Amarillo’s Herring Hotel May Rise Again Soon

Amarillo is a city full of historic buildings, and while some of those buildings are still operational or have been completely renovated, others stand vacant. One of those buildings is located at 311 SE 3rd Ave.

If you know Amarillo history, you know that location was once home to the Herring Hotel. That particular building is full of rich history and is one of the more beautiful structures in the city. Unfortunately, it's still vacant...but MAYBE not for long.

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Recent Renovation Attempt Falls Short

The Herring Hotel Development Company, LLC, was planning on restoring and renovating the building, but fell on hard times recently. Last year, the company ended up filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. That's the bad kind of bankruptcy, from a standpoint that they aren't trying to recover from it, but are able to sell everything off to try and pay off debts.

A public foreclosure happened in March 2024, and that was the end of that. It left the building just standing alone, where it started being vandalized, and left many wondering if we'd ever see this incredible building in action once again.

Is There Hope For The Building

The good news is it does appear there may be life coming back to the chances that the building will be back in action. According to the City of Amarillo Agendas and Minutes for the meeting tomorrow, October 28, 2025, a discussion will take place regarding the building.

On the agenda is a discussion between the city and Herring Hotel Partners, LLC. about renovating the historic structure and turning it into a hotel once again.

10.F. CONSIDER APPROVAL — CHAPTER 380 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
PROGRAM AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF AMARILLO AND
HERRING HOTEL PARTNERS, LLC FOR A PROJECT TO RENOVATE AN
EXISTING HISTORIC STRUCTURE INTO A HOTEL LOCATED AT 311 SE 3RD
AVE.
This item considers approval of a Chapter 380 Economic Development Program
Agreement regarding a project to renovate an existing historic structure into a
hotel located at 311 SE 3rd Ave. The agreement includes rebates of the following
collected by the hotel once in operation: 100% local Hotel Occupancy Tax for five
(5) years, followed by 50% local Hotel Occupancy Tax for five (5) years, 100% of
the State's Sales Tax revenues for 10 years, and 100% State Hotel Occupancy
Tax for 10 years. The payment of these incentives is contingent upon no less
than $90MM in private investment, project completion, and other obligations.

So, while I don't want to get TOO excited, there does seem to be a little life being injected back into the idea...and I'm here for it.

The Abandoned Herring Hotel in Amarillo, Texas

You may have passed it a million times while driving downtown, or you may be new to town. Either way, chances are you've seen the beautiful Herring Hotel. The beautiful aging brick tower sits unoccupied on 3rd and Pearce streets. It's a grand building that stands as a reminder of Amarillo's early days as a cattle and oil town and it tells the stories well.

If you've ever wondered what's inside this towering building, just take a peek below.

Gallery Credit: Sarah Clark

The Abandoned St. Anthony's Hospital on Amarillo Boulevard

The 119-year-old abandoned hospital is a fascinating place for any who are lucky enough to be granted the chance to explore.

The sprawling building saw thousands of Amarillo's citizens inside its halls daily, all the the way until it was shuttered in 2001. But there are still incredible artifacts of the all-too-recent past tucked away in the nooks and crannies of the old St. Anthony.

The explorer who took these photographs gave the following information:

"Many rooms were left untouched, we found patient files, old prescriptions, a blood transfusion machine from the 60s, and microscopic slides of breast cancer from the 70s and 80s. I put one picture in here of some heart scans so you can see the dates and diagnosis of the patient, but marked out the patient’s names of course. During a time when mental illness was not understood, 76 exorcisms were documented to have been performed between 1909 and 1931."

Take a look inside the halls of the legendary abandoned St. Anthony's hospital

Gallery Credit: Vaden Carthel

Source: Amarillo’s Historic Herring Hotel Could Finally Make a Comeback