San Antonio ยท Alamo Plaza
The Menger Hotel
William and Mary Menger's 1859 hotel beside the Alamo, which the hotel says is the oldest continuously operating hotel west of the Mississippi.
- Built
- 1859Built 1858-59 as a hotel by William and Mary Menger beside their brewery (foundations laid June 18, 1858; opened January 31, 1859 per HHA, February 1, 1859 elsewhere on HHA). Additions in 1859, 1881 (Kampmann), 1909 (Alfred Giles) and a 1949 four-story, 125-room wing.
- Architect
- John M. Fries (1859); later work by Alfred Giles (1909)
- Type
- Grand hotel
- Rooms
- 316
- Area
- Alamo Plaza
- Credentials
- Inside a National Register historic district; Local landmark; Historic Hotels of America member
The story
William and Mary Menger opened the two-story, 50-room hotel beside their brewery, steps from the Alamo, and a 40-room annex was finished the same year. During the Civil War regular guest operations were suspended and the dining room served military personnel. Mary Menger sold the hotel in 1881 to John Hermann Kampmann and Jacob Waelder, and Alfred Giles remodeled it in 1909. Theodore Roosevelt recruited Rough Riders here in 1898, and the THC marker notes guests included presidents, generals and performers.
The ghost story
Guests and staff report sightings of Sallie White, a chambermaid killed by her husband whose funeral the hotel paid for, in the halls of the historic section. Lore also attaches spirits to Theodore Roosevelt and to King Ranch founder Capt. Richard King, who died in his suite in 1885.
Source: www.historichotels.org
Good to know
- Parking: on-site paid
- No pets
- Address: 204 Alamo Plaza, San Antonio, TX 78205
Things to do
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Sources (3)
Last verified October 2026. Details change; confirm with the inn before you book.