For 58 years it majestically stood on North Beach, attracting visitors and tourists from around the world. It was one of the City’s first modern hotels and it put Corpus Christi on the map as a major tourist destination with first class accommodations. It was the iconic Hotel Breakers, a Corpus Christi landmark still remembered more than 50 years after it disappeared.
It wasn't always called The Breakers. It began life on July 4, 1912 as the “Corpus Beach Hotel”, built by Col. John T. Dickenson, with the local backing of prominent citizens that included the King, Kleberg, and Lichtenstein families. As a fine hotel and resort, it had no rival on the Gulf Coast. Designed by San Antonio architect Attlee B. Ayers, the hotel was constructed of reinforced concrete with brick and stone veneer at a cost of $100,000.
Beautifully decorated with a Spanish theme that included colorful tile work throughout, this hotel was always booked to capacity in the summer months. Behind the hotel was the finest beach in Corpus Christi. A pleasure pier for guests extended 400 feet out into the bay. The hotel had tennis courts, a bath house, and even a bowling alley on site.
The hotel weathered the Hurricane of 1916 with relatively minor damage, but a major change was coming. During World War I, the United States Army would lease (and later purchase) the hotel, converting it into a hospital and convalescent home for wounded American soldiers.
When the disastrous Hurricane of 1919 struck the city, the Beach Hotel/hospital was the only building on North Beach to survive the storm intact. Not only did it survive the storm, it saved the lives of nearly 300 people who had taken refuge in the building.
In 1925, the government closed the hospital and sold the building. When the hotel re-opened in 1927, the new owner, Jimmy Holmes, would give the hotel its iconic name….the “Hotel Breakers”. Holmes would add a magnificent new dance hall to the hotel. For years, the “Spanish Ballroom” (built to resemble a Mexican village square at night) was the most popular dance floor in the city.
The Hotel Breakers, enjoyed its peak of popularity during the 1920's, 30's, and 40's, when North Beach became a tourist mecca and the city's primary playground.
After World War II, the popularity of North Beach began to decline, as did that of the aging Breakers. A new causeway to Padre Island opened in 1950, drawing tourists away from North Beach. A succession of new owners (including Albert Lichtenstein) attempted to restore the hotel to its former glory, but had little success.
In 1960, Lichtenstein sold the hotel to Mr. A.L. Sharp of California. He announced a $1 million renovation plan for the hotel and re-named it the Breakers Surf and Sand Hotel. Unfortunately, the new Harbor Bridge was now diverting traffic away from North Beach and the hotel would endure 3 major hurricanes between 1961 and 1970. The planned renovations never happened.
The Breakers survived Hurricane Carla in 1961, and Beulah in 1967. But after Beulah, the hotel never reopened. Hurricane Celia in 1970 dealt the final blow to the aging hotel. Damage was severe enough to not justify repairs on the 58-year-old building.
On September 1, 1970 it was announced that the iconic hotel would be demolished. By November 1970, she was gone. Only the concrete pillars (painted blue) that once lined the entrance to the hotel remain today to mark the spot where the grand hotel that put Corpus Christi on the tourist map once stood.
Robert Parks is a special contributor to KRIS 6 News. Parks was a history teacher at Carroll High School for 19 years and is now retired. His knowledge of Corpus Christi history makes him a unique expert in the subject.