 In the ivoried pages of the century-old register are names now legendary: General Sam Houston, Ulysses S. Grant, Clara Barton, Edwin Booth, Anna Pavlova, Buffalo Bill. From the earliest days of the original Tremont House, built in 1839, the hotel's fortunate Galveston location and its undeniable cachet attracted a fascinating array of visitors from Texas, America and the World. Elegant Victorian ladies and gentlemen came to dance at grand balls; soldiers from three wars returned to homecoming banquets; Sam Houston delivered his last public speech; cotton merchants negotiated deals; Sioux chiefs sampled Southern meals; six Presidents came to call, and refugees of the storm of 1900 sought shelter all within the sturdy walls of The Tremont.
Twice the hotel has been reborn. First, in 1872, following a raging fire that had swept through the Strand district in 1865 and once again, in 1985, forty-five years after the doors of the last Tremont were closed.
The new Tremont House, situated just half a block from its predecessor, is heir to a complement of history, which no other hostelry can match.
The original Tremont House, a sturdy, square two-story brick building, opened in 1839 on the corner of Post Office and Tremont streets, and for years after was the largest and finest hotel in the Republic of Texas. Early guests ranged from Sam Houston and Texas President, Anson Jones, to foreign Ministers from France and England. During the Civil War, Confederate soldiers, then Union troops were quartered in the hotel. Finally, on June 20, 1865, the original Tremont House was destroyed by a great fire that raged in the Strand District for days and razed entire city blocks.
For more than five years, the old landmark lay in ruins. Then several of Galveston's prominent businessmen organized a company to build a new Tremont on the ashes of the old.
The grand new Tremont, a magnificent, four-story hotel whose grandeur rivaled all others in the South, was the first Galveston project for architect Nicolas Clayton, who went on to design many of the city's most distinguished and beautiful buildings. The second Tremont House opened in 1872, and for years attracted dignitaries from around the world. Then, following the disastrous hurricane of 1900 and the subsequent demise of Galveston's economy, the once-grand hotel fell into ruin and was demolished in 1928.
The new Tremont House occupies the 1879 Leon & H. Blum Building, an architecturally lavish landmark that once housed the South's premier wholesale dry goods concern. Styled to recreate the atmosphere of its 19th century namesake, the Tremont House beckons you to linger...and savor the history of a century gone by.
The Tremont House is managed by Wyndham International as a Wyndham Historic Hotel. As the newest addition to the Wyndham Hotel Group, Wyndham Historic Hotels are distinguished by their unique combination of historical and architectural ambiance with modern services and amenities. Other Wyndham Historic Hotels include: The Galvez in Galveston, TX;The Tutwiler in Birmingham, AL; Union Station in Nashville, TN; and the The Mayfair in St. Louis, MO.
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