Excelsior Hotel - Jefferson, TX
Posted by: 
JimmyEv
N 32° 45.353 W 094° 20.746
15S E 373934 N 3625025
The Excelsior has been welcoming guests since its construction in 1858. Not much about this hotel has changed since. Famous people who have slept here include Presidents Grant and Hayes, John Jacob Astor, Jay Gould, WE Vanderbilt, and Oscar Wilde.
Waymark Code: WM147T
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 01/09/2007
Views: 23
The Classical Revival Excelsior was constructed in 1858, a wood-frame structure with interior guestrooms, similar to other mid-19th-century roadside inns. A second wing, made of brick, was added in 1872. The hotel had 19 guest rooms, each with wood wainscoting and a fireplace. Consequently, there were 19 chimneys. Only two remain.
A second-floor balcony, supported by cast-iron posts and lined with cast-iron railings, covers the Austin Street facade of the hotel. The ground floor consists of a lobby, ballroom and dining room. A garden courtyard in the rear of the hotel is created by the ‘L’ shape of the building. In Jefferson’s heyday, guests included Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, John Jacob Astor, Jay Gould, W.E. Vanderbilt, and Oscar Wilde. The guests’ signatures are preserved in the old registers kept in the lobby. The hotel has been in continuous operation since opening, with much original furniture.
