The Blue Bonnet Court, originally called the Bluebonnet Tourist Camp, is a historic

motor court A motel, also known as a motor hotel, motor inn or motor lodge, is a hotel designed for motorists, usually having each room entered directly from the parking area for motor vehicles rather than through a central lobby. Entering dictionaries ...

-style

motel A motel, also known as a motor hotel, motor inn or motor lodge, is a hotel designed for motorists, usually having each room entered directly from the parking area for motor vehicles rather than through a central lobby. Entering dictionarie ...

in north-central

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

. It is located at 4407 Guadalupe Street,

. The lot where it stands originally belonged to the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Land Company. In 1925 the land was then purchased by the Halls and had several owners over four years until Elizabeth and Joe Lucas purchased the land for $1,000 in February 1929. Joe and Elizabeth Lucas then hired the Brydson Lumber Company to construct the Bluebonnet Tourist Camp in anticipation of upcoming traffic along Guadalupe Street, which was paved in 1930. The location was highly sought-after, given its proximity to the Austin State Hospital psychiatric facility (now known as Austin State Hospital) across the street, and was also conveniently located along Guadalupe Street, which at the time was the only route connecting Austin to

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

. The motel is situated on the northwestern corner of the Hyde Park subdivision along what was then the main road out of town.Roadside Peek: Texas Motels: Blue Bonnet Court
/ref> In the 1930s it featured Austin's first

neon sign In the signage industry, neon signs are electric signs lighted by long luminous gas-discharge tubes that contain rarefied neon or other gases. They are the most common use for neon lighting, which was first demonstrated in a modern form in D ...

, which still hangs from the front (though in a dilapidated condition). Blue Bonnet Court features a stone wall in front with 11 basic rooms and attached covered parking. The rooms are rented today as efficiency apartments. It was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1990.

References

Buildings and structures in Austin, Texas Motels in the United States Hotels established in 1929 Hotel buildings completed in 1929 National Register of Historic Places in Austin, Texas Hotel buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas {{Austin-stub

See also

References