John Twohig house

The plaque on the front of the John Twohig house gives a brief glimpse into the interesting history of this house now located on the grounds of the Witte Museum. 

“In 1841, John Twohig – a San Antonio pioneer, Texas patriot, and prosperous merchant – erected this house on a site which was part of the Veramendi Palace within a curving bend on the San Antonio River at St. Mary’s and Commerce streets.  Mr. Twohig’s house was unique in the community since few buildings in this area at that time could boast a second floor.  In 1852, John Twohig surrounded his house with a beautiful garden for his bride, Elizabeth Priscilla Calvert, and later smaller guest houses for his important friends.  The Twohig’s were famous for their hospitality!

The property eventually passed into the ownership of the San Antonio Public Service Company, and finally, in 1941, was moved to the grounds of the Witte Museum.  The building as it now stands was restored as authentically as possible to John Twohig’s original home.  Built entirely of local limestone, each stone was carefully numbered and replaced in its proper position.  The original fireplace mantles and doors were installed, the outside stairway replaced, and details, such as lamps, were reproduced.  Even the bend in the river is strongly reminiscent of the landscape which surrounded the house downtown.”

Mr. Twohig, originally from Ireland, was known locally as the “Breadline Banker” because of his generous distribution of loaves of bread to the poor every Saturday night.  The original site of the house was actually on a small island formed by the tight curve of river and was reached by crossing a small footbridge.  After the removal of the house this bend in the river was filled in and the river re-channeled for flood control purposes.  (Click here to read more about Mr. Twohig and his interesting life)

Back side of house, facing the river

The house was to be torn down, but local preservations went into action.  The Historic Buildings Foundation provided three architects and an engineer to oversee the relocation.  City Public Service (the public utility entity of San Antonio) donated the building and paid for the move; the Conservation Society would provide furnishings for the house. The Portland Cement Company donated the cement to reconstruct the blocks; the last 430 bags of cement arrived just before the war necessitated a freeze on the use of cement. The Twohig house would be the last WPA project to be completed in Texas (Fisher, 1996).

Back side of house (stairs on left)

 

View river as seen from outside the Twohig house (looking north toward the start of the river)
 

 

 

 

Sullivan Carriage House

Today when you walk through this door you are entering the San Antonio Botanical Garden.  But if you had walked through this door in 1896 you would have been walking into Daniel J. Sullivan's newly built carriage house.

Daniel J. Sullivan was a banker whose loans to ranchers had enabled the legendary cattle drives of the 19th century. He hired Alfred Giles, a well known architect in the region, to design the carriage house to be located behind his home at Fourth Street and Broadway.  The ground floor had stalls for the horses and storage for the carriages, while upstairs provided quarters for groomsmen.

Back side of the carriage house viewed from the Botanical Garden

After Mr. Sullivan died one of his daughters and her husband continued to live in the home. In the 1960's, through a Sullivan descendant's will, the property was transferred to the Archdiocese of San Antonio.  The house was sold and eventually torn down. 

Side entrance with handicapped accessible doors.  The gift shop is just on the right as you enter.
Can't you just see a horse drawn carriage rolling through these big doors?

The neglected carriage house almost met the same fate.  The Hearst Corporation had acquired the property and was using the building to store newsprint used in printing the now defunct San Antonio Light newspaper.  They needed to get rid of the building and offered it to the San Antonio Museum Association who turned it down.  The Hearst Corporation then turned to the Botanical Garden with  an offer of the carriage house, but the 7,675 square foot building had to be removed from the property in three months.

 

With support from the San Antonio Conservation Society funding was arranged on December 31, 1987 and the carriage house was ready for a move.  Each block was carefully cleaned and marked after being disassembled from the structure; following a careful move to its new location it was painstakingly reassembled, one stone at a time. 

 



As with many preservation projects the progress was slow.  Lack of funds had caused the project to come to a standstill until a couple who had observed the lack of progress from the windows of their nearby high rise apartment questioned why there was no work being done on the building.  Upon learning that there were no funds to continue the work this lovely couple wrote a check that enabled the carriage house to be completely renovated and put into use in 1995.

Today, the stalls are quaint seating areas for a nice little bistro type lunch restaurant, but sometimes I almost hear the big carriage horses stomping their hooves impatiently while waiting to be fed!

Entrance into the Bistro

 

 

Salvaged wood was used to construct the shelves and cabinets in the gift shop, located in the carriage storage area.  The stair case in the picture above leads to offices and a meeting/event room.

Just inside the front doors another staircase leads to the upper floor rooms.

The doors were re-milled and iron work was repaired and replaced.  Air conditioning and a sprinkler system brought the building up to city codes; the floors were treated and reinforced to increase fire resistance and support the heavy foot traffic. The building is completely handicap accessible, making entry into the gardens convenient for all visitors.

The Botanical Garden with its ever changing displays is the perfect setting for the Sullivan Carriage House to showcase its unique beauty.

Thanks to dedicated preservationists and generous donations the Carriage House is still nestled in the cityscape of San Antonio and will be admired and enjoyed by the generations to come.