HistoricSiteMarkers
Early RepublicCivil War

Casino Club

San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas

Marker Inscription

Property of Casino Association, organized 1853 among cultured German settlers. Club house and opera building, erected 1858, had a theatre; a hall seating 700; banquet rooms; club rooms. Setting during Civil War for military balls, entertainments, suppers; tableaux, concerts and minstrel shows to benefit the Confederate cause; and meetings of ladies to roll bandages. The owners obtained the best artists of the day to perform here. In the 1850s one noted guest was Col. Robt. E. Lee. Later audiences included Gen. U.S. Grant and Buffalo Bill. (1965)

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

Organized in 1853 by San Antonio's cultured German immigrants, the Casino Association built an 1858 clubhouse with a theatre, a 700-seat hall, and banquet and club rooms. During the Civil War its stage hosted military balls, benefit concerts, and minstrel shows for the Confederate cause, while women gathered there to roll bandages. Over the decades its audiences included Robert E. Lee before the war and, later, Ulysses S. Grant and Buffalo Bill.

Why it matters

The Casino Club shows how German immigrants planted European high culture on the Texas frontier, creating a social hub that drew the era's most famous Americans through its doors.

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Related people

  • · Robert E. Lee
  • · Ulysses S. Grant
  • · Buffalo Bill

Themes & tags

Civil WarImmigrationLandmark

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