Photo courtesy of the Alameda Theatre Conservancy. The Alameda Theatre was designed by San Antonio architect N. Strauss Nayfach (known for designing many homes in the Monticello Park Historic District). It opened in 1949 to house a Mexican-American theater for Spanish language film and live entertainment. The Alameda is the largest Spanish-language theater constructed in the United States. The building served as the first Mexican Chamber of Commerce in the United States and was home to the Mexican Consulate. The structure features an Art Moderne style façade with multicolor tile work and an illuminated sign. Decorative detailing is even carried out onto the sidewalk in front of the theater. The interior of the theater features painted florescent murals of Texas and Mexico history created by Hanns Teichert. Reportedly the first florescent murals in Texas, the designs glow in the dark under ultraviolet light. The theater has featured Mexican performers including Pedro Infante, Maria Felix, Cantinflas, and Vicente Fernandez, and served as part of the thriving Mexican-American west end of Houston Street (largely disconnected from Westside with the construction of IH-10/IH-35).

Photo courtesy of TheAlamoCity.com. In 1929, construction began on the $2,500,000 skyscraper, after the Alamo National Bank had outgrown its first bank building. San Antonio was at that point, the largest and richest city in Texas. Using Art Deco ornamentation and the principles of the Beaux-Arts, the architecture firm of Graham, Anderson, Probst, and White designed the 24-story skyscraper and incorporated the Texas Stars and southwest patterns. Completed the same year as the locally designed Smith-Young Tower and only slightly shorter in height, the former Alamo National Bank is one of only two works in Texas by the Chicago firm, which inherited the practice of D. H. Burnham. By the onset of the Great Depression, the firm had abandoned the monumental classicism favored by Burnham, switching to a more vertical style with continuous pilasters between the window bays to emphasize the building's height. The setback massing of the building can best be appreciated from several blocks away, especially as approached from the east. The bank's name stands out in the massive leaded glass transoms above the entrance doors.

Photograph courtesy of UTSA Special Collections. In 1939, formal development of the River Walk commenced utilizing Works Progress Administration (WPA) funding. Robert Hugman and Edwin P. Arneson developed drawings for the River Walk design, based largely on Hugman’s earlier designs from the previous decade. At the time, Hugman’s designs for stone paving, bridges, stairways, and the Arneson River Theater, were considered too great a deviation from the former natural setting of the river bend. River Walk officially opened in 1941. The concrete seating of the Arneson River Theatre was created to look like natural rock. The theater stage includes elements of Spanish design: red tile roofs, iron balconies, stonework, and a dovecote beside the stage house.

Photograph courtesy of Alana Jordan. The Arsenal Bridge is a pony truss bridge over the San Antonio River built in 1928 by Walsh-Burney & Moore. Most bridges built in the 1920s were concrete beam bridges, like many of the bridges downtown, so metal truss was somewhat unusual for this time. This section of the Riverwalk currently extends for miles to the south as part of the Mission Reach. The Mission Reach portion of the river shows the natural geomorphology (natural riverbed) and ecosystem restored, and the remaining four San Antonio Missions can be accessed.

Photograph courtesy of the UTSA Libraries Special Collections. The Atlee B. Ayres Building was originally known as the G. Bedell Moore Building. It is an elaborately ornamented beige brick building with terra cotta detailing. It was designed in 1904 by the prolific San Antonio architect Atlee B. Ayres and his early architectural partner Charles Coughlin. Originally five stories in height, the building featured a rooftop garden and corner pavilion. The sixth floor was added in 1909. This was one of Ayres’ earliest commercial buildings, and he maintained an architectural office here for many years. The decorative exterior features had been obscured by white paint before the building was remodeled in the 1980s. The now restored building once again serves as office space.

The Auditorium Circle Historic District is also known as the Veterans Memorial Plaza. It includes four buildings and a war memorial plaza: San Antonio Municipal Auditorium, Southwestern Bell Building, Martin Wright Building, and former Havana Apartments.  The two sculptures seen here are the War Mothers Memorial and the Hill 881 South. The War Mothers Memorial is a marble monument commissioned in 1938 as a tribute to the mothers whose sons served in World War I. The Hill 881 South is a bronze statue memorial to men & women who served in Vietnam War, made in 1986. The Southwestern Bell Building was completed in 1929-30. It’s a blend of austere Chicago-style skyscraper with Spanish Baroque style; see the elaborate door surround.

Photo courtesy of the San Antonio Express News. In 1926, the builders sent a team of designers to Mexico to draw sketches of Mayan, Aztec, and Toltec ruins from which replicas were made. For example, the foyer is modeled after the Aztec Hall of Columns at Mitla. In 1983, the San Antonio Conservation Society made a proposal to supplement over $1 million to Arthur P. Veltman, a developer who planned to restore and reopen the theater as the home of the San Antonio Symphony. Then in 1988, the Aztec Theater is purchased by the Conservation Society and it becomes in charge of running the Aztec as a movie theater. If divided up, the space could screen three movies at a time. In 1993, the Conservation Society sells the Aztec Theater to Thierry Burkle, who would convert it into a dinner theater for live performances and laser shows.

Photo courtesy of Texas Public Radio. The Bexar County Courthouse, built in 1891-1894, was designed by acclaimed courthouse architect James Riely Gordon.Gordon is believed to have designed over a dozen courthouses in Texas and over 60 throughout the nation. He first practiced architecture in San Antonio before moving to New York where he achieved national prominence. The Romanesque Revival style building was constructed between 1891-1894 of Texas granite and red sandstone. Romanesque Revival civic architecture was popularized by nationally by Henry Hobson Richardson and the style is often referred to as Richardsonian Romanesque. Romanesque Revival features include the heavy massing of the building, its tall towers, rusticated stone surfaces coupled with delicate organic ornament, dramatic semi-circular arched entrance, and recessed windows set within arched openings. In front of the Bexar County Justice Center is a recreated portion of the original San Pedro acequia. Native Indians constructed acequias, or irrigation ditches, for the Spanish missions beginning in 1718. These acequias eventually encompassed over 15 miles of channels from the San Antonio River and San Pedro Springs. The San Antonio acequias were designated a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1968

Photo courtesy of Vintage San Antonio. Briscoe Museum of Art was first Carnegie Library. It was made possible with a $50,000 gift from Steel Magnate, Andrew Carnegie, and the donation of land from local citizen, Mrs. Caroline Kampmann. It was San Antonio’s first free public library and it opened June 15, 1903. The Carnegie building was razed in 1929 and replaced by the current structure on the same lot. Designed by local architect, Herbert S. Green and made of Indiana limestone the new main library cost almost $300,000. The Art Deco style, part of the “modern movement” in architecture is evident in the massing, a central tower with stepped wings, flat roof, decorative motifs of geometric designs, and metal sash windows. The “main” library moved from 210 Market to 203 S St. Mary’s Street in 1968. Only the Hertzberg Circus collection was kept at the old main library (Market Street) location. The building now houses the Briscoe Western Art Museum.

Photograph courtesy of Texas State Historical Association. The Casa Navarro State Historic Site, a Texas Historical Commission property, is situated in the heart of old San Antonio, in what used to be a thriving Tejano neighborhood known as Laredito. The structures were acquired and restored by the San Antonio Conservation Society between 1960 and 1964, and the site was opened to the public in October 1964. The original house complex was the residence of Texas patriot José Antonio Navarro (1795–1871), a rancher, merchant, leading advocate for Tejano rights, and one of only two native-born Texans to sign the Texas Declaration of Independence. Navarro first bought the property, about 1.5 acres, in 1832. The limestone, caliche block, and adobe structures were built circa 1832–1855, and Navarro moved onto the property soon after. Today, visitors can tour Navarro’s one-story limestone house furnished with period antiques — a fine example of early-statehood domestic architecture. There is also a two-story square store and office building, noted for its bold quoins, which anchor the edges of the building’s walls. The detached adobe and caliche block kitchen is typical of early Texas architecture with front and rear porches.

Photo courtesy of UTSA Libraries Special Collections. The City Public Service Building was constructed in 1921 for the offices of the San Antonio Public Service Company, which provided commercial and residential gas and electric services. Also known as the Petroleum Commerce Building, it was designed by prominent San Antonio architects Ayres and Ayres: a father-and-son team responsible for other notable downtown buildings such as the Municipal Auditorium and the Smith-Young Tower. The original structure had a river-level basement and three floors. In 1927, three additional floors were designed by Ayres and Ayres to seamlessly integrate the façade and original décor. At the time, most designs treated the river as a side or back elevation, but the City Public Service Building was the first commercial office building in downtown San Antonio to face the river.
The location is also historically significant because it is the original site of the Twohig House. John Twohig was one of San Antonio’s original settlers. In the 19th century, his home occupied this location.
In 1998, Drury Hotels acquired the building after it sat vacant for several years.

By the time the women of the Conservation Society convinced the City not to allow the demolition of the Dullnig Building, the historic structure was barely recognizable from its original grandeur. In the years that followed, successful restoration projects turned back the clock for the Dullnig Building, which not only ensured its survival but also improved the busy public street corner it occupies. In 1883, Austrian grocer, George Dullnig constructed the building with elaborate cupolas on two corners and an ornate corner entrance on South Alamo and Commerce. In 1913, there was a major street widening project that forced the Dullnig Building to lose its east tower and corner entrance. By the 1970s the building had become little more than a concrete box with little to no ornamentation. Then in 1976, the building owners apply for a demolition permit in hopes of making a parking lot in its place. However, the Duncan-Smith Company purchased this building in 1981 and restored it to resemble the original building (minus the two towers, the parapet, and the corner entrance).

Photo courtesy of the San Antonio Fire Museum. The two-story Spanish Colonial Revival-style building was designed by Seutter and Simons Architects and constructed in 1924 by local builders A. E. Rheiner and Company. Though it is similar in form to other fire stations built in the city during the period, it does possess some unique architectural features worthy of note. Prominent elements of the Spanish Colonial Revival style visible on the structure include a hipped roof clad in red Spanish tile, arched window openings, and a small iron balcony or “balconet.”

The building’s location on a traffic island provides views of all exterior sides and highlights its proportional and symmetrical design. Other features that distinguish this fire station from its counterparts constructed during the same period include “delicate window mullions, Venetian windows, arched entries, simple geometric forms, graceful lines, and consistent tile patterns” that give the building a formal appearance not typically seen in buildings designed to house basic city services such as fire or police protection. The most prominent building materials used were red tile and buff-colored brick. Historically, the first-floor housed office space while the second floor was used as living quarters for firemen.

Phone credit unknown. The only thing left of the former Texas Theatre is the front façade. The “Texas” marquee, recessed entrance bay, and ticket booth remain from the original theater building. The Texas Theater was charmingly baroque and elegant in its heyday, sadly as time passed the old movie palaces of downtown lost popularity. The Conservation Society did all it could to preserve the old building, but no price was high enough for Republic Bank to change its plans of demolishing the building and creating a massive office complex in its place. In 1926, the building was designed by the Bollner Brothers in a Wild West Rococo theme, the Texas opened on December 18th with a 2700-seat auditorium. In 1927, it was the site of the world premiere of the film Wings, which went on to win the very first Academy Award for Best Picture. This was the first world premiere in San Antonio.

Photo courtesy of the University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History. The Gibbs Building currently houses Hotel Gibbs. Construction of the 8-story building was completed in 1912 on the ground that was originally contained within the Alamo compound. Cannons from the compound were uncovered during the construction of the Gibbs Building basement. Samuel Maverick constructed a homestead here in about 1850. The initial “G” for Gibbs is engraved on the decorative elements along the Houston Street facade and above the roofline cornice along N. Alamo Street.

Photo courtesy of the San Antonio Public Library. Hilton Palacio del Rio was built in 1967-68 for HemisFair, the World’s Fair. Giant cranes lifted the prefabricated rooms into place; these rooms were manufactured and almost completely furnished off-site. Apparently, even Bibles were already in the nightstand drawers. Construction took less than seven months to complete.

Photo courtesy of the D3 Travel Company. The King William Historic District is a neighborhood full of Victorian and turn-of-the-century homes and is the oldest historic district in Texas. The lands were once farmland belonging to Mission Concepcion and irrigated by the San Antonio River. Carl Guenther, a German miller, purchased land in 1859, and established a mill and his home there; this mill is now Pioneer Flour Mill, an operating mill and restaurant, Guenther House. The neighborhood was originally settled by Germans who came to Texas in the 1840s in an area known as “Sauerkraut Bend”. During the 1880s, King William Street became a more elaborate street with homes designed in a variety of late 19th-century styles. This neighborhood deteriorated by the mid-20th century but began to be revitalized in the late 1960s.

The Kress Building was designed in 1938 by Edward Sibbert, a notable Kress company architect, in the grand Art Deco style. Multi-colored glazed terra cotta panels, strong vertical lines, and a streamlined façade were characteristic features of Kress stores around the country. S.H. Kress and Company began in the 1890s in Pennsylvania and had expanded to a chain of “dime stores” across the United States by the mid-20th century. The Kress name in gold lettering remains on the upper sides of the building.

Photograph courtesy of UTSA Libraries Special Collections. The area of La Villita was originally the site of Coahuiltecan natives and later part of the lands belonging to Mission San Antonio de Valero (the Alamo). In the mid-1700s, the area developed as a group of primitive houses for families of the Spanish soldiers stationed at the nearby presidio. The La Villita quarter was probably inhabited as early as 1768, and the name "La Villita" first appears in records in 1792 (Spanish for “little town”). In 1819, a massive flood caused major damage to the surrounding area, but La Villita was on higher ground and was better protected. In the 1840s, many German immigrants began to move into the area (and later Swiss and French immigrants) – the area called “Little Rhein” for a number of Germans. By the early 20th century, the area had deteriorated into a slum. In the 20th century, Mayor Maverick was key in saving the area. In 1939, a federally funded project, including Architect O'Neil Ford and 110 youths, developed La Villita as a training ground for young artists and craftsmen. La Villita became a center for community events and home to artists and art galleries.

Photograph courtesy of SA Report. The Church at La Villita has been the home to several denominations since its construction in the 1870s. The cornerstone for this Gothic Revival-style church was laid on March 2, 1879, by a German Methodist congregation. They used stones quarried in Brackenridge Park. In 1895, the Episcopal Diocese of West Texas bought the church, and the city’s first Episcopal Church for African Americans, St. Philip’s, was organized and located here. St. Philip’s opened a vocational day school in 1898. The school expanded at this location until 1917, when it moved to the city’s east side, at a location now known as St. Philip’s College, part of Alamo Colleges. In 1945, the City of San Antonio bought the church and Rev Soupiset opened the present ministry in 1956. He would use a tin cup to walk the streets soliciting donations to prepare a Christmas dinner for the poor. In 1963, he held the first Starving Artist Art Show to fundraise for the church. In 1969, the stained-glass windows were installed in memory of Rev. R. Paul Soupiset, “The Beggar of La Villita” as he was affectionately known.

Photo courtesy of the San Antonio Express News. Originally this land was a corner of the Maverick family homestead, just steps from the Alamo. As the city of San Antonio developed and grew so did the commercial trades and in 1865, the Lockwood National Bank was formed. As the bank’s business increased rapidly it moved several times, eventually finding a permanent home at 115 Broadway. The new bank building was opened to the public with great pomp and circumstance in July 1918. Hoggson Brothers of New York and Chicago was the architectural firm behind the building design and calculated architect E.E. Dimon was the project’s construction supervisor who pulled in modern Greek architectural construction for the design. A sign of the times, “special accommodations for ladies” were made. This room was decorated in “soothing tones” and provided a private area for women to conduct their banking transactions. The original vault was transported from New York via ox cart. A feat to bring the latest in security technology to the patrons of San Antonio. Other notable tenants of 115 Broadway included a group in 1939 that lead a recall effort of Mayor Maury Maverick, a relative of the current Maverick ownership.

Photograph courtesy of RIOS. Main Plaza, also known as Plaza de las Islas, is where in 1731 the 52 Canary Islanders arrived and established Villa San Fernando de Bejar in honor of the heir to the Spanish throne who became Ferdinand VI. They utilized the Law of the Indies to create squares and street patterns based on the Vitruvian principle for orienting plazas based on the four principal winds. This space is a medium-sized plaza measuring 400 x 600 Spanish feet. It was important that the government, military, and religious centers be adjacent to each other. Main Plaza is the geographic center of the city and was established at San Fernando Cathedral by the Law of the Indies principles. The city limits measured 3 miles in each direction for 36 square miles.

Photograph courtesy of the Majestic Theatre. Many say that Houston Street is the prettiest street in Texas and the Majestic Theater is its most recognizable landmark. The Majestic Theatre opened in 1929 and was designed by famous theater architect John Eberson. The Majestic is considered Eberson’s magnum opus, where he pushed his fantastical and atmospheric ornamentation to the most elaborate extent. On top of the theater were 14 stories of office space. The left side of the auditorium is modeled after a Spanish Colonial palace, the right side is after a Moorish castle. All details are done in plaster. The ceiling is sky blue to extend the symbolic atmosphere. In 1930, the owners realized that hosting Vaudeville as well as films was not profitable in their situation, so they transitioned to become a dedicated movie house. In 1988, Josephine Strauss organized the Las Casas Foundation dedicated to forming a new performing arts center to be housed in the two adjoining historic theaters, Majestic and Empire.

Market Square: San Antonio has always been a center of trade and a market town since its establishment in 1718. Commerce Street is a major thoroughfare and one of three original roadways radiating out from the center of the city since it was established in 1731 by the Canary Islanders. Commerce Street was part of Camino Real, the major trade link between Mexico and Louisiana. From its earliest days, it was centrally located to trade between Mexico and US. The Market House was constructed in 1858 on Market Street just off Main Plaza. It was demolished in the 1920s when Market Street was widened. A replica of the Classical portico was created for the San Pedro Playhouse Theater in San Pedro Park in 1929 by the Conservation Society. The new Market House was completed in 1899 by architect Alfred Giles. The market included a Chinese café and coffee counter. Then Giles’ municipal Market Building was demolished, and the present market building was constructed on site in 1938. It is known now as the Farmers Market or El Mercado.

Image courtesy of the UTSA Libraries Special Collections and photo courtesy of the Midland Reporter-Telegram. The Medical Arts Building, a 13-story medical center, opened in 1926. Developed by J.J. Nix who later built Nix Hospital in Downtown San Antonio. The building is designed in the Gothic Revival style, which was very popular for skyscrapers in the early 20th century. It features elaborate gargoyles and figures with medical ailments. The cast iron panels at the marquees and between 1st and 2nd stories are painted to look like bronze. Later, it was named the Emily Morgan Hotel, though the name was controversial because it was based on the legend of the woman who distracted Mexican general Santa Anna.

Photograph courtesy of the Menger Hotel. The Menger Hotel was originally built in 1859 on the site of Texas' first brewery; this two-story 50-room hotel became so popular that a 3-story addition was quickly built to make room for guests and has been expanded several times since. Today the Menger Hotel is the reportedly oldest continuously operating hotel west of the Mississippi. Member of the Historic Hotels of America - much of the architecture and artifacts from the early days remain inside the Menger Hotel (including antiques and paintings) and many were the personal selections of Mr. Menger, purchased during his trips to New York and Europe in the 1870s. An exact replica of London’s House of Lord’s Pub, the Menger Bar is where Teddy Roosevelt recruited his Rough Riders. The bar was built in 1887 and has a paneled ceiling of dark cherry wood, beveled mirrors from France, and original brass spittoons provided for the convenience of its early customers.

Military Plaza, in Spanish, Plaza de Armas, is the permanent site of the Presidio (military garrison) of San Antonio in 1722 after it moved from its original 1718 location farther north on San Pedro Creek. Military troops of Spain once drilled in this plaza and “chili queens” reigned here in the 19th century. Military Plaza evolved from an early community gathering and marketplace into the site of City Hall. Citation: Schott, Arthur. Military Plaza: San Antonio, artwork, Date Unknown; University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Star of the Republic Museum.

Photograph courtesy of The University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History. Municipal Auditorium was built in 1926 as a memorial to World War I soldiers. The structure is 12-sided, oval-shaped, with a domed arena, covering 6 acres; it features Grey Indiana limestone over the structural system of reinforced concrete with clay tile infill.
Its Spanish Colonial Revival style features tile roofs, smooth facades, arches and arcades, elaborately carved wooden doors, ornate columns, stonework, tile (especially at door surrounds), round or square towers, and a detailed entrance pavilion. The opening event was the Pioneer Ball. Mayor John Tobin’s funeral was held here in 1927 with over 8,500 attendees it was one of the largest in SA history. There was a devastating fire in 1979 that completely gutted the interior of the auditorium. In 1985, the renovated and modernized building was re-dedicated.

Photograph courtesy of UTSA Special Collections. This brick building housed a grocery store and a bar before being remodeled for use as one of the components of the Tower Food Patio during HemisFair '68. The structure was later moved to the corner of Durango (later Caesar Chavez) Blvd. and S. Alamo St. 1896 Sanborn map, corner of Matagorda and South Center Street. The 1896 Sanborn map shows the structure at the corner of Matagorda and South Center Street originally.

Photograph courtesy of Weston Urban. The Rand Building was constructed in 1913 by real estate investor Edwin Rand. The Rand Building was constructed on the site of the 18th century de la Garza House and Mint. A Texas Historical Marker on the east side of the building commemorates the de la Garza site. The Rand building was designed by Sanguinet and Staats of Fort Worth. The building reflects the Chicago-style influence of commercial architecture and features elaborate glazed terra cotta detailing. It was the home to the Wolff and Marx Department Store from 1913 to 1965, occupying eight stories, and featured a Japanese Tea Room on the fourth floor. Wolff and Marx merged with Joske’s Department Store of San Antonio in the mid-1960s and closed operations in the building. The building was threatened with demolition in 1981, but the Rand Building was saved and has since been restored.

Photo courtesy of the San Antonio River Foundation. The Museum Reach includes three miles of pedestrian pathways, multiple water features, and over 70,000 plants. The journey leads you past noted landmarks including the oldest VFW post in Texas, the San Antonio Museum of Art, and Pearl, a culinary and cultural destination at the reimagined historic Pearl brewery. Discover brilliant public artworks, historical landmarks, museums, and even a colony of Mexican free-tailed bats along this hub of economic and cultural growth. From April to October, a colony of roughly 60,000 Mexican Free-tailed bats resides under the I-35 bridge. Their evening departures are a natural spectacle not to be missed. For the month of December, the River Authority illuminates the Museum Reach with The River of Lights; it includes over 100 underwater lights, thousands of LED lights in trees, bridges, and light poles, as well as a 30-foot musical LED light show. Currently managed by the San Antonio River Authority, the construction of the Museum Reach was funded by the City of San Antonio and Bexar County. The public artwork was funded through private donations raised by the San Antonio River Foundation.

Photograph courtesy of the University of Houston Digital Library. City Hall was designed by Otto Kramer and dedicated in 1892. It is a Renaissance Revival style building with features derived from Greek and Roman Classical architecture. Originally it was only three stories with ornate corner towers and central dome and a clock tower. The complexity of the design was very typical for Victorian Era architecture. It was altered to its present appearance in 1927 with the addition of a fourth story and the removal of the entrance porch. The former City Hall and Jail that previously occupied the site were known as the “Bat Cave.” Simple two-story stone structure.

Image courtesy of the San Antonio Express News, 1929. The San Antonio Express-News Building was designed to house two newspapers, the San Antonio Express and the San Antonio Evening News. You can see the names of both newspapers above the door. The building was designed by local architect Herbert S. Green, architect of the Robert E. Lee Hotel. Green is perhaps best known as the architect of the 1930 Art Deco San Antonio Public Library building, now home of the Briscoe Western Art Museum. The building features common to Art Deco buildings: strong vertical emphasis, low relief stylized floral decoration, and eagles. The newspaper officially moved into the new building on Black Tuesday, Oct. 29, 1929, the day of the stock market crash that preceded the Great Depression. There is a frieze above the main entrance designed by sculptor Pompeo Coppini. The relief sculpture is an allegory for the mission of a newspaper. A globe connected to a series of phone and telegraph wires represents news being communicated around the world. Six godlike figures surrounding the globe represent the ideas of Labor, Education, Knowledge (whose finger points to Texas on the globe), Enlightenment, Truth, and Justice.

Photo courtesy of TheLivingNewDeal.com. The San Antonio Fire Museum was a dream of five firefighters assigned together. The Museum is located at San Antonio’s original Central Fire Headquarters. This Central Fire Station was built in 1938 by the Works Progress Administration. The San Antonio Fire Museum is owned and operated by the San Antonio Fire Museum Society, a 501(c)(3) public charity. All its management and operations staff are volunteers dedicating more than 1,200 hours each month to preserving San Antonio’s rich firefighting history.
On June 6, 1854, a group of 20 young San Antonians met and organized the first volunteer fire department. They called it the Ben Milam Company. In 1858, the Ben Milam Company purchased the first hand-operated fire engine which made the local fire department one of the best in the entire Southwest. In 1891, San Antonio boasted a population of 37,363 people. In March of that year, a permanent, paid Fire Department was organized. Two 700 gallons-per-minute steam pumpers, 5 hose carriages, 2 hook-and-ladder trucks, and assorted wagons and carts were provided. Some 45 firefighters were hired. The Fire Chief was paid $100 per month, double-team drivers were paid $55, and privates earned $45 per month.

Photograph courtesy of the University of Texas at San Antonio Institute of Texan Cultures. At the turn of the century, the river flowing through downtown was viewed as a menace. Buildings faced away from the river, and dangerous floods lead some to propose for it to be paved over. The infamous 1921 San Antonio Flood shows the city the need to build Olmos Dam and straighten the riverbed to prevent future floods. In 1928 and 1929, there were a couple of proposals to cover the River that were defeated. The Conservation Society endorsed Robert Hugman’s river beautification plan and presents a metaphorical puppet show called “The Goose and the Golden Egg” to illustrate the river’s value to members of the city council. Federally funded work began in 1939 on Hugman’s plans. In 1941, the River Walk officially opened. In recognition of Hugman’s vision for the River Walk, the City of San Antonio has installed more than fifty bronze plaques identifying original Hugman-designed features. The bronze plaque replicates the architectural seal used on Hugman’s original drawings. A multimedia tour of the Hugman features can be accessed here. https://gis.sanantonio.gov/ohp/hugmantour/index.html

Photograph courtesy of The Austin Chronicle. San Fernando Cathedral, originally known as the Church of Nuestra Senora de la Candelaria y Guadalupe, began construction in 1738 and was completed in 1749. Then the façade was added in the 19th century. The original structure was built of rough limestone on a cruciform plan with a single bell tower in the Spanish Baroque style with little decoration. By 1840 the church was almost in ruins and was renovated that year. The present structure was built over the colonial church (1868 – 1873) by Francois Giraud who design Ursuline Academy. The San Fernando Cathedral is designed in the Gothic Revival style, which includes lancet windows, twin towers, triple entrances, a gabled roof, and Gothic ornament, like quatrefoils & pinnacles. When built, this cathedral became the center of the new Diocese of San Antonio.

Photo courtesy of the San Pedro Creek Culture Park. San Pedro Creek was an important early water source for the first settlers of San Antonio along with the San Antonio River. The initial Mission San Antonio de Valero, the first Spanish mission settlement in San Antonio, was established near the marker site in 1718; later moved further south, and finally settled at a third and final location on the east side of the San Antonio River, which is the location of the famous Alamo. The original Spanish presidio (military garrison) was established about a mile and a half north of this site at San Pedro Springs in present-day San Pedro Park. San Pedro Creek, originally a natural waterway, extended from San Pedro Springs south through downtown to the San Antonio River near Mission Concepcion. This portion of the creek was channelized in the early 20th century. San Pedro Creek is now San Pedro Creek Culture Park.

Image courtesy of the San Antonio Express News. The Santa Rosa Infirmary was first established on the site in 1869 by three French Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word. Santa Rosa Infirmary was renamed Santa Rosa Hospital in the early 20th century. Then in 1937, the Santa Rosa School of Nursing construction began, which stood behind the Santa Rosa Hospital. The former 19th-century hospital building, known as “Old Main,” was demolished in 1965 for the existing hospital facility. Then in 1998, the nursing school was also demolished. The middle of the historic facade was saved and moved 50 feet away and is now formed in the shape of a tower honoring the old Santa Rosa School of Nursing. Spirit of Healing Mural/Mosaic by San Antonio artist Jesse Trevino is on the north façade. It includes over 150,000 pieces of hand-cut ceramic tile and is over 90 feet tall.

Photo courtesy of the Sheraton Gunter Hotel. The Gunter Hotel is not the first building on this site. Originally, Frontier Inn was constructed on this site in 1837. Then a two-story stone building replaced the Frontier Inn in the mid-19th century when the property was purchased by the Vance brothers. The building was used by the U.S. Army as military headquarters until 1872, when it was converted into the Vance House hotel. At the turn of the century, Jot Gunter and other investors determined that San Antonio, the fastest-growing city in Texas, needed a grand hotel. The multi-story Gunter Hotel was constructed on the site in 1909. Gunter died before completion, and the hotel was named in his honor. By 1912 advertisements touted it as “The Gunter Hotel at the Center of Everything.” The top three stories were added in 1927. The hotel was renovated in 1980 and the second-floor balcony was enclosed for additional dining space.

When first built, the Spanish Governor’s Palace served as the residence and headquarters of the captain of the Presidio de Bexar, who represented the King of Spain in the governor’s absence. Hapsburg coat-of-arms over the door is dated 1749 (suggesting the building’s completion date). The Hapsburg coat-of-arms was adopted by King Charles I of Spain in the 1500s. Designed around a central landscaped courtyard in a manner in keeping with traditional Spanish residential architecture. Other traditional Spanish architectural features include canales—roof drains that extend outward from the front façade; roof parapet; heavy, paneled wooden doors; white plastered exterior. The building was saved in the early 20th century by combined efforts of Adina de Zavala’s Texas Historical and Landmarks Association and the San Antonio Conservation Society. Owned by the City of San Antonio and maintained as a museum with period furnishings. Available for rental for weddings and other special events.

Photo courtesy of the Benedictine Sisters of Boerne, Texas. The Benedictine Sisters, now in Borne, TX, began their journey in 1911 on the Isle of Pines in Cuba, with time in San Antonio. The Sisters were in Cuba for 8 years when they found refuge in South Texas after a hurricane devastated their school and convent in Cuba. The Saint Scholastica Convent building has been a convent, theater, and now a restaurant, Liberty Bar, as of 2009. St. Vincent de Paul Nursing Home (AKA St. Vincent's Home for the Poor & Aged) was operated from 1926 to 1985. In 1950, they opened St. Benedict's Hospital, adjacent to St. Vincent's, which are now the condos named St. Benedict Lofts. In 1985, St. Benedict's Health Care Center was sold, thus ending 59 years of uninterrupted healthcare services in San Antonio.

Photograph courtesy of TAMU-SA.
On Aug. 1, 1875, the African Methodist Episcopal church congregation placed a cornerstone that read, “AME CHURCH 1875”. This cornerstone was unearthed in 2021. Construction on the San Pedro Creek project uncovered the foundations of the building that was once the property of St. James AME Church, a congregation that still exists on San Antonio’s West Side. The congregation of 1875 included San Antonio residents who had been born into slavery but emerged from the Civil War as free people. In the photo is a view of 1870s Alameda Plaza near San Pedro Creek which includes the former St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church building. In 1875, the church spent $2,300 enlarging the building, as the previous building became too small for the growing membership. Like many sites in downtown San Antonio, the church foundation reflects layers of history that developed over time. After the building area was used as a church, it later became an ice factory, then Alamo Brewery, which was eventually purchased by Anheuser-Busch. It now is a landmark along the San Pedro Creek Culture Park.

Photo courtesy of The Historical Marker Database. St. John’s was established for a burgeoning German Lutheran population of the mid-19th century. In 1857, San Antonio’s first Lutheran church was established on this site with 15 members. St. John’s was the only Lutheran church in San Antonio until 1903. St. John’s conducted services in German until bilingual services were introduced in 1900. In 1903, a separate English-speaking congregation was established as Grace English Evangelical Lutheran Church, which is still an active congregation. The original church tower was not built until 1873. The first church was referred to as the “Rooster Church” because of a rooster weathervane on the steeple. The rooster had religious significance as a reminder of Peter’s denial of Christ. In 1932, the current existing St. John’s Church was constructed. It was designed by architect Marvin Eickenroht in the Gothic Revival style. It has stained glass windows by Von Gerichten Studios of Columbus, OH. At one time, St. John’s had 3,000 members making it the largest Lutheran church in Texas. It was known as the Lutheran Cathedral of the Southwest.

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia Commons. The cornerstone of St. Joseph's Church was laid in 1868. Originally, German Catholics worshipped at St. Mary’s Church which served both English and German speakers, but Germans wanted their own church. The land for the church was originally purchased in 1859 but then construction was delayed until after Civil War. The church is designed by G. Friesleben and Theodore Giraud in Gothic Revival style, dominated by a central entrance tower with a slate and copper roof. In 1898, Jacob Wagner built a spire designed by James Wahrenberger. There was no steeple until then. In 1902, stained glass windows were purchased for $3,000 (a very large sum at that time!) from the Emil Frei Art Glass Factory in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. The rectory is a Gothic Revival style two-story rectangular structure with pedimented gables, quoins, dentils, segmental arches over the openings, and a second-floor balcony on the east façade. In 1945, the Joske's Department Store wanted to purchase the Church and Rectory and use the land for its expansion program, but the parishioners voted unanimously not to sell so Joske’s built around three sides of the complex. Today the church is affectionately known as St. Joske’s.

Father Antonio Olivares, a Franciscan priest, founded San Antonio de Valero (substituting Valero for Padua, after the new viceroy Marques de Valero). The Presidio of San Antonio de Bexar was first located at San Pedro Creek. After the buildings were destroyed in 1724, Valero moved to the current Alamo location. The first stone for a permanent church was laid in 1744. Note that the iconic rounded gable parapet was not added to the chapel until 1850 by the U. S. Army. The State of Texas owns the entire complex; the state bought the Alamo Convento in 1880 for $20,000.

Photo courtesy of the San Antonio Express News. The Crockett Hotel is a historic hotel of San Antonio that stands where Davy Crockett and an outnumbered band of Texas settlers defended the southeast palisade of the Alamo during a 13-day siege in February-March 1836. The Republic of Mexico forces defeated the defenders of the Alamo in that battle, but shouts of “Remember the Alamo” inspired the Texans and Sam Houston to victory over the Republic of Mexico at San Jacinto just a little more than a month later. The property was converted from agricultural to commercial use after the war, and in 1909 a fraternal organization built the current six-story building to serve as a hotel and fraternal lodge. The seven-story west wing was added in 1927. The building was carefully renovated in 1982, earning it a place on the National Register of Historic Structures. In 2007, the historic Crockett Hotel, a historic San Antonio Alamo Hotel, was completely renovated once again. A section of guestrooms that had been added for the 1968 World’s Fair was demolished to enhance the pool area, and this Alamo hotel’s remarkable 7th-floor suites were brought back to their former glory.

Photo courtesy of University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History. Compliant developers paid the Conservation Society to conduct the most impressive building relocation effort in the world. Not only is the Fairmount Hotel the largest building to ever be transported from one location to another, but coverage of the effort also showed the world how serious San Antonians were about the preservation of their landmarks. In 1906, the Fairmount is built as a “salesman’s hotel” situated in prime real estate between the Alamo and the railroad. It features Italianate Victorian architecture that was typical of commercial buildings for that period. But in 1968, the hotel becomes vacant. In 1985 the Three-story brick Fairmount Hotel moved six blocks to a new site near La Villita.

Photograph courtesy of Weston Urban. The Milam Building is a 21-story skyscraper on E Travis Street constructed in 1928. When it was completed, it was the tallest reinforced concrete building ever constructed and the first fully air-conditioned office building in the United States. Like the Robert E. Lee Hotel, the Milam Building was commissioned by the Travis Investment Company. It was designed by George Willis, who studied architecture in Chicago under Frank Lloyd Wright before coming to San Antonio. The Milam Building featured amenities such as a Post Office substation, a barber shop, a drugstore, and a penthouse suite. Many leading oil and gas companies had offices in the building through the 1950s. In 1991, the Milam Building was designated a National Mechanical Engineering Heritage Site for its early air conditioning technology.

The Tower Life Building opened in 1929 and was originally named the Smith-Young Tower, with 31 floors. It was the tallest building in San Antonio for 59 years at 404 ft tall. This tower is the central component of a partially completed development called the Bowen Island Skyscrapers. The Great Depression hit, and the rest of the complex was never built. Bowen’s Island, originally formed by a loop in the San Antonio River and one of the acequias (Spanish irrigation ditches), was named for John Bowen who established a homestead here in the late 1860s and he served as the first U.S. Postmaster of San Antonio. In 1923, J.H. and F.A. Smith, successful contractors, purchased the “island” and began its development when the loop in the river was straightened and the old channel and irrigation ditch filled. The eight-sided, Late Gothic Revival style office tower of brick and terra-cotta (complete with gargoyles) was designed by the noted local architectural firm Ayers & Ayers. Terra cotta embellishes the 26th and 29th floors with gargoyles accenting each of the eight corners.

Image courtesy of thealamocity.com. In America, the Turners federation promoted the German Turnverein movement, the promotion of the improvement of the mind through the development of the body. In 1892, the Turners opened a 20,000-square-foot facility with a bowling alley, gymnasium, and ballroom, with Chicago brick and lined with Kerrville limestone and granite. There was a luxurious and festive grand opening party. In 1929, there were plans to add 10 stories, but then the Great Depression hit. The US government purchased the property in the 40s to house a USO office. With all the anti-German sentiment during World War II, the German markings were removed from the decor. The stone marking Turner Hall was removed and the stained-glass windows, depicting the Stars of David, were boarded over. The brick exterior was painted over. Later, during restoration, the sandblasting to remove the paint would destroy the patina and the brick’s waterproofing. Developer Arthur Veltman, also known as “Hap” or “Happy”, chose the hall for a new location for his gay nightclub that was previously at The San Antonio Country. The Bonham Exchange opened in 1981 with a grand party, like the original opening in 1982.

Photo of the original 1892 U.S. Courthouse and Post Office before it was demolished, courtesy of the Albertype Company. The U.S. Post Office and Federal Courthouse were designed in 1937 in the imposing and highly formal Beaux Arts style by San Antonio architect Ralph Cameron with Paul Philippe Cret. Cret was a leading architect of public buildings in the United States, like the University of Texas at Austin’s iconic Main Building (The Tower). The Beaux Arts style became popular for public buildings after the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition and Fair in Chicago. Nicknamed the “White City,” the Fair featured monumental buildings inspired by Classical architecture temporarily constructed of a white material composed of cement and jute fiber called staff. The building is constructed around a central open-air courtyard. This building replaced an earlier Victorian Era post office constructed on the site in 1890. The building now serves as the Hipolito F. Garcia Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse under the General Services Administration. One of the most exciting features is a spectacular sixteen-panel fresco mural in the southern vestibule depicting “San Antonio’s Importance in Texas History.”

Photos courtesy of the National Trust of Historic Preservation. This two-story Italianate Villa, Villa Finale, was the last home of civic leader and historic preservationist, Walter Nold Mathis in the 1960s. Located in the heart of the King William Historic District in San Antonio, the Italianate mansion was built in 1876 by a successful hardware merchant and over the next 90 years had several owners who reflected San Antonio’s evolving story. Villa Finale’s historic integrity has been preserved by its owner and used for modern living with a flair for the past. The beautiful home and gardens are enhanced by the extensive collections of Mathis, which include more than 12,500 distinctive examples of decorative arts and furniture. These include 19th and 20th-century antiques, silver, ceramics, fine art, books, and Napoleona. Villa Finale is operated by Villa Finale: Museum and Gardens and is owned by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Photo courtesy of the SA Report. The Blue Hole, also known as the San Antonio Spring, Ojo de Agua, or Yanaguana, is located on the campus of the University of the Incarnate Word.  When the water level in the Edwards Aquifer is high enough clear water surges up from cracks in the limestone and spills into a riverbed that becomes the San Antonio River. The local origin story of the San Antonio River begins with a mythical blue panther that lived in a blue hole. One day, a water bird flew into the hole and then flew out, opened its wings and the droplets from the blue hole fell across the land. This is the story of where Yanaguana, a Payaya Indian village on the San Antonio River came from. Now we honor the Yanaguana with the Yanaguana Gardens at Hemisfair Park, the area for the '68 World's Fair. In 2009, the Hemisfair Park Area Redevelopment Corporation was created. The park features climbing structures, a splash pad, sustainable greenery, and public art, all are centered around the Yanaguana story. Oscar Alvarado tells the story with his mosaic PanterAzul, while other artists created a series of installations called PLAY for the Yanaguana Garden playground.