The Heart of Bexar County

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Revival Style Courthouse, located just one block away from city hall. Unlike city hall, the courthouse was a large grand building, built with Texas granite and Pecos red sandstone and red clay roof tiles. The Bexar County Courthouse included roundedarch windows and doorways reflecting the Victorian style. It had carved surfaces and a Spanish-tiled roof. The courthouse is entered by ascending spacious granite steps, with immense granite columns and bronze lamps on each side, to a platform floored in marble with granite balustrades. Two corner towers flank the front of the Courthouse. The northeast tower is 134-feet high and topped by a beehive dome and wrapped in observation decks. The other is a rectangular shape with an observation deck and a hipped roof. When it opened on January 27, 1897 the magnificent structure symbolized the principles of liberty, justice and independence as well as the hope and pride of Bexar County. It was the grandest building in San Antonio, and still is. Nelson and I believe that historic buildings embody human thoughts, aspirations and beliefs that evolve over generations. We are a part of the buildings as much as the physical structure itself. We believe our community should be judged by how we take care of historic buildings, especially public buildings that define the evolution of our local governance. But sadly, over the years, our community has let time and neglect do significant damage to both city hall and our courthouse. When Nelson became mayor in 1991 and then county judge in 2001, we were determined to restore these neglected historic treasures. The restoration would remind our citizens of their historical roots and help them to better determine our future. Nelson is the first person to serve as both Mayor and County Judge since Mayor Callaghan 100 years earlier. Nelson also followed in Callaghan’s footsteps when he first led the effort to restore city hall as well as the historic city municipal building located on Main Street across from the west side of Main Plaza. q Below: The Bexar County Courthouse (left) and the San Fernando Cathedral (right). C h a p t e r 1 F 1 3
II R E S T O R A T I O N O F C I T Y H A L L A N D T H E M U N I C I P A L P L A Z A B U I L D I N G by Nelson Wolff q Front view of the San Fernando Cathedral (left) and the historic Municipal Plaza Building (right). The historic Municipal Plaza Building on Main Plaza was originally the Frost Bank Building. The 12-story building was completed in 1922. It included a grand three-story high bank lobby with a mezzanine, an ornamental plaster ceiling, cast stone arcades, a marble stairway and Tiffany lights. In 1973, Frost Bank moved to their newly constructed 22-story tower located a block away on Houston Street. Under the leadership of Mayor Henry Cisneros and City Manager Lou Fox the city purchased the Frost Bank Building in 1986, the year before I became a member of the city council. City offices were located in the top 10 floors and Luby’s Cafeteria continued to occupy the former bank lobby under a lease agreement that they had with Frost Bank. I had lunch several times in the cafeteria until it closed in 1989. Luby’s left abandoned equipment and dangling electrical wires strung throughout the facility. After being elected mayor in 1991, I asked City Manager Alex Briseno and City Architect Tim Palomera to join me in a walk through the former bank lobby to determine if it could be converted into a City Council Chamber. The present council chamber was a small cramped, dungeon like space located in city hall. 1 4 F T H E H E A R T O F B E X A R C O U N T Y
Page 1 and 2: THE HEART OF BEXAR COUNTY RESTORATI
Page 3 and 4: First Edition Copyright © 2020 HPN
Page 5 and 6: CONTENTS FOREWORD .................
Page 7 and 8: q Architectural drawing of the Cour
Page 9 and 10: I E V O L U T I O N O F C I T Y H A
Page 11 and 12: q Above: Bottom, right: The Masonic
Page 13: q Architect’s Drawing of the Bexa
Page 17 and 18: q San Antonio City Council Chamber.
Page 19 and 20: III T H E D E C L I N E O F T H E C
Page 21 and 22: 2 0 F T H E H E A R T O F B E X A R
Page 23 and 24: Both designs were ill conceived, mi
Page 29 and 30: q Bexar County Courthouse. submitte
Page 31 and 32: VI T H E C H I L D R E N ’ S C O
Page 33 and 34: q Above: Children’s court Judge R
Page 35 and 36: VII T H E F I R S T R E S T O R E D
Page 37 and 38: q Before and after restoration of t
Page 39 and 40: In 1996 Father David Garcia, belove
Page 41 and 42: IX L A D Y J U S T I C E by Tracy W
Page 43 and 44: q Top, left: The Lady Justice fount
Page 45 and 46: q Right: Lady Justice during the un
Page 47 and 48: q Above and below: Construction of
Page 49 and 50: With that picture of the original c
Page 51 and 52: q Above: June 17, 2018, King Felipe
Page 53 and 54: q Above: Removal of the Gondeck add
Page 55 and 56: q Bexar County Courthouse after the
Page 57 and 58: XII T H E B E X A R C O U N T Y A R
Page 59 and 60: q Above: Texas A&M-San Antonio Arch
Page 61 and 62: XIII T H E B E X A R H E R I T A G
Page 63 and 64: q Exhibits from the Bexar County He
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q Right: Northside view of the Bexa
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ABOUT THE AUTHORS C O U N T Y N E L
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APPENDIX A A R C H I T E C T S & C
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APPENDIX C A R C H I T E C T S & C
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APPENDIX D B E X A R C O U N T Y O
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7 4 F T H E H E A R T O F B E X A R
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JTM CONSULTING, LLC Drawing on a lo
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G BRACEWELL, LLP From top to bottom
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NICHOLAS & BARRERA, P.C. For nearly
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DAVIS, CEDILLO & MENDOZA, INC. G To
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LINEBARGER GOGGAN BLAIR & SAMPSON,
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LAW OFFICES OF SERNA & SERNA Growin
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G ESCAMILLA & PONECK, LLP Above: Pa
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WATTS GUERRA, LLP G Left: Mikal C.
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GUNN, LEE & CAVE, P.C. G Left: Ted
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THOMAS J. HENRY LAW Thomas J. Henry
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$34.95 978-1-944891-70-1 Ë|xHSLJOE
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The Heart of Bexar County

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