Sheraton Gunter Hotel

The Sheraton Gunter Hotel was built in 1909 and has remained an important landmark in downtown San Antonio. It is known for its fine architecture, its contributions to the local economy, and its connection to music history. In terms of architecture, the hotel is a good example of early 20th century construction. It was built using modern building techniques and materials (steel and reinforced concrete), and offered amenities including elevators, heating, electricity, and later, air conditioning. The Gunter was also a popular place to stay for businessmen, particularly cattle ranchers. Numerous conventions, including state political conventions, were held here as well. However, the Gunter is perhaps best known for its place in music history. Over a few days in November 1936, Blues legend Robert Johnson (1911-1938) recorded many songs in a two-room studio operated by Brunswick Records. This recording session was one of only two he performed in (the other was in Dallas the next year). His music was largely unknown until the 1960s and became highly influential, inspiring numerous rising musicians of the time including Eric Clapton and the Rolling Stones.

The Gunter is located on Houston Street, which had been known as "Paseo" (Spanish for passageway or driveway) from the 1700s until 1851 when it was renamed after U.S. Senator (and future governor) Sam Houston. At that time, the street was was largely undeveloped. Brothers John and William Vance built the first structure, a two-story building on the hotel property in 1855 and leased it to the U.S. Army. Future Confederate Army generals Robert E. Lee and Albert Sidney Johnston were stationed here some time before the Civil War. During the war, Confederate forces occupied the building. Few other buildings were constructed on the street for many years but in 1872, the Vance brothers leased the building to a hotel operator named William G. Tobin, who named it the Vance House. It operated until 1879.

The arrival of the railroad to San Antonio in 1877 helped transform city. The influx of visitors, businessmen and new residents spurred development of Houston Street in the late 1870s and 1880s. This included new, more sophisticated hotels that began to be built east of the San Antonio River. In 1886, a pair of new hotel operators, L.A. Trexler and Ludwig Mahncke, acquired the Vance House and renovated it. They renamed it Mahncke Hotel and advertised it to businessmen. It closed in 1907.

That year, real estate developer Lawrence J. Hart, who had appears to have come to San Antonio in the early 1890s, formed the San Antonio Hotel Company to build what would be named the Gunter Hotel. During the first decade or so, he mostly focused on residential development but transitioned to commercial properties in the early 1900s. One of the investors of the company was wealthy lawyer, rancher and cattleman Jot Gunter. He died died just three weeks before the company hired the architecture firm to design the hotel. The company decided to name the hotel in his honor.

When it opened on November 20, 1909, the hotel was eight-stories tall and had 350 guest rooms. It is believed to be one of the two oldest, multi-story steel frame buildings in the downtown area. The floods of 1913 and 1921 damaged the hotel but it survived both disasters. In 1924, the company sold it to the Baker Hotel Company, which built three stories in 1926, adding 200 guest rooms. The lobby was also redesigned and enlarged.

The Gunter was a popular meeting and gathering place for several decades. As noted above, it was the site of many political and commercial conventions. Many organizations owned offices here as well including the Lions Club of San Antonio and the Texas Automobile Dealers Association. The United Services Automobile Association (originally called United States Army Automobile Association) was established here in 1922; the USAA grew to be one of the largest insurance companies in the country. Cattlemen found the hotel particularly enjoyable and many considered it a "home away from home." Prominent politicians and celebrities stayed at the Gunter too, including President Harry Truman, Roy Rogers, John Wayne, Nancy Reagan, and Lady Bird Johnson. The hotel was also known for its Japanese rooftop garden, which was the site of many dinner dances during the summer.

Robert Johnson was born in 1911 close to Hazelhurst, Mississippi. By his teenage years he was playing a second-hand guitar and in his early twenties began to perform around southern Mississippi. He traveled around the country in the 1930s and became known for playing a wide range of popular music. He wrote his own songs as well. In 1936, an agent for the American Record Company, a subsidiary of Brunswick Records, recommended Johnson who was invited to record in November that year (Brunswick opened the studio in Gunter Hotel in 1932). Between November 23-27, Johnson recorded several songs, eleven of which were released on 78 rpm records. One of them is the popular song "Sweet Home Chicago." Johnson was likely only paid $200 and never received royalties. He continued to travel and perform but was allegedly poisoned to death on August 17, 1938 by a jealous husband in Greenwood, Mississippi. The location of his burial site is disputed; it is either in Quito or Morgan City, Mississippi.

Pfeiffer, Maria Watson. "Gunter Hotel." National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. January 9, 2007. https://atlas.thc.texas.gov/NR/pdfs/06001233/06001233.pdf.