Rockport's Grand Hotels

Rockport's Grand Hotels (HM10D4)

Location: Rockport, TX 78382 Aransas County
Buy Texas State flags at Flagstore.com!
Country: United States of America
Buy United States of America flags at Flagstore.com!

N 28° 1.305', W 97° 3.06'

  • 0 likes
  • 0 check ins
  • 0 favorites
  • 1207 views
Inscription
Before the arrival of the railroad in 1888, hotels in Rockport generally served clientele of the several local packeries. The Congdon Hotel was the leading hostelry of early Rockport and once served as a boarding home to the prominent Robert Driscoll family in the 1880s.

Rail service changed Rockport from a cattle town to a tourist resort. The Congdon became the Orleans Hotel, and the Bruhl Hotel, located on South Water Street, became the Bay Side Inn. This two-story exclusive hotel was frequented by the San Antonio "social set." Its front entrance boasted a single turret with windows. It was destroyed in the 1919 hurricane.

In 1889, John Traylor built the Aransas Hotel (later renamed as the Del Mar) near the Rockport Harbor. A three-story hotel with one hundred rooms, it was, at its opening, the largest wooden structure in South Texas. Orchestras played nightly in a dining room that seated two hundred people. It also had its own bakery, and its bedroom furniture was made by state prisoner in Huntsville.

The Del Mar survived the 1916 hurricane but was destroyed by fire on March 2, 1919, a few months before the devastating September 1919 hurricane.

In 1900, the three-story La Playa Hotel was built on the Rocky Point south of the Del Mar. It became Rockport's leading hotel until being partially destroyed by the 1919 hurricane. Eleven people, trapped on an upper floor during the storm, all survived. The 1916 and 1919 hurricanes ended Rockport's era of grand hotels.
Details
HM NumberHM10D4
Tags
Marker Number4
Year Placed2011
Placed ByVisionaries in Preservation, Aransas County Historical Society, Inc., Texas Historical Foundation, Texas Tropical Trail, Aransas County Historical Commission, City of Rockport, and Margaret Sue Rust Foundation
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Thursday, October 2nd, 2014 at 2:09pm PDT -07:00
Pictures
Sorry, but we don't have a picture of this historical marker yet. If you have a picture, please share it with us. It's simple to do. 1) Become a member. 2) Adopt this historical marker listing. 3) Upload the picture.
Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)14R E 691612 N 3101143
Decimal Degrees28.02175000, -97.05100000
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 28° 1.305', W 97° 3.06'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds28° 1' 18.30" N, 97° 3' 3.60" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)361
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 314-384 S Austin St, Rockport TX 78382, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

Is this marker missing? Are the coordinates wrong? Do you have additional information that you would like to share with us? If so, check in.

Check Ins  check in   |    all

Have you seen this marker? If so, check in and tell us about it.

Comments 0 comments

Maintenance Issues
  1. Is this marker part of a series?
  2. What historical period does the marker represent?
  3. What historical place does the marker represent?
  4. What type of marker is it?
  5. What class is the marker?
  6. What style is the marker?
  7. This marker needs at least one picture.
  8. Can this marker be seen from the road?
  9. Is the marker in the median?