Austin magnate George Littlefield, responsible for other Austin landmarks such as the Littlefield House, opened the Austin National Bank on the southeast corner of the building; the old bank vault still remains. Littlefield later purchased the hotel for $106,000 in 1895 and vowed that it would never close again. Littlefield invested over $60,000 in renovations, including ceiling frescoes, electric lighting, steam heating, and 28 additional lavatories, but still sold the hotel at a loss of $25,000 in 1903 to banking competitor, e.l. Wilmot. Under Wilmot's ownership, the hotel was managed by hotelier W.L. Stark, who added a barbershop and women's spa featuring Turkish baths, oversaw the construction of the annex, and adorned the former smoking room with eight antique Austrian gold leaf-framed mirrors previously owned by Maximilian and Carlota of Mexico.