The Shamrock was a hotel constructed between 1946 and 1949 by wildcatter Glenn McCarthy southwest of downtown Houston, Texas next to the Texas Medical Center. It was the largest hotel built in the United States during the 1940s. The grand opening of the Shamrock is still cited as one of the biggest social events ever held in Houston. Sold to Hilton Hotels in 1955 and operated for over three decades as the Shamrock Hilton, the facility endured financial struggles throughout its history. In 1985, Hilton Hotels donated the building to the Texas Medical Center and the structure was demolished on June 1, 1987.
On what was the edge of countryside south of Houston, Texas in 1949, shortly after construction.
Photographs Taken at One-Week Intervals During Demolition of the Shamrock Hotel, August - September, 1987.
The Pine Grill Menu cover (circa April 1949)
The Pine Grill Menu (inside, circa April 1949)
Wyatt Cephus Hedrick was an American architect, engineer, and developer most active in Texas and the American South. He began his career as an engineer, working in Virginia and Texas. He started his own firm in Fort Worth, and later merged with the architecture firm of Sanguinet & Staats before buying out the interests of the senior partners.
1925 — Administration Building, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas
1925 — Eudora Welty House, Jackson, Mississippi
1930 — Sterick Building, Memphis, Tennessee
1936 — Will Rogers Memorial Center, Fort Worth, Texas
