Page 34 - Galveston Monthly March 2019

islaNd hisTOrY | GALVESTON REPuRPOSEd

Mechanic historic District - to add the fourth floor with
a mansard roof to the building, based on heiner’s 1882
design that wasn’t built.”
Galveston architect Michael Gaertner worked with the
Mitchells on many historic projects for 26 years, the first of
which was helping to write Chapter 3 in the never-ending
story of The Tremont house.
Today, The Tremont house is a Wyndham Grand hotel
and National Trust historic hotel of America. The east
section of the hotel, now known as Belmont Suites, dates
back to 1873.
in 1909, the building was converted into a hotel called
the Royal hotel. it later operated as the Palmetto house
hotel, and then from 1968 to 1979, the Belmont hotel,
until the building was damaged in a fire.
The Mitchells purchased the building, along with the
1879 Leon & h. Blum Building, and removed the fifth and
sixth floors. The building would be reimagined as Belmont
Suites of The Tremont house.
“The Mitchells’ commitment was to historic preservation.
They were lovely and charming people. They had their
own ideas, and they knew what they wanted, but what i
appreciated about them was the fact that they hired good
people, and they listened if someone had a better idea
on how to do something,” says Gaertner, who worked
exclusively for the beloved philanthropic couple for 14
years.
“for example, with The Tremont house, the Mitchells
wanted a really nice intimate bed and breakfast
experience, with about 50 or 60 rooms, but they also
wanted it to be a full-service hotel. They wanted room
service, all-day dining, concierge service, and valet parking
- all of the amenities. But they were told that in order to
support all those things, they had to have at least 100
rooms, but 125 or 150 would be even better.”
“The Mitchells took it to heart. There were ample
drawings of the Blum Building from the 1800s that showed
it with the mansard roof. The architects were able to
convince the historical Commission, which oversees
restoration of the building, that since it originally had a
mansard roof, that they should be able to put the mansard
roof back on - and they added another floor of guestrooms
inside that area. That’s how they got the room count
where it needed to be,” added Gaertner.
Like the second incarnation of the Tremont, Nicholas
Clayton’s handiwork is part of the latest version of the
hotel. Bottom image courtesy of Mitchell Historic Properties
“As the Leon & h. Blum operation grew, they hired heiner
to design the first addition to the warehouse that included Image courtesy of Rosenberg Library
some larger doors that you could actually drive horse and
ABOvE TOP: This photo of the Palmetto house hotel was taken in August
1967 during the historic American Buildings Survey; BOTTOM: George wagons through, and later, trucks and automobiles. But,
and Cynthia Mitchell in front of The 1879 Leon & h. Blum Building for whatever reason, with the second addition, they hired
that they purchased in 1981; OPPOSiTE PAGE: The 1879 Leon & h. Blum Nicholas Clayton to design it,” Gaertner says.
Building in 1981. “Clayton was interested in symmetry, and he would often

34 | GALVESTON MONTHLY | MARCH 2019