HistoricSiteMarkers
Reconstruction & Gilded Age

Menger Hotel

San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas

Marker Inscription

William A. (1827-1871) and Mary Menger, both born in Germany, opened a boarding house and brewery at this site in 1855, when most local buinesses were still clustered around Main Plaza and Military Plaza. The popularity of the boarding house led Menger to replace it with a two-story stone hotel erected at the corner of Blum and Alamo Plaza in 1859. Mary Menger sold the Hotel in 1881 to J.H. Kampmann, the builder of the first portion of the structure. Famed for its excellent meals and beautiful patio garden, the Menger was San Antonion's most prominent hotel in the 19th century. It attracted many well-known visitors and was periodically enlarged and remodeled to accommodate more guests. Cattlemen such as Richard King stayed here during the era of the great cattle drives. Other guests included Generals U.S. Grant, Robert E. Lee, and John Pershing; poet Sidney Lanier, writer O. Henry (William Sidney Porter); and performers at the Grand Opera House located across the plaza. Theodore Roosevelt recruited his regiment of "Rough Riders" for the Sapnish-American War at the Menger in 1898. Purchased in 1943 by W.L. Moody, Jr., the hotel was further expanded in 1966-67 to cover the entire block. (1976)

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

German-born William and Mary Menger opened a boarding house and brewery here in 1855, replacing it in 1859 with a stone hotel on Alamo Plaza that became San Antonio's finest. Cattlemen like Richard King lodged here during the great cattle drives, and guests ranged from Generals Grant, Lee, and Pershing to writers O. Henry and Sidney Lanier. In 1898 Theodore Roosevelt recruited his Rough Riders at the Menger for the Spanish-American War.

Why it matters

For more than a century the Menger sat at the crossroads of Texas—cattle empire, literary fame, and the launch of Roosevelt's Rough Riders—beside the Alamo itself.

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Related people

  • · William A. Menger
  • · Mary Menger
  • · Theodore Roosevelt
  • · Richard King
  • · O. Henry

Related events

  • · Recruitment of the Rough Riders, 1898

Themes & tags

Westward ExpansionSpanish-American WarLandmark

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