The corner of Fourth and Austin has been the site of economic enterprise since 1872 when the McClelland Hotel opened there in 1872.
Later a 12-story Hilton Hotel, the third in Texas, was built there and became the vanguard of downtown development in Waco. The infamous Bonnie & Clyde were even arrested there in 1929.
The Hilton was renamed the Roosevelt Hotel in 1934 and catered to "traveling men, transcontinental tourists and permanent overnight guests."
The building survived the 1953 tornado that ripped through downtown demolishing 196 business buildings.
The Roosevelt closed in 1961, and the building was given to the Galveston Diocese of the Catholic Church.
The Regis Retirement Center operated there from 1963 to 2003.
The building has been undergoing extensive renovation for luxury high-rise office space.
The Roosevelt will re-open in 2008 with a grand ballroom and custom-designed Class A office space.
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