The Heart of Bexar County

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Bexar County Courthouse after the
Gondeck had been removed.
reveal the hidden beauty of the courthouse that
had been covered up for over 40 years. We
approved an expenditure of $30,000 to seek a
state grant from the Texas Historical Commission
to pay for a portion of the cost of taking down the
two Gondeck additions.
In January 2012, I appeared before the Texas
Historical Commission. I asked for a $2.5
million grant to remove the Gondeck additions
and I committed the Commissioners Court to
fund the balance of the project. We were later
awarded the grant.
On January 15, 2014, we held a symbolic ropepulling
ceremony. With Tracy standing in the
front, a group of us pulled down a section of the
Gondeck addition. We were off and running with
the demolition.
Slowly, but surely the 1972 and 1963
additions started coming down. As I watched the
removal process each day, the more excited I got
about seeing the condition of the original
windows and courthouse walls. Once I could see
the walls and windows, I was amazed that the
coloring of the walls was the same as the rest of
the courthouse after decades of being unexposed
to the sun and weather. I was reminded that it
had also been subject to the elements for several
decades before the two additions were added and
the color was not distorted.
With the removal of the Gondeck addition,
we were able to expand our south courtyard and
re-landscape. The south side courtyard is now
as beautiful as the front courtyard.
One and half years later on July 14, 2015, we
held a ceremony to reveal the hidden beauty of
the west side of the courthouse. My friend and
outstanding Texas Historical Commission
Chairman John Nau thanked us for returning our
landmark courthouse to its original exterior look.
He went on to say that we have brought back its
grandeur and that we were the most successful of
the state’s courthouse preservation projects.
In addition to the state contribution of
$2.5 million, Tracy raised $1.3 million with
the remaining funds contributed by the
Commissioners Court.
With the removal of the Gondeck additions,
the courthouse was still a very large building
consisting of 213,000 square foot. Now our
historic courthouse has been restored to the
original construction of 1892, and the 1914 and
1926 additions are a seamless extension.
5 4 F T H E H E A R T O F B E X A R C O U N T Y