The original building, designed by local Austin architects J. N. Preston & Son, was constructed with over six million pressed bricks and white limestone accents.

Two entrances, one on Sixth Street and another facing the alleyway on the west side the building, were reserved for men and were flanked by a saloon, billiard room, cigar shop, a newsstand and a barbershop featuring baths.

The women's entrance on Brazos Street allowed female guests to proceed directly to their rooms, thereby avoiding the cigar smoke and rough talk of the cattlemen in the lobby.

The bungalow was originally used as a private residence by superintendents of the Southern Pacific Railroad, but was later rented to high-profile guests including Jack Dempsey, Bob Hope, and President Lyndon Johnson.

Flush with cash from his service to the Confederate Army, to which he supplied beef throughout the Civil War, he decided to diversify by constructing a grand hotel in Austin.

Littlefield invested over $60,000 in renovations, including ceiling frescoes, electric lighting, steam heating, and 28 additional lavatories, but still sold the hotel at a loss of $25,000 in 1903 to banking competitor, e.l.

Stark, who added a barbershop and women's spa featuring Turkish baths, oversaw the construction of the annex, and adorned the former smoking room with eight antique Austrian gold leaf-framed mirrors previously owned by Maximilian and Carlota of Mexico.

[6] In 1950, the hotel embarked on a renovation, which closed off the Sixth Street entrance and removed the rotunda's skylight to make way for air conditioning units on the roof.

[15] In 1995, The Driskill was purchased by Great American Life Insurance, who embarked on a $30 million renovation to restore the hotel to its original appearance, which had been heavily modified over the years.

[18] In 1908, the Daughters of the Republic of Texas met at the Driskill hotel to discuss the fate of the Alamo Mission in San Antonio.

In attendance was Charles Black, a freshman at University of Texas at Austin at the time, who cited the performance as inspiration for his interest in race and civil rights.

[20] It became his campaign headquarters during his congressional career, especially during his famous 1948 Senate race, and became a favorite place on return trips to Austin during his presidency.