Austin, Texas story
The Driskill Hotel Evolution
Imagine stepping off a dusty nineteenth-century street straight into the grandest hotel in the country. Completed in 1886, the original four-story Romanesque Revival building of T…
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Imagine stepping off a dusty nineteenth-century street straight into the grandest hotel in the country. Completed in 1886, the original four-story Romanesque Revival building of The Driskill immediately became an iconic symbol of Texas hospitality. It remains the oldest operating hotel in Austin, standing proud in the heart of downtown.
But look up at the skyline, and you will see how it adapted to the times. In 1930, a soaring thirteen-story annex designed by the architectural firm Trost and Trost opened to the public, masterfully blending old-world stone charm with modern height. Keep walking and look up at those grand arches—you are tracing the very evolution of Austin's skyline.
Updated June 2026