The Heart of Bexar County

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leaving town Monday. President Matson said, “I can be there tomorrow.” We then set a time. After walking through the building with Dr. Matson and two representatives of Daughters, they said that their documents and artifacts would compliment the Bexar County archives. They also liked our climate control vaults and the finished-out display space, which were renovated to the meet the standards of the American Museum Association. They asked how much I would charge, and I said a dollar a year plus utility costs. Matson said she liked the price and wanted to move forward with a lease. Three months later on August 8, 2016, we held a joint press conference in front of the former Federal Reserve building and announced that Bexar County and TAMUSA had reached an agreement to house the collection. Later that same day, the Commissioners Court approved the lease of an initial term of two years with three, one-year options, for 9,937 square feet and shared space of 1,184 square feet. They would pay $25,438.72 a year to cover utility expenses. We held the grand opening on October 27, 2017. President General of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas Barbara Steven along with many of their members attended. Leslie Stapleton, formerly with the Alamo Library, became the Texas A&M Archives and Special Collection manager. She gave everyone a tour of the exhibit. The highlight of the tour was the signed original Texas Declaration of Independence from Mexico. We named the building the “Bexar County Archives Building” and had the name inscribed on the front of the building with a lighted sign. We also created a sign for Texas A&M—San Antonio and a large banner that advertised the Daughters of the Republic collection. The Daughter’s collection and Bexar County archives provide research opportunities for professional scholars, amateur historians, and the general public. Our citizens now have the opportunity to learn how the assimilation of our unique cultures have come together to build our great city; to understand our past to prepare ourselves for our future. On the second floor, we located the Bexar County Family Justice Center. They provide services to assist victims of domestic violence. On the third floor, we provided space to the San Antonio Bar Association. Through their outreach programs the members of the Bar will assist citizens will legal services. Also, on the third floor will be located the public defender office that represent defendants who do not have the financial resources to defend themselves. So, all the trauma we went through in obtaining the building complex was well worth the effort. The citizens of Bexar County now have a combination of services located in a convenient location. q Exhibits from the Bexar County Archives Building C h a p t e r X I 1 F 5 9
XIII T H E B E X A R H E R I T A G E C E N T E R by Nelson Wolff q Below and on opposite page: Exhibits from the Bexar County Heritage Center. It was exciting to discover that when the Gondeck addition was removed off the west side of the courthouse, the original front porch and double door entrance to west side of the courthouse were preserved. The entrance was midway between the north and south entrance to the courthouse and face a plaza that we created when we closed Main Street. The west side entrance opened up into 6,500 square feet of vacant space that was not usable as courtroom. Betty and I started talking about creating a heritage center in the available space. The purpose would be to educate the public on the role of county government. Betty employed a local firm, Toxey/McMillan Design Associates to begin planning for the center. They had designed the Dallas Museum of Natural History, the Austin’s Children Museum, The American Heritage Airpower Museum, and had numerous other clients such as Walt Disney and Warner Brothers. Anne Toxey has a Ph.D. in Architectural History from the University of California Berkley, a B.A. in art history from Sweet Briar College, and a Master of Architecture from the University of Texas. 6 0 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
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First Edition Copyright © 2020 HPN
Page 5 and 6:
CONTENTS FOREWORD .................
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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 and 14: q Architect’s Drawing of the Bexa
Page 15 and 16: II R E S T O R A T I O N O F C I T
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: q Above: Texas A&M-San Antonio Arch
Page 63 and 64: q Exhibits from the Bexar County He
Page 65 and 66: q Right: Northside view of the Bexa
Page 67 and 68: ABOUT THE AUTHORS C O U N T Y N E L
Page 69 and 70: APPENDIX A A R C H I T E C T S & C
Page 71 and 72: APPENDIX C A R C H I T E C T S & C
Page 73 and 74: APPENDIX D B E X A R C O U N T Y O
Page 77 and 78: JTM CONSULTING, LLC Drawing on a lo
Page 79 and 80: G BRACEWELL, LLP From top to bottom
Page 81 and 82: NICHOLAS & BARRERA, P.C. For nearly
Page 83 and 84: DAVIS, CEDILLO & MENDOZA, INC. G To
Page 85 and 86: LINEBARGER GOGGAN BLAIR & SAMPSON,
Page 87 and 88: LAW OFFICES OF SERNA & SERNA Growin
Page 89 and 90: G ESCAMILLA & PONECK, LLP Above: Pa
Page 91 and 92: WATTS GUERRA, LLP G Left: Mikal C.
Page 93 and 94: GUNN, LEE & CAVE, P.C. G Left: Ted
Page 95 and 96: THOMAS J. HENRY LAW Thomas J. Henry
Page 97: $34.95 978-1-944891-70-1 Ë|xHSLJOE
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The Heart of Bexar County

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