HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
Texas's first purely-luxury hotel, opened 1909 on Travis Park; known for the 'Lady in Red,' a murder-suicide documented on the fifth floor, and persistent tenth-floor activity reported by housekeeping.
300 E Travis St, San Antonio, TX 78205
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$$
Operating hotel; overnight rates vary by season. Lobby and public areas accessible to non-guests.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Historic downtown hotel with elevators; street-level entrance on Travis St
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1909 · First luxury hotel in Texas (1909) · First hotel in the world with central air-conditioning (reported) · Travis Park downtown anchor
The St. Anthony Hotel opened in 1909 at 300 E Travis St in downtown San Antonio, fronting Travis Park. Its backers — Texas cattle ranchers A. H. Jones, B. L. Naylor, and L. J. Hart — invested approximately $500,000 to build what was then billed as the first purely-luxury hotel in Texas, with private bathrooms, illuminated closets, and bedroom lighting that extinguished when guests closed their doors.
The hotel is widely credited as the first in the world to install central air-conditioning, a technology adopted by owner R. W. Morrison during a 1936 expansion that also added the Anacacho Ballroom. Through the mid-twentieth century the hotel served as the social center of San Antonio, hosting presidents, film stars, and military officers associated with the large installations surrounding the city.
The property changed management and branding multiple times in the late twentieth century. It has operated as the Crowne Plaza St. Anthony under IHG management, and the restored 1909 lobby and public spaces remain largely intact.
Ghost City Tours and local paranormal researchers have documented accounts of two significant incidents on the property: a murder-suicide on the fifth floor, the details of which have not been confirmed in the San Antonio Express-News historical archive but are reported consistently by tour operators as occurring in the early twentieth century; and the 'Lady in Red,' a woman in a crimson gown said to have died on the property after her married lover failed to appear.
Sources
The 'Lady in Red' is the most-repeated figure in St. Anthony Hotel lore. Ghost City Tours and Haunted Rooms describe her as a woman in a crimson gown who was expecting her married lover at the hotel; when he did not arrive, she died at the property — accounts differ on whether this was by her own hand or from grief. Her apparition has been reported by guests on the upper floors, typically described as a woman in a full-length red gown who moves through corridors and disappears when approached.
A separate documented account concerns the fifth floor: tour operators describe a murder-suicide that occurred there, placing the event in the hotel's earlier operational years. The details of this incident have not been confirmed against the San Antonio newspaper of record, and the account should be understood as part of the hotel's accumulated oral history rather than a verified news event.
The tenth floor generates the most consistent staff reports. Housekeeping employees have described doors opening and closing without occupants in the room, items relocated between cleaning cycles, and the sound of movement in rooms they have just serviced and found empty.
KSAT included the St. Anthony in its 2019 roundup of San Antonio haunted locations, and independent paranormal research has documented the three floors — fifth, tenth, and upper suite level — as the primary concentration points for reported activity.
Notable Entities
The St. Anthony operates as the Crowne Plaza St. Anthony in the IHG portfolio. Paranormal reports are concentrated on the fifth and tenth floors. The Lady in Red is associated with the upper floors.
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