Hilton Hotel

About this property

The Cactus Hotel, previously known as the Hilton Hotel, is a historic hotel in downtown San Angelo, Texas. The hotel was built in 1929 and added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 20, 1984. The hotel stands at 36 E. Twohig, on the northwest corner of Twohig and Oakes, in downtown San Angelo, Texas. In 1919, entrepreneur Conrad Hilton established a hotel chain that he began rapidly expanding across Texas in the 1920s. He constructed the Dallas Hilton in 1924–25, then identified several West Texas cities, including San Angelo, in which to open hotels. The construction of the Dallas Hilton had exceeded Hilton's budget, however, and he sought partnerships to limit future expenses in the construction of future hotels. On March 5, 1928, the West Texas Lumber Company (WTLC) accounted that it had signed a 15-year lease with Hilton to build a hotel on the site of its offices. The WTLC began to move out of its offices to a new location in San Angelo, and delayed the start of construction of the San Angelo Hilton until the completion of their new office. Dallas-based architect Anton F. Korn was selected to design the hotel; his plans were made public on April 22, 1928. A test pit was dug at the site on April 5, to ascertain the quality of the hotel's future foundations. The construction and furnishing of the San Angelo Hilton was expected to cost $750,000 (equivalent to $14,062,500 in 2025). To construct the hotel, Belvedere B. Hail, the president of the WTLC, formed the B. B. Hail Building Corporation (B. B. Hail) on June 19, 1928. The WTLC announced on June 5 that bids for contracts would open on June 20, for which contractors from six states began arriving by June 6. B. B. Hail received its charter on June 20 and began to hear bids. Robert E. McKee was awarded the general construction contract, the A. T. Cheaney Plumbing and Heating Company was awarded the contract for plumbing, heating, and ventilation, the Sun Electric Company was contracted to supply the hotel's wiring, and the Otis Elevator Company would supply its elevators. Theodore Montgomery was awarded the contract to demolish the WTLC's offices and began work on the site on July 6. Excavations for the basement of the hotel began on July 23, 1928, and was largely completed by August 30. The excavation produced 8,000 cubic yards (6,100 m3) of spoil that was disposed of by creating an athletic field at a nearby campground. After bedrock was reached digging continued with explosives, which resulted in rocks striking the O. C. Fisher Federal Building across the street. Construction had begun by September 16, when the San Angelo Standard-Times reported that the concrete pours for the hotel's first floor were almost complete. Pours for the uppermost portions of the hotel began on January 1, 1929, as did the erection of a steel frame for the roof and bricklaying, both completed on February 3. Interior work was mostly completed by April 14.

Location

Categories

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

More in Tom Green County

Historic places, battles, and census history across Tom Green County.

More historic places in Texas

Browse all historic places in Texas.

Conflict records

Explore 19,000+ military engagements across American history.

Texas history

Colonial settlement, territorial period, and statehood narrative.