Those Places Thursday: San Antonio's Historic Menger Hotel

The original part of the Menger Hotel, at the corner of Alamo Plaza and Blum in San Antonio.
The lower two stories were built in 1859; the third story was added in 1881.

Just four-plus days left (through July 1, 2014) to get early-bird discount registration fees for #FGS2014, the Federation of Genealogical Societies conference being held in San Antonio, Texas, August 27-30!  If you are still looking for a hotel, and don't mind being a little further from the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, you might want to consider the historic Menger Hotel, next door to the Alamo.

The historical marker pictured at left pretty much tells the story of the hotel.  I took the pictures in this post on April 6, 2013, when I was at the hotel to make a presentation on blogging and family history for the International Society of Educational Biography conference.  I also picked up a self-guided tour brochure at the front desk with some of the other facts presented in the captions to the photos.  What I didn't get to see, but described in the brochure, was a network of tunnels under the building that once held wine cellars, meat lockers, and led to Menger's adjacent brewery.

The Victorian Lobby - the lobby of the 1859-1881 portion of the hotel was remodeled in 1909

The leaded skylight in the Victorian Lobby, added in 1909

The four-story, 125-room 1949/1950 addition to the Menger Hotel (at Alamo Plaza and Crockett) 

Entrance to the 1949/1950 addition (at Alamo Plaza and Crockett) and Main Lobby of the Menger Hotel

The Tropical Garden of the Menger Hotel, as viewed from the Main Lobby side

© Amanda Pape - 2014 - click here to e-mail me.