‘Tique of the Week is an Austin-wide search for unique and interesting antiques. With dozens of antique shops around Austin, one-of-a-kind items from the past are not in short supply. Each week we’ll find a new favorite item and feature it as our “‘Tique of the Week.”

This week’s search for the old and historic took us to one of Austin’s most celebrated downtown buildings, The Driskill Hotel on Sixth Street.

Built in 1886, the hotel was founded by Colonel Jesse Driskill, a cattle baron turned businessman. Once completed, The Driskill was proclaimed to be “one of the finest hotels in the whole country” by the Daily Statesman.

Soon after its opening, The Driskill held an inaugural ball for Gov. Sul Ross, a tradition that has been upheld by many Texas governors since.

However, the hotel’s success was fleeting, and The Driskill closed five months later in May 1887. It was reopened in October of that same year but was later sold to Driskill’s brother-in-law due to financial complications.

Since then, the hotel has been bought and sold more than 10 times to various companies and businessmen and has undergone extensive renovations and reopenings to avoid bankruptcy.

After renovations were announced in 1969, the hotel closed for construction and almost never reopened. After the plans fell through due to lack of financial resources, a story in the Austin-American Statesman announced, “Driskill Hotel’s Fate Sealed.”

Upon hearing about this, Austin citizens quickly gathered and petitioned to declare The Driskill Hotel a historic landmark, and the building was entered into the National Register of Historic Places in November of 1969.

During The Driskill’s 125 years, the hotel has been a favorite to many Texas politicians, including President Lyndon B. Johnson. According to the Driskill, LBJ met his future wife Claudia Taylor, better known as Lady Bird, for their first date in the hotel’s dining room.

The Driskill later became campaign headquarters for Johnson’s political career. He stayed in the presidential suite as he awaited election results for the 1960 and the 1964 elections.

Even after a long struggle with finances and renovations, The Driskill remains one of the country’s most unique hotels and one of Austin’s most historic structures, making it our ‘Tique of the Week.