San Antonio ยท Alamo Plaza
The Emily Morgan Hotel
A 1924 Gothic Revival medical tower on Alamo Plaza with gargoyles depicting ailments, now on Historic Hotels of America's 2026 most-haunted list.
- Built
- 1924Built 1924 as the 13-story Gothic Revival Medical Arts Building (construction concluded about two years later per HHA); medical offices and hospital until 1976; opened as a hotel in 1984.
- Style
- Gothic Revival
- Architect
- Ralph Cameron
- Type
- Boutique hotel
- Area
- Alamo Plaza
- Credentials
- Inside a National Register historic district; Local landmark; Historic Hotels of America member
The story
Developer Clifton George and architect Ralph Cameron built the Medical Arts Building on Alamo Plaza beginning in 1924, a 13-story Gothic Revival tower with a mansard roof, terra cotta and gargoyles depicting ailments; HHA says it was San Antonio’s tallest building when completed. It housed doctors’ offices and a hospital until 1976, then offices, and opened as a hotel in 1984. It is named for Emily D. West, a 20-year-old Black indentured servant captured by Mexican forces in April 1836, known as ‘Emily Morgan’ after Col. James Morgan, to whom she was indentured.
The ghost story
Per reports HHA attributes to the hotel's management, the seventh, ninth and fourteenth floors, once the psychiatric ward, surgery level and waiting area/morgue, are the most haunted. Guests report a hospital smell, doors opening on their own and apparitions of nurses pushing gurneys.
Source: www.historichotels.org
Good to know
- Breakfast: available
- Parking: on-site paid
- Pets welcome
- Address: 705 E Houston St, San Antonio, TX 78205
Things to do
Ghost tours in San Antonio
Tours are sold by GetYourGuide and run by local operators. If you book one through these links, we may earn a commission at no cost to you. Ratings and prices are GetYourGuide’s.
Sources (3)
Last verified October 2026. Details change; confirm with the inn before you book.