On February 22, 1967, the Treaty Oak Chapter placed a plaque at the restored Old Depot Hotel in Austin. Built in 1871-1872 by Carl Schaeffer on land owned in 1861-1862 by Abner Cook, the famous early architect and master builder of Austin, the Old Depot Hotel is a rambling stone structure located on East Fifth Street, earlier called Pine Street, between Red River and Neches. The area was part of the original city, dating from a land patent granted to A. Baldinger on October 12, 1840, by the Republic of Texas.

 

Purchased in 1964 by Mr. and Mrs. Glenn Moore Tooke, Jr., the property had changed hands very few times, and only one of its owners had used it as a residence. The structure consists of a large two-story building with an adjoining one-story, two-room wing. On three sides the building surrounds a courtyard, from which an original curved stairway leads to a second-floor balcony.

 

During the 1870’s, the building served a real need. It was variously called the “Railroad House,” “Depot Hotel,” “Schaeffer’s Boarding House,” and later “St. Louis House.” The passenger depot of the Houston and Texas Central Railroad was located a block away between Trinity and San Jacinto Streets.

 

Since completion of the restoration, the historic building has housed a fine Mexican restaurant “Mi Casa es Su Casa,” operated by the Tookes and noted for the unique buffet it features.

 

Mrs. John Frank Springfield served as chairman of the marking project, which was completed during the term of Mrs. Julius Frederick Kramer as  regent of Treaty Oak Chapter.

22 Feb 1967—Old  Depot  Hotel

504 East Fifth Street, Austin, Travis County, Texas

Treaty Oak Chapter

Currently known as Carmelo’s Italian Restaurant

1967

Today....

Historical Markers by Texas Chapters