History:
In the early days of the hotel, the staff sometimes hung meat from the trees in the patio to cure, bringing it into the kitchen by means of rope pulleys (Williams, 75).
Mary Menger, who had been an excellent cook in her boarding house days, now oversaw the preparation of gourmet meals with food fresh from her own gardens and fancy provisions purchased from Grenet's grocery next to the Alamo (Williams, 17). When her husband died in 1871, she and her oldest son, Louis, managed the hotel.
Louis Menger proved himself to be a shrewd businessman, urging postmaster Margaret Norris to press for the relocation of the post office to Alamo Plaza in an attempt to draw more businesses to the vicinity of his family's hotel in the late 1870s (Williams, 19-20).
Mary Menger, who had been an excellent cook in her boarding house days, now oversaw the preparation of gourmet meals with food fresh from her own gardens and fancy provisions purchased from Grenet's grocery next to the Alamo (Williams, 17). When her husband died in 1871, she and her oldest son, Louis, managed the hotel.
Louis Menger proved himself to be a shrewd businessman, urging postmaster Margaret Norris to press for the relocation of the post office to Alamo Plaza in an attempt to draw more businesses to the vicinity of his family's hotel in the late 1870s (Williams, 19-20).
About this Image:
The Menger Hotel patio, showing a tree in center and staff gathered around the edges
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Credit:
Courtesy of the San Antonio Conservation Society Foundation, Raba Collection.
Click to Enlarge
1864
1864