ScoutSA 2020 Year In Review

2020 was the longest, shortest year.  Have you heard this phrase before? When time passes incredibly slowly, but somehow it’s already a new year? It feels like we just published our 2019 year-in-review post, but here we are: it’s already February 2021, and we haven’t reported back to you all ScoutSA learned and shared in 2020. 

In early March 2020, staff of the Office of Historic Preservation started working from home and isolating as much as possible due to COVID-19, but we’re very lucky to report that not much else has changed for us. Meetings are all virtual now, so we’re now experts in both Zoom and Webex. We don’t get to meet one-on-one with our customers as much as we’d like, but we still had plenty of opportunities to continue our work with and for San Antonians looking to learn more about their homes and our city.  

Outreach & Community Engagement 

We expanded the information available on the Discovery Map, making it even easier for remote users to access information about San Antonio’s historic neighborhoods and sites. With the help of intern Alicia Guzman, we added historic photos courtesy of the Conservation Society of San Antonio’s online catalog. If you aren’t already familiar with this great online resource, visit the Conservation Society online to search their vast collection of photos and other research materials. We worked with our colleagues in Living Heritage to add Legacy Businesses as well, so you can now search the map to find the historic and multi-generational restaurants, markets, artisan shops, and more near you. And we included the Story Maps created last spring by St. Mary’s students from Dr. Lindsey Wieck’s course Public History in the Digital Age. The students partnered with us to review GIS data of local historic landmarks and local historic districts and identify gaps in coverage. The nine students worked in small groups to produce four Story Maps that covered extant and lost Spanish-language movie theaters, Eastside churches and their role in the Civil Rights Movement, a century of development on South Flores St, and historic fire stations.  

Preservation Month, which we celebrate each May, moved online this year due to the pandemic, but it presented an opportunity for ScoutSA to refresh its programming. We offered two free sessions of our Virtual Classroom to help people celebrate the built and cultural heritage of our city: An Introduction to San Antonio’s Architectural History and Discover the Story of Your Home. The first session gave attendees an overview of San Antonio’s development history and provided examples of common architectural styles found in our neighborhoods. The second session introduced property owners to the tools available to them when researching historic homes. If you’re interested in future sessions like these, be sure to follow OHP on Facebook and Instagram, where we announce all our upcoming events, or sign up for our newsletter at sapreservation.com. We also launched a new series of short videos called ScoutSA Snapshots, which celebrates landmarks like 713 S Alamo, built in 1928 for Better Home Ice Cream, and the 1917 Pegues Memorial Baptist Church (now the Young Vision Center) at 742 Denver. 

Designations & Assessments 

We worked with a great group of owners and community advocates in 2020 to designate a new local historic district and 10 individual local landmarks. In April, the Esperanza Peace & Justice Center submitted a request to create the Westside’s first local historic district, the Rinconcito de Esperanza. Designated by City Council in August 2020, the Rinconcito de Esperanza Historic District contains 10 structures across three parcels along the east side of S Colorado St; the oldest structure was built c. 1906, and one of the three parcels was already designated a local historic landmark. The properties represent the once dense massing historically prevalent on the historic Westside, and their occupants have served the neighborhood in some capacity for nearly 100 years. Historic businesses at the site include Torres Grocery, three different dry cleaners, and Ruben’s Ice House, now home to the new Museo del Westside. It is also home to the Esperanza Peace & Justice Center, an arts and social justice organization that includes the MujerArtes Clay Collective.  

Landmarks

OHP’s individual landmarks—let’s call them the Class of 2020—were all built between 1880 and 1930. If you follow OHP on social media, you’ve already been introduced to these spectacular properties, but here’s a chance to reacquaint yourself! 

16000 Hickory Well Dr

The oldest home designated last year is this vernacular stone residence located 16 miles north of downtown in City Council District 10. Known as the Alig-Tampke House, it was built c. 1880 for Bavarian immigrants. Originally located on 160 acres, it’s now lovingly maintained by the Longs Creek Homeowners Association, who’ve proven to be great stewards of the historic ranch property.

241 East French Place

In 1883, Jacinto Gonzales built this Folk Victorian home. An early addition to what was then known as the Rock Quarry neighborhood, now Tobin Hill, Gonzales' address was listed simply as the west side of Rock Quarry road near the north city limits. Like many of his neighbors, it appears Gonzales worked in the quarry: his occupation in 1881 was listed in the city directory as a mason for the Texas Building Association.

215 South Pinto

Located in San Antonio's Historic Westside neighborhood of District 5, 215 S Pinto was built c. 1894 for Alfred and Nannie Dieckmann. This turreted residence with wraparound porch is a textbook example of the Queen Anne style, popular nationwide from about 1880 to 1910.

215 South Pinto

This Queen Anne style home is accented by a beautiful rounded window with stained-glass border.

214 Lotus

In 1909, Adolph Wernette built a Queen Anne-style home at 214 Lotus; the street was established c. 1909, making the Wernette residence one of the first homes on the block. Wernette, a contractor/builder who likely built his house, was a second-generation Alsatian American.

214 Lotus

Wernette left his mark on his home on Lotus St: a carriage step inscribed with his name still sits near the curb of the property.

413 East Mistletoe

This Craftsman bungalow has been part of the Tobin Hill neighborhood (historically known as Rock Quarry) since 1914, when it was built for Fred C. and Mary Rodriguez Luna. Mr. Luna owned and operated a market on Jones Ave, now N St. Mary’s St.

413 East Mistletoe

The Lunas’ granddaughter currently owns the home—it's been cared for by the same family for more than 100 years!  

430 & 434 East Magnolia

A few decades later and a few blocks north of Gonzales' house, Thomas H. Northway built 430 and 434 E Magnolia in 1905 and 1909 respectively. Thomas and his wife Eva were early investors in the neighborhood, developing properties adjacent to their home and on nearby streets.

430 & 434 East Magnolia

Both East Magnolia properties received strong support for designation from the Tobin Hill Community Association, who worked with the owners to encourage landmarking.  

1115 West Kings Highway

We also had the privilege of helping the owners of a 1926 Craftsman residence in Beacon Hill designate their home. The detail in the fascia boards is a characteristic shared by many of San Antonio’s Craftsman homes, as are the exposed rafter tails and flared skirt.  

505 East Travis

One of two commercial structures designated in 2020, the three-story commercial building at 505 E Travis was home of the San Antonio Light from c. 1914 to 1931.

505 E Travis

It was designed by Atlee B. Ayres c. 1914 as part of the complex that includes the historic Calcasieu Building at 214 Broadway. The 1950-51 renovation of the first-floor façade was designed by Ralph H. Cameron, a former draftsman for Alfred Giles and, along with Ayres, a founding member of the Texas Society of Architects.  

4007 S Flores

The structure at 4007 S Flores is a two-story, Spanish Eclectic store built in 1926 for A. C. Toudouze. The store at S Flores and Pleasanton Rd opened in fall 1926 as the fifth Toudouze location in the city. 

4007 S Flores

From its opening in 1926 until c. 1939, the second floor of the building was Toudouze Hall, a ballroom that hosted nightly dances; local bands and touring acts; and churches, advocacy groups, and social organizations

Historic Assessments

ScoutSA staff completed more than a dozen Historic Assessments in 2020. After a fire destroyed several structures on the Lone Star Brewery complex in 2019, we updated our c. 2010 historic resource survey to reflect the current conditions of the property. We also evaluated the significance of the Fiesta Store & Headquarters at 2611 Broadway. This single-story Art Moderne commercial structure was built in 19461 as the Tai Shan Restaurant for Theodore “Ted” Hong and Rose Wu, with additions by 1955 and 2004. In addition to their success in business, Ted Wu and his wife Rose worked throughout their lives to support Chinese Americans, their community, and their businesses in San Antonio.  

What to watch for in 2021 

We’re already working on some new landmarks for 2021, and have a pending historic district in the works, too. In June 2020, OHP received an application for the proposed Buena Vista Historic District, which includes nearly 500 properties in City Council District 5. The size of the proposed district, compounded by the pandemic and our inability to meet in person with residents, meant the tools we’ve used in the past to share information weren’t sufficient. We worked with the Historic Westside Residents Association to develop an inclusive engagement plan that addressed challenges like language barriers and the digital divide. This community partnership led to new and innovative strategies we plan to implement even after the pandemic is behind us. All materials we produced—recorded and printed—were offered in both Spanish and English. We hosted three public information meetings that were livestreamed to the City’s website and OHP’s Facebook page and accessible not only by computer, but also by a local phone line with live Spanish translation. The final meeting featured neighborhood residents who spoke about why the proposed historic district matters to them, the advantages of designation, and the significance of their community. You can watch testimonials from this meeting on Facebook or YouTube. 

Last year certainly presented us with obstacles, but we look forward to continuing OHP’s mission to protect the historic, cultural, architectural, and archaeological resources that make our city unique. And we hope to take what we’ve learned from our patient customers and hard-working community partners into all our projects moving forward.  

Happy (belated) New Year from ScoutSA!