Keystone Star Hotel

04/09/2026

Ok Lampasas, here's how you want to spend your Spring Ho Sunday with your kids! Start with a tour inside the historic 1904 Santa Fe Depot. Enjoy an adult beverage while listening to the band from the porch of the Loading Dock Saloon. Grab lunch at one of the dining options and watch your kids ride around in a miniature Thomas the Tank Engine or jump around in a bounce house. And kids of all ages enjoy cooling off with a snow cone.

While you are here, look over the plans for the development of the depot property which include our efforts to bring in a locomotive like the one in the photo which provided passenger service to Lampasas in the late 1940s and 1950s along with dining cars so you can enjoy a special meal in a historic dining car.

Best of all, other than food and beverages, the event is FREE!

Put the date on your calendar today! Sunday, July 12, from 11:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. ALL ABOARD!

03/19/2026

Needless to say, restoration of the historical assets of Lampasas has been something of a mission since taking on the Keystone Star Hotel in 2017. So when the historic 4th Street Church collapsed in a windstorm in 2019 and the owner was given four days to move everything out before it was going to be bulldozed, Debbie Reynolds made it a goal to not only save it, but transform it from a ruin to a building that could be utilized by the residents of Lampasas for weddings, meetings, concerts, lectures, and more.

As that goal approaches, there is a unique opportunity now for people to participate and have their contribution be a permanent part of the building moving forward to completion. Join Debbie and the Lampasas Heritage Foundation, Inc efforts by sponsoring one of the twenty windows that will soon be installed.

Click the link below for information on sponsoring a window.

https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/adopt-a-window-campaign

01/05/2026

You don't have to go to Cannes, Sundance, Venice, Berlin, or any of the other Big Five film festivals to see the international award winning foreign short films! Yes, Lampasas, Texas is host to the International Foreign Film Festival this coming Saturday, January 10, at 7:00 p.m., at Stoneledge Winery & Vineyard located just off of 580 West from Lampasas to Nix and take a right to 518 County Rd 1403. You can experience these award winning films on on the new 20 foot screen in the heated Pavilion while sipping award winning wines. Tickets are only $15! Click the link below to get your tickets now.

https://stoneledge.wine/product/film-festival

11/24/2025

Every so often we will host an event at the Keystone to support some of the non-profits that we belong to in Lampasas. The Lampasas Heritage Foundation, Inc is one such organization that Debbie formed six years ago to focus on the immediate threat to bulldoze the Fourth Street Church which had a partial collapse during a wind storm.

On November 15, the Keystone played host venue for a concert by Elizabeth Pitcairn, world renowned violinist and owner of the most famous violin in the world, the "Red Violin", and Steinway Artist, Toby Blumenthal, as a fundraiser to restore the church. Elizabeth is a friend, and actually played the violin in the Keystone ballroom several years ago while the restoration still had a long way to go. It was such a special treat to have her return and perform to support the church restoration.

On the occasion of her performance, the hotel was transformed into the most elegant it has been since it was purchased with over 350 candles illuminating the ballroom, numerous floral arrangements, elegant treats, and champagne cocktails.

It was an honor to host Elizabeth and to support the efforts of the Lampasas Heritage Foundation to not only restore the church, but to protect, preserve, and celebrate the rich history of Lampasas.

10/31/2025

It’s here in Lampasas now! This is the only surviving example of a Waco model D military aircraft anywhere in the world! And it is just one of what is expected to be more than 30 historic aircraft at the grass airstrip at The Hangar at Deer Pasture Airfield on Saturday! You do not want to miss this opportunity. This aircraft flew in this morning from Illinois. Take 281 roughly half way between Lampasas and Burnet, go East on CR 205 for about a mile. You can’t miss it, but you can miss this incredible opportunity. And it’s FREE!! Load up the kids of all ages. I’ll see you there.

And since you are going to make the trip, hang around for another incredible opportunity to hear, legendary singer, songwriter, Terry McBride, Saturday evening in The Hangar! You have heard his songs for the last 35 years, whether it was McBride and the Ride, por George Strait, or Reba McEntire, or Cody Johnson, or Brooks & Dunn, or Kenny Rogers, or…

Stoneledge Winery & Vineyard will be selling wine and Project Graduation will be selling soft drinks and water. If your beverage of choice is beer, feel free to bring it, however, we request that you leave your cooler in your vehicle.

10/30/2025

Are you ready! Avoid the lines and buy your tickets early! This Saturday it's legendary country singer songwriter Terry McBride at the historic Hangar at Deer Pasture Airfield! 801 County Road 205 (roughly 10 miles south of Lampasas on Hwy 281 and a mile East on CR 205). You can't miss it. It will be the only grass airstrip on your right with a bunch of historic airplanes. Doors open at 7:00 for the concert but come early and check out the planes!

Once you purchase your tickets we will have your name at the entrance so no need to bring the email. Just give us your name.

He's an American country music legend with a career spanning thirty five years as a band, as a solo artist, and a songwriter. And best of all, he is coming home - to Lampasas - on Saturday, November 1, at the Hangar. He's going to be performing an acoustic set of some of his Billboard hits as well a...

10/26/2025

A few iPhone shots from the square last night as the storm was receding and the sun was setting.

10/11/2025

It was May 2019. The ballroom was taking shape but definitely not finished when our friend, Elizabeth Pitcairn called. She had been following the restoration of the Keystone and knew we were making a ballroom. She wanted to come see it and bring “Felix”. “Felix” is her nickname for the most famous violin in the world, the “Red Violin” and the most expensive at $1.6 million. Listen as she casually strolls around the room.

On November 15th, you can join her in the Keystone ballroom along with Steinway artist, Toby Blumenthal, for a rare private performance for only sixty people as we celebrate her return with chocolates and champagne. And as of this post, over half of those tickets are sold, so if you want to experience this exceptional evening, I suggest you purchase your tickets now. 100% of ticket revenue is dedicated to the reconstruction of the St. Christopher Church. You can purchase your tickets by clicking the link below.

https://keystone-star-hotel.myshopify.com/products/intimate-evening-with-elizabeth-pitcairn-and-the-red-violin

10/05/2025

Every so often an opportunity presents itself that is rare and compelling. Example, when Elvis Presley performed at the Municipal Auditorium in Austin in 1977. Those that attended still talk about it today. Well, that opportunity is presenting itself today in a most unusual way.

Elizabeth Pitcairn, international violin superstar and owner and performer of the most famous violin in the world, "The Red Violin", a 1720 Stradivarius formerly owned by Felix Mendelssohn, is going to be performing with Toby Blumenthal on piano for an intimate group of only sixty people at the 1850s Keystone Star Hotel ballroom in Lampasas on Saturday, November 15, at 7:00 p.m. There was even a full-length feature film called the "Red Violin" inspired by her instrument which, at the time it was purchased, was the most expensive violin at $1.6 million. What makes this concert rare is that Elizabeth performs with symphonies in some of the largest cities in the world to audiences of thousands. It is such an honor to have her come to Texas to share her gift with you.

All proceeds are dedicated to the Lampasas Heritage Foundation, which is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, for the purpose of rebuilding the historic St. Christopher Catholic Church in Lampasas that collapsed in a windstorm.

Click the link below to read more about the event and to purchase tickets. This event will sell out so if you plan to attend, I suggest purchasing your tickets early.

https://keystone-star-hotel.myshopify.com/products/intimate-evening-with-elizabeth-pitcairn-and-the-red-violin

08/26/2025

We have had some amazing performances at the Keystone, but on November 15, we are thrilled to be bringing to the ballroom Elizabeth Pitcairn, celebrated violin virtuoso and owner of the most famous violin in the world - the "Red Violin". This historic violin was crafted in 1720 in Italy by Antonio Stradivari and was the inspiration for the feature film, "The Red Violin".

Together, they have performed with symphonies all over the world, and in her "spare time", she owns a summer music camp in Lake Luzerne, New York, that pairs child prodigies with professional musicians that culminates in an incredible performance at their annual gala.

This is an extremely rare opportunity to share her in a small and elegant setting as she will be performing with piano. We are truly honored to have her return to the Keystone, this time after the restoration has been completed. Yes, she visited the hotel in 2018 before the ballroom was completed. Her comments regarding the acoustics are what have allowed us to attract such famous international musicians in multiple genres. We request that guests dress for an upscale evening of chocolate and champagne.

The performance will be on Saturday, November 15, 2025. Doors will open at 6:30 and the performance will begin promptly at 7:00 p.m. 100% of ticket sales will go to the Lampasas Heritage Foundation, a 501(c)(3), and are dedicated to the restoration of the historic St. Christopher Catholic Church on 4th Street.

Tickets will go on sale the first of October so save the date for this exceptional evening.

(Photo by Joy Strotz)

07/18/2025

It was an exciting weekend at the hotel last Saturday night. Yes, it was Spring Ho weekend which made the perfect alibi to have my daughter, Libby, and her boyfriend, Josh, come up for "the concert on the square." All lies. In fact, the entire two families hid upstairs in the Mrs. Gracy's Room, and thirty of their friends hid in Ruby's Room behind the kitchen to celebrate Josh proposing to Libby.

The significance of having the proposal in the Keystone and in the ballroom is because Libby is the one who spent three weekends digging out the well and hitting water at 20 feet. She also glazed many of the 700 broken windows in the hotel that were replaced with 1800s glass. The hotel has a special meaning for her.

My daughter, Kathryn, you may remember was proposed to in the back courtyard when Chris rode in dressed like a knight in shining armor on a white horse. For this occasion, she and Chris brought my granddaughter, Greer, and a margarita machine which was the perfect compliment to fajitas from El Frias.

Since the hotel has been restored as our private home, we don't normally host events other than on occasion to help raise funds for the non-profits that we belong to in Lampasas. This weekend, however, was for family.