Hotel Gibbs

San Antonio's first high-rise building, the Gibbs Building sits on what is considered the bloodiest area of the Battle of the Alamo. During construction, workers uncovered two cannons used during the famous 1836 battle, and as soon as the artifacts were removed to museums across the city, the hauntings began.

Hotel Gibbs occupies San Antonio's first high-rise building, an eight-story white-glazed brick tower constructed in 1909 at the northwest corner of the Alamo compound—ground so saturated with blood from the 1836 battle that the violence seems to have seeped into the very foundation. During construction, workers unearthed two cannons from the Battle of the Alamo, artifacts that were relocated to museums. Some believe their removal intensified the paranormal activity that has made Hotel Gibbs a fixture on every ghost tour in the city.

The front desk, where Colonel William Travis reportedly died defending the Alamo, generates the most intense activity. Employees hear disembodied voices and unexplained footsteps, and guests have watched the historic elevators—no longer in operation—moving between floors with their doors opening on phantom passengers. Ghostly elevator operators in period dress have been glimpsed inside the cage elevators, attending to guests who crossed over nearly two centuries ago.

Throughout the hotel, apparitions of soldiers in period military uniforms walk the halls, sometimes pushing spectral cannons across the street toward the building before vanishing without trace. Guests have entered their rooms to find figures already present who simply disappear when addressed. Doors open and close on their own, lights flicker without electrical explanation, and the sounds of battle—cannon fire, the wailing of wounded men—have been reported by guests who awaken in the early morning hours.

The ghosts of Alamo defenders seem to have claimed Hotel Gibbs as their eternal barracks, perhaps because the ground beneath remembers the sacrifice they made. Staff have grown accustomed to working alongside their spectral colleagues, acknowledging that in this hotel, the past never truly becomes the past.