The Shamrock Hotel was constructed between 1946 and 1949, southwest of downtown Houston. It was the largest hotel in the United States when it was built in the 1940s, and it served as an extravagant hub for many Houston residents and guests from all over the country. Learn more about the 38-year history of this remarkable local landmark at houston1.one.
Founded by an oil magnate
The hotel was founded by American oil mogul Glenn McCarthy, referred to as “Diamond Glenn” or “The King of the Wildcatters” by journalists. McCarthy, the son of a traveling oilfield worker, worked in oil mills since childhood and even dropped out of college to pursue his entrepreneurial dreams. At the age of 26, he became a millionaire. The businessman drilled more than 1,000 oil and gas wells in Texas as well as remote areas such as Egypt and Bolivia.
Not only did the tycoon own oil companies, but also a network of local newspapers, office buildings, gas and chemical companies, a steel mill and other businesses. In 1949, his fortune was estimated to be over $200 million.
McCarthy’s most famous project, however, was the Shamrock Hotel, built for $21 million. It brought him national fame and inspired the creation of the fictional character Jett Rink in Edna Ferber’s 1952 novel Giant, which was adapted into a film in 1956.
The grand opening
The hotel opened in 1949, with a massive St. Patrick’s Day celebration that became renowned as Houston’s biggest party. It gathered around 2,000 celebrities from all around the world, including Texas oilmen like Sid Richardson and Hollywood celebrities like Australian film actor Errol Flynn. The party cost 1.5 million dollars to organize and was broadcast live on national radio. A total of 50,000 individuals attended the event.
Howard Hughes, an American industrialist-entrepreneur and pioneer of American aviation, even offered McCarthy one of his planes to transport Hollywood celebrities to Houston.
18 floors and 1,100 rooms
The 18-story hotel was constructed of cream-colored brick and decorated with marble and limestone elements. The roof was made of green tiles. The hotel had its own 5-story parking structure with a capacity of 1000 automobiles. The grounds included tree-lined walkways, a luxurious landscaped garden, a patio and a large swimming pool. The structure was located far from the hustle and bustle of the city center.
The hotel’s architecture was both plain and unique. The lobby, spanning 1524 square meters, was designed in the Art Deco style. Spacious rooms, luxury presidential “suites,” public dining rooms for 10 people, an emerald room with a banquet hall for 1000 people and other areas were designed and decorated by the city’s greatest designers and craftsmen. The interiors of the rooms were displayed in 63 different shades of green.
Behind the three main dining rooms, on the ground level or in the basement, there were kitchens, a bakery, cold storage rooms, an ice maker, a laundry room, dry cleaning and other service facilities. The third floor featured small dining rooms and kitchens, as well as a medical department. There were single rooms for guests on the lower floors, “doublets” or one-room premises on the middle floors and separate apartments and penthouses on the upper floors. Every room had air conditioning, a television and a radio with four radio stations, recorded music or hotel entertainment. In total, there were 1,100 rooms.
The hotel held social events and had several restaurants, bars and lounges. It also had its own nightclub, the Emerald Room and a private social club, the Cork Club.
The world’s largest outdoor swimming pool
One of the hotel’s unique features was an enormous pool, which was suitable for water skiing. It met the requirements of the Olympic Games, featuring 9 swimming tracks and a “modified fan shape” with rounded corners. The pool was 50 meters long and 43 meters wide. According to some sources, it was the world’s largest outdoor pool. As a result, it was anticipated to draw attention to Houston as a destination for regional and national swimming and diving competitions. In fact, it met the expectations!
In 1949 and 1950, the pool hosted the National Junior Olympic Swimming and Diving Championships. In addition, for several decades, Shamrock hosted national synchronized swimming championships and other junior national competitions. Top honors were given to the Shamrock Hilton Corkettes synchronized swimming teams in recognition of their disciplined talent and creative teamwork. Also, the hotel’s swimming and diving teams and their rival Dad’s Club competed for state and national titles.
They shared the pool in the summer, and throughout the winter, they had to search for warm indoor pools in Houston. Synchronized swimmers, divers, clowns and dancers entertained guests at every banquet and cocktail party held by the hotel’s pool, earning money for team trips to competitions.
Shamrock drilled two deep wells to provide the pool with 177,000 gallons of water. The water was regularly recycled, and the filter system was updated every 8 hours. Divers had access to two one-meter and two three-meter jumps, as well as a diving structure with one 5-meter and one 10-meter diving platform. There were even water skis and motorboat displays.
Local landmark
Shamrock was a popular destination for Houston’s socialites, and it even had its own radio show, “Saturdays at the Shamrock,” produced by the ABC Radio Network. At the time, it was the only national radio program that wasn’t aired in Los Angeles or New York. The show was recorded on location at the hotel. It ran from 1949 to 1953.
Shamrock was critical to the preservation of Houston’s history and culture. There were numerous proms, honeymoons and other large-scale events held here. Famous stars from all around the country stayed in its rooms, including American actor and singer Frank Sinatra and guitarist Pat O’Brien.
Sale and demolition
The opening of the hotel was the pinnacle of McCarthy’s career. In 1952, to pay off his debts, the entrepreneur sold the hotel to a life insurance company. In 1954, Shamrock was bought out by the Hilton Hotels Corporation chain.
The corporation had ongoing difficulties in maintaining a level of occupancy sufficient to ensure the profitable operation of the hotel. Shamrock’s enormous size, remote location from the downtown business district and the rapid expansion of low-cost motels have all put it at a competitive disadvantage.
The hotel was sold to Texas Medical Center in 1985, and while the garage building was retained, the hotel, veranda and pool gardens were demolished by the new owner in 1987. They were replaced by an above-ground parking lot. On St. Patrick’s Day 1986, there was a protest against the demolition. Then, 3,000 people came out to protest, including Glenn McCarthy, but the demonstration was unsuccessful. As a result, the Texas A&M Institute of Biosciences and Technology was built on the hotel’s site.
Due to the outrage of many Houston residents over the hotel’s demolition, the city decided to establish the Houston Architectural and Historical Commission to ensure that no other significant historical structure suffered the same fate as Shamrock.