized. In 1976 the hotel was added to the National Register of Historic
Places as part of the Alamo Plaza Historic District. The Menger was again
renovated in the 1980s.
In addition
to its significance as a historical landmark, the Menger offers unparalleled
amenities that continue to include the famous Colonial Room Restaurant and the
Menger Bar along with 316 guest rooms and suites. Many rooms overlook the
Alamo, pool, or Alamo Plaza, and all retain the furniture, art, and accessories
from the hotel’s earlier days, including four-poster beds, velvet-covered
Victorian sofas, and chairs, marble-topped tables, and period wall coverings.
As to its
resident ghosts, the historic Menger Hotel is said to be called home or visited
regularly by some 32 different entities. Seemingly, they don’t mind sharing the
old hotel with the living, as they pleasantly go about their business.
Menger’s
most famous spiritual guest is former President Teddy Roosevelt. It was here,
in the Menger Bar, that Roosevelt recruited hard-living cowboys fresh from the
Chisholm Trail, to his detachment of Rough Riders. Reportedly, Teddy would sit
at the bar and as the cowboys came in, he would jovially offer them a free
drink (or several) as he worked his recruiting strategy upon the unsuspecting
cowpoke. Many sobered up the next morning to find themselves on their way to
basic military training at Fort Sam Houston before joining in the Spanish
American War. Over the years, Roosevelt has reportedly been seen having a drink
at the dark little barroom off the main lobby.
The most
often sighted spiritual guest is a woman named Sallie White. Long ago, Sallie
was a chambermaid who worked within the hotel, and one night after an argument
with her husband, she stayed overnight. The next day her husband threatened to
kill her and sometime later, on March 28, 1876, he attacked her inside the
hotel. Badly injured, she held on for two days before dying of her injuries. According
to the hotel’s ledgers, it paid for her funeral for $32.00.
Today,
Sallie continues to perform her duties within the Victorian wing of the hotel.
Sallie has been seen numerous times wearing an old long gray skirt and a
bandana around her forehead, the uniform common during her era. Primarily,
appearing at night, Sallie is generally seen walking along the hotel hallways,
carrying a load of clean towels for the guests.
Another
apparition that is often reported is that of Captain Richard King, one-time owner
of one of the largest ranches in the world – The King Ranch. A frequent visitor
to the Menger Hotel during his lifetime, he had a personal suite within the
hotel. When he learned of his impending death from his physicians, Captain
King spent the last months of his life, wrote his will disposing of his great
wealth, and bade farewell to his friends in his suite at the Menger. On
April 15, 1885, King’s funeral was held in the Menger’s parlor. Today, the
room in which he stayed is called the “King Ranch Room.” He is often seen
entering his old room, going right through the wall where the door was once
located before it was remodeled. Display cases and photographs on the
walls of the first-floor lobbies provide a glimpse into the Menger’s colorful
past.
Another
ghostly spirit of a woman is often spotted sitting in the original lobby of the
historic hotel. Wearing an old-fashioned blue dress, small wire-framed glasses,
and a tasseled beret in her hair, she sits quietly knitting. On one occasion a
staff member stopped to ask her, “Are you comfortable…may I get you
something?”, only to be answered with an unfriendly “No” before the woman
disappeared.
Another
guest reported emerging from the shower to see an apparition dressed in a
buckskin jacket and grey pants, who is busy having a heated conversation with
an unseen presence. The entity demands to know; “Are you going to stay or are
you going to go?” three times before vanishing.
Other
entities have been known to “help” in the kitchen area, as various utensils
have floated through the air seemingly all by themselves. Utensils are
often seen transporting themselves from one area to another without the help of
human hands.
Adjacent to
the Alamo, some of these ghostly visitors to the hotel are attributed to the
many that died during the Battle of the Alamo. Often heavy footsteps and kicking are heard and old
military boots are spied by the guests and staff.
Other
spiritual guests are said to have been some of the many who have stayed there
over the years, as well as those who were recruited into the Rough Riders.
Though the number of entities counted at the historic Menger Hotel is high, all
are said to be harmless to staff and visitors, doing nothing more than
sometimes starling a guest or an employee.
The first
choice of San Antonio ghost hunters, the hotel is located downtown, immediately
adjacent to both the Alamo and the Rivercenter Mall.
The
Menger Hotel
204
Alamo Plaza
San
Antonio, Texas
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