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Overall Goal:

The Palacios Preservation Committee is a group of volunteers that came together at the beginning of November 2022 with the immediate goal of saving the Luther Hotel in Palacios, Texas from demolition because it is not only a local landmark, but has state and national significance.

Situation in Nov. 2022:

The Luther Hotel is in the process of being sold to the Ed Rachal Foundation, with the idea that it will be torn down. The Texas Historical Commission (THC) imposed a 90-day moratorium, but the 90 days will be up on December 19. The public in general was not made aware of the pending demolition until the Preservation Texas Alert dated November 2, 2022. By this time, we were well into the original 90-day moratorium issued by the THC.

https://www.preservationtexas.org/savetheluther/

We the undersigned respectfully request that the demolition moratorium on the Luther Hotel be extended from December 19, 2022, to February 19, 2023. We understand that such a moratorium is imposed when an historic landmark is involved so that the concerned public can have time to exercise due diligence to ascertain whether or not reasonable avenues to save the landmark have been exhausted before resorting to tearing it down. We request that you give us appropriate time to look into this matter and find a way to save the Luther, find a compromise, or understand why it has to be torn down.

Current Situation (as of 12 March 2023): There is in place a temporary restraining order preventing demolition of the hotel through June 2023. However, the fate of the hotel is still uncertain. We continue to gather signatures and comments to show that there are many people who want to keep this landmark standing. It is, after all, its 120th birthday this year.

A Colorful History

The Luther Hotel wasn’t always at its current location, nor was it always named the Luther. The Palacios City Townsite Company hired D.D. Rittenhouse to build the hotel in 1903. It was called Bay View Hotel. In 1905, the hotel was separated and moved to its current location; it was then called Hotel Palacios.

As a seaside retreat, Hotel Palacios provided a wonderful escape for hundreds of guests throughout the years, no doubt enjoying “the longest front porch in Texas.” In 1917, Red Cross ladies used one of the hotel rooms as their work station for making bandages and clothing for the soldiers.

In the late 1930s, Charles and Elsie Mae Luther bought the hotel and remodeled parts of it starting in 1939. In 1941 a motorcourt building was added on the grounds for guests. The main hotel consisted of fifteen rooms and twenty-four apartments. These apartments served as residences for World War II families since Camp Hulen was located nearby. During the 1940s, the hotel hosted a big band, and several notable celebrities including Shirley Temple and Rita Hayworth stayed there while in town entertaining the troops.

By the 1960s, the hotel had survived a fire, as well as several hurricanes, the worst being Hurricane Carla in 1961. In 1965 the Luther Hotel was recognized with a Texas Historical Marker, and in 2010, it was put on the National Register of Historic Places because of its significance.

To read the file submitted for the hotel to be put on the National Register of Historic Places: https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth477577/?q=luther%20hotel%20palacios

What YOU Can Do:

Please sign this petition.

Please share this petition with others.

Join our Facebook Group: Palacios Preservation Association

THANK YOU!