Built in 1927 as Conrad Hilton's second-ever hotel, this 10-story Abilene landmark operated as the city's flagship lodging for decades and is now apartments where witnesses report a disembodied voice on the elevator asking for help.
401 Pine St, Abilene, TX 79601
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Residential apartment building; public access limited to exterior and lobby during business hours.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Downtown high-rise with elevator; flat sidewalk approach
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1927 · Second Hilton-branded hotel, 1927 · Downtown Abilene historic landmark · Tallest building in Abilene for decades
In 1926 a consortium of Abilene businesspeople organized as the Abilene Hotel Company and raised more than $350,000 in stock subscriptions to build a first-class downtown hotel. They recruited Conrad Hilton to operate it; at the time Hilton had opened his first hotel in Dallas in 1925 and was actively expanding in Texas. The resulting building at 401 Pine Street was completed and opened in 1927 — a 10-story, 260-room structure that became only the second hotel to carry the Hilton name.
For years, local tradition held that the Abilene hotel was the first Hilton, but the Dallas property (1925) is the documented first. The Abilene building retained visible Hilton signage on the exposed brick of the unfinished penthouse. The Abilene Hotel Company invited Hilton as operator but retained ownership, and when Hilton's lease ended in 1945, the property was renamed the Windsor — a name already familiar in Abilene, where an earlier Windsor Hotel had stood two blocks away from 1890 to 1927.
The Windsor operated as a hotel through mid-century as the tallest building in Abilene for many years. KEAN Radio's Abilene history noted that its broadcast studio occupied the 11th-floor penthouse for a period before relocating. The building was sold and converted to apartments; the National Development Council purchased and renovated it in 1992, creating 80 residential units ranging from efficiencies to two-bedroom apartments. The grand ballroom remains in the building and has hosted events including weddings. The property now operates as The Windsor Apartment Homes.
Sources
The Windsor's paranormal reputation centers on a specific account tied to the building's former use by KEAN Radio, which broadcast from the penthouse before relocating. A staff member working alone during late-night shifts described riding the elevators and hearing a polite, disembodied male voice say 'Pardon me, can you help me?' The voice was heard on multiple occasions; the elevator was empty each time the doors opened. The account appears in KEAN Radio's own coverage of Abilene's haunted landmarks and is presented as a first-person experience rather than secondhand folklore.
Local tradition also identifies the second and third floors as especially active, with reports of figures in period dress and unexplained temperature drops in the corridors. These accounts are less specific than the elevator voice report and appear in regional paranormal roundups without named witnesses.
The building's ballroom remains intact on an interior floor and is still used for events; no specific paranormal accounts are attached to the ballroom itself, which distinguishes it from comparable mid-century hotel hauntings where ballroom activity is a standard motif.
The former Windsor Hotel stands 10 stories at 401 Pine Street in downtown Abilene, two blocks from where the original 1890 Windsor Hotel stood. The building retains partial 'Hilton' signage on exposed brick in the unfinished penthouse. It is documented in the downtown Abilene historic walking tour as the city's second hotel to bear the Hilton name.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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Lubbock, TX
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Abilene, TX
H.O. Wooten, an Abilene wholesale grocer who had been in business since 1898, financed the 17-story Hotel Wooten in cash during the Great Depression — construction began May 1929 and the building opened June 6, 1930 with a celebration of more than 2,000 guests. At 208 feet it was the tallest building between Fort Worth and El Paso and held that distinction until 1984. Designed by Abilene architect David S. Castle in Art Deco/Gothic style, the hotel closed in 1960, reopened as Abilene Towers Apartments in 1963, and was fully restored in 2005. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark.