In 1881, a member of the board of directors of the Houston and Texas Central (H&TC) railroad, Abram Groesbeek, purchased the former capitol, razed the existing structures, and erected a new, five-story, brick-and-stucco building to function as a new Capitol Hotel. It opened for business the following year. Groesbeek died only a few years later, in 1886. A fellow director of the H&TC then paid the back taxes owed in order to acquire possession of the property and building -- William Marsh Rice.Download Original File
