The Driskill

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In 1886, a wealthy cattle baron named Colonel Jesse Driskill decided Austin deserved a luxury hotel that could rival any in the nation. He spent his fortune constructing a Romanesque-style masterpiece that he proudly called the finest hotel south of St. Louis.

Designed by local architects J. N. Preston and Son, the building immediately became an architectural icon of Texas hospitality.

When you look at its grand stone arches and intricate brickwork, you are looking at the oldest operating hotel in Austin. It has been a social hub for generations, housing one hundred eighty-nine individually styled guestrooms and the legendary Driskill Bar. The hotel's historic charm was officially recognized on November 25, 1969, when it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Though its famous dining room, the Driskill Grill, was reimagined in 2026 as a classic American steakhouse, the building itself remains an unaltered monument to late-nineteenth-century ambition. It stands proudly on Sixth Street, welcoming travelers today just as it did when the first carriage pulled up over a century ago.

Updated June 2026