Palace Hotel (Houston)
historic building in Houston, Texas, U.S
The Palace Hotel, located at 216 La Branch in Houston, Texas, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 13, 2006.
History
The Palace Hotel was constructed in 1903 at 216 LaBranch Street, at the corner of Congress Avenue in Downtown Houston. It is located on a block that was part of the original survey of Houston in 1836. This property was previously owned at different times by two Houston mayors, William Robinson Baker and William J. Hutchins. In 1902, a grocer, William A. Burkett and Kate Burkett acquired the two lots at the northwest corner of LaBranch Street and Congress Avenue, while commissioning the development of a hotel with John Stadtler.
“Palace Hotel (Houston)” enters the record as historic building in Houston, Texas, U.S. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Palace, Hotel and Houston can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Palace Hotel (Houston)” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Palace, Hotel and Houston provides the most credible route into that argument.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 1, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q20714730. Authority coordinates are 29.760, -95.356. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2006, 1903, 1836 and 1902.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Palace Hotel (Houston)”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Palace Hotel (Houston) primary sources, Palace Hotel (Houston) archive and Palace research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Palace Hotel (Houston)”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Palace Hotel (Houston)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.