The Heart of Bexar County

Both designs were ill conceived, misguided,
and architecturally inappropriate. Both violated
the height, material and the historical character
of the courthouse.
Over the years, interior modifications also did
significant harm to historic features of the
courthouse. Ornate ceilings were covered up
with dropped ceiling tiles. Floors were covered
with asbestos tiles. Large arch windows were
partially covered over. In 1967, the original
1897 30-foot high courtroom was divided in half
when a floor was added and another courtroom
was built above it.
In addition to the remodeling mistakes, the
electrical, air conditioning and plumbing
systems were out of date and the exterior walls
and balconies were water damaged and
crumbling. Urban pollution did great harm and
nasty pigeon droppings caused additional
damage. When mixed with rain, it became acid
and ate away at the sandstone. Guano from bats
had accumulated in the towers on both ends of
the courthouse. The basement was damp
because of continuous rainwater that flowed
into the basement.
With misguided additions, poor remodeling
and neglect, the courthouse was in bad shape.
The 1998 National Trust annual list of most
endangered historic resources included the
Bexar County Courthouse, along with other
historic courthouses throughout Texas.
Texas Governor George W. Bush, during his
campaign for re-election in 1998, promised he
would advocate for funding to restore Texas’
historic courthouses. He was re-elected and
fulfilled his promise by setting up a $50 million
fund to be administered by the Texas Historical
Commission. They set up a policy that required
local matching funds and a master plan in order
to be eligible for funding.
In response to the Texas Historical
Commission, Bexar County Judge Cyndi Krier
convinced the Commissioners Court in 1998 to
do an assessment of the courthouse and then
prepare a courthouse master plan. The Court
contracted with 3D/International and they hired
Betty Bueche to do the assessment and develop
the master plan. At the time, Betty was working
in Denver where she had developed a master
plan to restore the Colorado Brown Stone
historic 1890s Social Club.
A San Antonio native, Betty has an
undergraduate degree in fine art and biology
from Incarnate Word College and a Master
of Architecture degree from UT Austin. She
had also been a Conservation Society member
since 1977.
Two years later in January 2000, she
presented the historic preservation plan to the
Commissioners Court. The plan turned out to
be bit more than what the Commissioners Court
bargained for. It was estimated to cost as much
as $59 million.
It was expensive because of the damage and
neglect of the building, as well as misguided
remodeling projects over the years. Three million
people a year come through the courthouse
creating a lot of wear and tear.
The master plan provided for the restoration
of the exterior, ten historic courtrooms and four
corridors that span the length of the
courthouse. It also called for new elevators, a
new air-conditioning system, electrical and
plumbing repairs and upgrading technology.
Two other aspects of the plan proved to be
controversial. One called for the restoration of
the original two-story courtroom that had been
sliced in two in 1967 when a floor was added to
accommodate the 285th District courtroom.
The second proposal was even more
controversial. The plan provided options
for dealing with the 1963 and 1972 additions
to the courthouse that failed to match the
building’s original architecture. One option
was to add windows, another to create a
fake façade, and the best was to remove the
two additions. But no one on the court was
willing to undertake that task or even seriously
discuss it.
But there was one element of the plan that
clearly needed to begin as soon as possible—the
exterior of the courthouse was in sad shape.
Pieces of the tiled turrets and towers had
actually fallen off. Scaffolding was installed to
protect the public from further fallen pieces
of stone.
Even though there were reservations about
the plan, the Commissioners Court accepted the
master plan, forwarded it to the Historical
Commission, and applied for a grant to restore
the exterior walls. This is where Nelson and I
came into the picture.
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