A 1986 tower on the site of Texas's second president's home; hotel lore holds that 'Jack,' a traveling salesman who died in the building in the 1980s, never fully checked out.
700 San Jacinto Blvd, Austin, TX 78701
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$$
Operating hotel; room rates vary. Lobby accessible to non-guests.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Modern high-rise hotel with full elevator access and accessible public spaces.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1986 · Site associated with Mirabeau B. Lamar, 2nd President of the Republic of Texas · 1986 downtown Austin high-rise hotel
The Omni Austin Hotel Downtown opened in 1986 at 700 San Jacinto Boulevard, steps from the Texas State Capitol. Wikipedia's entry on the property confirms the hotel's opening year and its operation originally as a Radisson before transitioning to the Omni brand.
The site carries historical significance predating the tower. Austin Ghosts documentation notes that the block was associated with Mirabeau B. Lamar, the second President of the Republic of Texas (1838–1841) and the founder of the Texas public education system. Lamar's home stood in this part of early Austin before the capital city's rapid nineteenth-century development absorbed the original land. The current tower bears no architectural relationship to the Lamar-era structure.
The 1986 construction represented the hotel's modern form — a high-rise commercial tower positioned to serve the state government and convention trade that drives downtown Austin's hospitality market. The building has operated continuously as a full-service hotel through several brand affiliations, with Omni as its current operator.
Downtown Austin Alliance's coverage of haunted downtown Austin locations includes the Omni in its survey of sites with documented paranormal reputations, connecting the hotel's present-day reports to both its historical site significance and its more recent in-building lore.
Sources
The Omni Austin Hotel Downtown's primary paranormal figure is known only as 'Jack' — identified in Austin ghost tour documentation and Austin Ghosts reporting as a traveling salesman who died at the hotel in the 1980s. The account holds that Jack jumped from his balcony after a visit during which he failed to close his sales; night staff are reported to have heard unusual sounds from his former room in the years following.
Austin Ghosts provides the most detailed available account, noting that staff have reported hearing what sounds like a person moving through the room and that guests in particular upper-floor rooms have described the sensation of an invisible presence watching them from the balcony area. Downtown Austin Alliance's feature on haunted downtown locations includes the Omni among active paranormal sites without independently verifying the underlying incident.
The Austin Ghosts source acknowledges that the specific circumstances of Jack's death — the exact room, the date, and the manner — have not been confirmed against contemporaneous news records. The story circulates primarily through hotel ghost lore channels and Austin tourism content rather than through a documented historical account. It functions as an in-building legend on top of the site's historically significant ground.
Notable Entities
Night staff and guests have concentrated reports of unexplained sounds and an invisible presence in the room associated with 'Jack,' a traveling salesman reported to have died at the hotel in the 1980s. Upper-floor rooms are the focus of most reported activity.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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