Walk this way. The Luther Hotel in Palacios entered a new era in its 122-year history when preservationist J. P. Bryan purchased the two-story hotel on August 19, 2024 and work began to return it to its glory days. Bryan is noted for restoring the Gage Hotel in Marathon in 1982 and establishing the Bryan Museum in Galveston in 2015. The purchase saved the coastal landmark from demolition and being replaced by an outpost of a national hotel chain. Officials announced recently that they are about 14 months from reopening the hotel with the longest front porch on the Texas Gulf Coast. 

After months of volunteers sorting and removing debris the professionals moved in to begin work on the structure. The interior demolition is largely complete, says Edith Gower, co-chair of the Palacios Preservation Association. She was part of the local volunteer crew that swooped in at the eleventh hour to save the building. The interior walls will be reconfigured to allow for larger rooms, bathrooms, and other amenities including a new restaurant. Work on the foundation and leveling the building has been completed. A new addition to the hotel is an outdoor museum called the Luther Hotel Fence Walk. Signs on the construction fence circling the Luther tell the story of the site from being Abel Head “Shanghai” Pierce’s bull pasture to hosting Rita Hayworth to the community coming together to save “Lady Luther.”

From the Archives

“Day Trips” first appeared in The Austin Chronicle on April 12, 1991. Even before then I had begun amassing a collection of photographs from around Texas that now numbers in the thousands. Occasionally I will highlight a photo that may or may not have previously been published. Hope you enjoy.

On Jan. 15, 2009, the world watched as Capt. Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger landed US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River in New York City after losing both engines to a bird strike shortly after takeoff. For me, the most poignant part of the extraordinary event came in the exchange between Sully and the air traffic controller. 

Sullenberger: “We may end up in the Hudson.”

ATC: “OK, what do you need to land?”

Those two sentences say it all. 

Denison, less than five miles from the crossing at the Red River and 76 miles north of Dallas, is also the birthplace of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The town has published a map to its many murals and pieces of public art.

Travel Notes  

What’s your opinion? Building a new state park from scratch can take years from planning to installing infrastructure and opening the gates to public. In January 2025, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department purchased the 3,118-acre Vann Ranch outside of Lampasas. It will become Post Oak Ridge State Park with vistas across rolling hills, beautiful stands of majestic post oaks, and a view of an otherworldly rock formation across the Colorado River. TPWD is giving the public a chance to weigh in on what they think the park should include at two public meetings. The meetings will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 6-8pm at the LCRA Redbud Center, 3601 Lake Austin Blvd, in Austin; and on Thursday, Jan. 15, 6-8pm at Lampasas County Annex, 409 S. Pecan St. in Lampasas.

Texan culture returns. Built as the Texas Pavilion for the 1968 World’s Fair (HemisFair), the Institute of Texan Cultures became an iconic landmark in downtown San Antonio. The museum showcasing all things Texana was forced to move in 2024 due to construction of a new Spurs basketball stadium. Since then, the ITC has worked on relocating to a temporary site in the Frost Tower at 111 W. Houston. The wait is finally over. The museum will offer free admission on Jan. 29-31 and Feb. 1 for its grand opening weekend. It will begin charging regular admission starting Thursday, Feb. 5. Though the space is much smaller than the previous building, some of the most popular items will be on display such as the Neon Flag, there will be new multimedia projections, touchscreen discovery stations, as well as benches crafted from granite reclaimed from the walkway to the Texas Pavilion entrance during Hemisfair ‘68. 

Lose a cell phone? It’s time once again for the annual draining of the San Antonio River along the River Walk in San Antonio Sunday, Jan. 11, through Monday, Jan. 19. As part of the city’s maintenance program, the main channel from W. Josephine Street to S. Alamo Street will be fully drained as well as the river loop and extension areas. It’s a strange sight to see muck where the river usually flows. Crews typically remove from the channel a mix of everyday trash, scooters, phones, laptops, chairs, Fiesta beads, strollers, large planters, and thousands of invasive apple snails. 

Make a wish on a shooting star. One of the best meteor showers of the year, Quadrantids, happens on Jan. 3-4. The shower’s peak comes between midnight and dawn and averages 25 meteors an hour. The comets appear to radiate from the constellation Boötes, near the Big Dipper, and offer a stunning way to start the year for stargazers with dark skies.  

Other January Events

BIG BEND 

GULF COAST

HILL COUNTRY

PINEY WOODS

PRAIRIES AND LAKES

SOUTH TEXAS

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Gerald McLeod has been traveling around Texas and beyond for his “Day Trips” column for more than 30 years. Keep up to date with his journeys on his archive page and follow him on Facebook.

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