Oak Alley, part 1

 Oak Alley Plantation has been on my list of places to visit for a long time and was one of the definite stops on my recent road trip.  It is now on my list of places to go back to visit again; I want to spend a night in one of their cottages and enjoy several meals in their restaurant!

The Big House





The Big House and its dependencies were built over a three year period between 1836-1839 almost entirely by slave labor using local materials.  The finishing touches such are marble mantles and floors were imported from Europe and no expense was spared.  Wealthy planter Jacques Telesphore Roman received the property in a plantation swap with his brother-in-law.  The house was constructed as a gift for his bride, Celina, who was 16 years younger and accustomed to the city life of New Orleans. Built in the Greek Revival style on a square, central hall plan the design is thought to have been drawn by Celina's architect father. The contractor was George Swainey.

 

After Jacques' untimely death in 1848 due to tuberculosis Celina tried to manage the plantation; however, as with most women of that time she had no training in managing a large sugar cane plantation. By the time their son, Henri, assumed control of the plantation in 1859 the plantation was almost bankrupt.  Despite his efforts the plantation still was not profitable, and Henri slipped heavily into debt.  The plantation was sold at auction in 1866 to John Armstrong for $32, 800, solely for its value as a sugarcane plantation and not for the house or dependencies.

These oaks pre-date the house by over a hundred years.  They were planted in the early 1700's by an unknown settler.  I have to wonder if he had actually built a house here or just planned on building.  The 28 oaks are spaced 80 feet apart and reach almost a quarter of a mile to the Mississippi River.  When the house was built the river was visible from the front veranda as the levee was significantly lower then.  When the early Capuchin Fathers arrived in 1722 to establish St. James Parish, the trees were described as being of mature size. 

 

Today at 300 years of age they are considered to be middle aged and are members of the Live Oak Society where each tree is registered and has its own name.  Miraculously the trees and the plantation escaped the fury of Hurricane Katrina, sustaining only minor damage.

 

Madame Roman had named her house Bon Sejour which means "Good Stay" (A Good Place to Stay), but as the tour guide explained it was always knows as Oak Alley because the river boat captains would tell travelers that when they saw the alley of oaks then they were half-way between Baton Rouge and New Orleans!

After a succession of owners the house had fallen into disrepair.  Fortunately, Mr. Andrew Stewart purchased the property in 1925 as a gift for his wife, Josephine.  She hired Richard Koch to perform an extensive restoration on the house that included portioning the rear rooms of the first floor and removing one of the roof dormers on the front and back of the house.  Mrs. Stewart choose the pale pink color for the exterior of the house as well as the blue green for the shutters and railings.  As is the custom of Southern houses, the ceiling of the veranda is painted a pale blue to abide by the tradition that the blue color will keep birds from building nests.

Mrs. Smith loved the out of doors, preferring to be outside gardening or riding her horse.  She was fond of the English style of gardens, particularly favoring boxwoods.  These are over 100 years old.  The building at the back of the picture is thought to have been the site of the original kitchen.  The Stewart's used this building as a garage for their cars.

 

to be continued...

 

 

 





 



Baton Rouge Water Company Standpipe

What is that, I thought.  I walked over to this unusual structure and walked all around it trying to identify what it is or was.  There were two plaques, both stated that it was on the National Register of Historic Places.  But nothing else to identify this mystery tower facing Lafayette Street in Baton Rouge.

A little online research identified this as the Baton Rouge Water Company Standpipe.  It was constructed in 1888 after the Common Council of Baton Rouge contracted with E. Smedley and John H. Wood of Dubuque, Iowa to build a water works company.  They were also charged to maintain and operate the company. The original standpipe was built on a leased piece of ground adjoining the water works company.  It was 100 feet in height and 15 feet in diameter and constructed of riveted wrought iron plates that ranged in thickness from 5/8 of an inch at the bottom of the structure to 1/4 of an inch thick at the top. The foundation is 10 feet deep and there are fabricated triangular brackets at the base. An access ladder climbs up one side. Original capacity was 132,500 gallons although the contract only mandated a standpipe with 100,000 gallon capacity that could furnish 2 million gallons of water in a 24 hour period.

In 1937 plates were added to increase the capacity of the standpipe; this accounts for the present day height of 110 feet.  In 1938 a metal umbrella roof replaced the original wooden cover. Originally it held treated water from the Mississippi River and then later water from the wells that would be drilled in 1889 and 1896. This standpipe was the only elevated water source in Baton Rouge until 1938. The standpipe has not been used since 1963.  Today a fountain (under renovation or repair, thus the yellow tape) surrounds the structure and there is no sign of the Water Company building.

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Magnolia/Mobil Service Station

This building can easily be identified as a former service station by the familiar, bright red Pegasus perched on top!  It no longer welcomes clients to drive up for a fill up and a check under the hood, but it is a functioning business in a building that has been preserved and protected.

The station was built in 1934 by Dallas based Magnolia Petroleum Company.  The local architectural firm of Adams and Adams designed the station in the then popular Spanish Colonial Revival style. An article in the San Antonio Light newspaper in 1937 described it as "one of the most beautiful and picturesque service stations in the Southwest."

In 1985 Mobil Oil sold the building. The San Antonio Conservation Society negotiated with Mobil Oil and the new owner to protect the Pegasus sign.  The resulting agreement allowed for the first time for the company's trademark to be on permanent loan to a private entity:  the Society's Foundation. A separate agreement between the owner and the Society requires the owner to maintain and preserve the Pegasus sign.

An early picture shows what appears to be pumps located along this side of the building.  The picture is small and details are hard to distinguish, but it appears that the protrusions from the top, left side were posts that formed a type of pergola canopy.  From the picture I can't tell if there were service bays, but I can't imagine a service station from this era not having at least one service bay.

An article in the September 1, 2012 San Antonio Express News stated that there was a parlor where ladies could sit while having their car serviced.  The original tile from the parlor can still be seen in the store today. (Note to self, time to go shopping and check! Sloan Hall is a delightful gift shop)

The Magnolia Petroleum Company had been established in 1911 and all shares of stock acquired by Standard Oil Company of New York in 1925.  When Socony merged with Vacuum Oil Company to form Socony-Vacuum Oil Company, Magnolia became an affiliate of the new company.  In 1959 Magnolia merged with Socony Mobil and its operations became  part of Mobil Oil Company.

I have always associated the Pegasus trademark with Magnolia Petroleum Company; however, one source I checked indicated that it was a trademark of Vacuum Oil prior to the merger, so I'll have to do some more research. The 30 x 50 foot twin Pegasus's that revolved for many years atop the Magnolia Petroleum Building in Dallas were re-built and reinstalled and re-lit on New Years Eve 1999.  They no longer revolve due to the considerable age of the mechanism, but the Pegasus is considered a beloved, permanent fixture of the Dallas night skyline.

I'm just thankful that we didn't loose this treasure and that steps have been taken to protect and preserve it for the future.

San Antonio Post Office and Federal Courthouse

Construction of the United States Post Office and Court House in San Antonio began in 1935 and was funded through the Public Works Administration of the New Deal. It was finished in 1936 and opened in 1937. Local architect Ralph Haywood Cameron designed the building in association with renowned Philadelphia architect Paul Philippe Cret under the direction of the Office of the Supervising Architect of the U.S. Treasury Department.

When it opened the basement and first floor were air-conditioned, making it the first post office in the nation to have air-conditioning. Today this building is known as the Hipolito F. Garcia Federal Building and serves as the courthouse for The United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, but a small post office branch still operates in the lobby. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.

 "Its construction accomplished several goals--generating employment, housing all federal agencies in a single building, and streamlining San Antonio's quickly expanding postal needs.

A skillful example of Beaux-Arts classicism, the U.S. Post Office and Courthouse is indicative of the federal government's goal of expressing democratic ideals through classically derived architecture featuring grand scale, symmetry, and refined details.  The six-story building encompasses an entire city block and is constructed of steel and concrete clad in rich local materials--Texas Pink granite and Texas Cream limestone.  The building is polygonal in plan, centered on a central light court.  Its façade (south elevation) emphasizes a centrally recessed porch behind a screen of six monumental Ionic columns, rising to support an entablature that continues all around the building." (Source: U.S. General Services Administration )

East side of building

 

The building is at the north end of the Alamo Plaza Historic District.  The grounds of the Alamo are just across the street and to the right of the main entrance.  The building gives the appearance of confidently watching over the grounds of the Alamo and at the same time gives a sense of guarding all that our Federal government represents.  

"The grand Beaux Arts federal building was a beachhead of centralized, federal power. Through its front south façade, which faces Alamo Square, it linked Texas’s independent frontier spirit with the order and reason represented by the federal government. 

 (Source: American Institute of Architects )

One of the side entrances

 

In 1937, New Mexican artist Howard Cook won a national mural competition sponsored by the Treasury Department's Fine Arts Section to paint a 750 square foot fresco in the lobby of the Federal Building. "San Antonio's Importance in Texas History" was completed in May 1939 at a cost of $12,000. The 16 frieze panels depict the history of San Antonio. The mural was painted using the fresco technique of paint applied over wet plaster.  The murals were restored in 1999. These murals and the lobby are stunning; I was totally unprepared for their impact when I first visited the building!

     

The building has undergone a $50,000,000 renovation funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act economic stimulus package.  Trivers Associates of St. Louis provided a sensitive renovation that maintained the historical integrity of the building while adding the required modern updates.  The front entrances are now open again and visitors don't really notice the glass partition that guides them into the security check point to enter the building. Light fixtures like the ones shown with the murals were restored, but re-worked to be energy compliant.  Click on the Trivers link to see beautiful pictures of the inside of the building as well as an aerial picture that shows the open interior space of the building.

This building is remarkable, not only in its design and in its history, but also in the fact that it represents preservation and continuation merged together.



Sutton County Courthouse

The Sutton County Courthouse is located in Sonora Texas. This is the only courthouse that Sutton County has had since it selected Sonora as its county seat in 1890. It exemplifies the Second Empire style with its mansard roof, dormer windows, and detailed cornices. As typical with this style of architecture it is based on a square design plan.

The courthouse was designed by Oscar Ruffini.  He and his brother, Frederick Ernst Ruffini, designed many courthouses and public buildings in Texas.  The brothers were from Cleveland, Ohio, but settled in Texas with Oscar in San Angelo and F.E. (or Ernst) in Austin.   F.E. designed many buildings now lost to time, including the Old Main Building on the University of Texas Austin campus.  
 
The design for the courthouse has an interesting story.  Oscar was the supervising architect for the Tom Green County Courthouse (San Angelo) that was designed by W.W. Larmour.  Oscar sent the plans and a photograph of the project to F.E. who modified them for the Old Blanco County Courthouse that was completed in 1886 and for the courthouses in Callahan and Concho Counties.  Oscar took the plans and used them to design the Sutton and Mills County Courthouses.  I have to note that several references referred to this sharing of the original plan as "borrowing" or "used without permission"!

I was amazed at the similarities between the courthouses when I compared Blanco with Sutton.

The years had taken their toll on the courthouse and a comprehensive restoration was undertaken with help from a grant through the Texas Historical Commission.  Missing roof dormers and roof cresting were recreated from historic photographs; all the windows were restored and interior woods stained to match the original stain.  Restoration Associates has pictures on their web site of the gold and copper leaf wall stenciling that was restored and of one of the Diebold vault doors that was painstakingly restored.  Modern enhancements on the interior of the building to the electrical and plumbing systems were sensitively merged into the design to bring the building up to safety codes and modern standards.  VOH Architects have before and after pictures on their web site and the difference is amazing!  I'm grateful that the commitment was made to save the building and restore it rather than to tear it down and re-build.

El Mercado/Farmer's Market

Today this building is known as El Mercado, the home of the largest Mercado outside of Mexico, but it was originally a farmers' market. It was built as a Works Progress Administration project during 1938-1939 after the existing, nearby municipal market house (known as the Giles building) was torn down. 

Photograph of the Giles Building on display at El Mercado

The new market was originally named the Municipal Truck Market because it was designed with a wide entry so farmers could drive their truck into the market and sell their produce direct from their truck.  However, the market was commonly called the Farmer's Market. 

A photographic exhibit inside the S San Saba Street entrance has a picture of the new Farmer's Market with trucks in front and a small description about the history of the market. 

In 1975 the last produce was sold here and the market house underwent renovation to convert it into the air-conditioned El Mercado. The building was painted turquoise and the interior designed to resemble an authentic Mexican market.   

 

 

The wide opening on S San Saba Street was closed in and the front of the building slightly re-configured. The surrounding area is revitalized and referred to as Market Square.  In addition to the Mercado there are several well-known Mexican food restaurants in Market Square making it a most pleasant place to visit!

 

 

 

There are two markers on the W Commerce Street side of the building.  I learned a valuable lesson as I photographed and explored the building:  always go on every side of a building.  I almost missed these important markers.  As I was leaving (thinking there was no marker) I just happened to see the plaques! 

 

El Mercado is located at 514 W Commerce Street in San Antonio, TX

Mission San Francisco de la Espada

Mission Espada is the farthest south of the five missions the Spaniards established in the San Antonio area.  Today the peacefulness of the property conceals the troubled beginning of the mission and its struggle to survive. It is hard to imagine the raids of the Apache and Comanche Indians, the battle here just before the battle of the Alamo, and the mission buildings crumbling back into the South Texas brush land.  But the fruits of a hard working priest and dedicated preservations are visible today. 

The mission was established at this location on March 5, 1731, one of three missions being relocated from East Texas.  The mission had originally been established near present day Nacogdoches in 1690.  It was abandoned 3 years later and then re-opened in 1716 at another site about 10 miles away.  That mission would also be abandoned.  In 1721 the mission would be reestablished on the Neches River.  In 1730 the missionaries and some Indians left East Texas, hauling their goods and supplies in wagons with the livestock following along side.  East Texas had not been kind to the Franciscans; illness and hostility with the French forced their departure.

The door of the chapel is intriguing.  Its irregular arch has been the subject of much speculation.  The most popular theory is that the master stonemason had left Espada and the workers left behind were unsure of how to place the stones and reversed the two lower stones on each side.  However, the design has also been considered to be Moorish and has been compared to similar doorways and facades found in northern Spain.  It is one of my favorite parts of the mission.

By the early 1880's all that was left of the chapel was the crumbling façade.  The missions had been secularized in 1824 and had all fallen into disrepair.  The Espada community remained active and vibrant, but the mission had almost completely disappeared when Father Francis Bouchu came to Espada in 1885.    Father Bouchu was a man of many skills and an efficient manager as well. Upon coming to Espada he embarked on a one man project of restoring the mission property.  He rebuilt the convent for his residence and added a general store on one end.  He managed the store at first and used the proceeds to purchase former mission tracts from private owners.  The chapel was re-built by 1887.  After his death in 1907 the chapel was closed and would not re-open until 1911 with  a new roof, ceiling, doors and windows as well as a brick floor.

Interior of chapel

The mission underwent extensive restoration in 1955.  Old walls were reconstructed and a public road that ran through the mission was re-routed.  In 1967 the Franciscans would return.  Restoration work was done again in 1984 by the National Park Service after the formation of the San Antonio Missions National Historic Park.  As with Mission San Jose, the Catholic Church owns and maintains the church to honor separation of church and state.

A fire in the chapel's roof in 1998 was quickly extinguished, but damaged the roof and interior. The restoration that followed restored the roof to a previous design and allowed for the small attic space to be converted to accommodate modern air-conditioning equipment.

One of the priests who lives in the Convento is an avid gardener; his love of flowers is evident around the convento.  I've never talked to him, but have seen him standing in the sun on a hot Texas day in his long priest frock coat talking gardening with visitors!  The changes which Father Bouchu made to the convento have been removed so that it resembles the original convento. The walls in the foreground of the above picture are the restored foundation walls of another chapel which started construction in 1762.  This structure was torn down sometime around 1777 when it was deemed as unsafe.

During the years the Mission was in use the convento building had two workrooms that housed weaving looms and spinning wheels. Each mission had to be self sufficient and Indians were required to learn trades and skills such as spinning and weaving.  Blacksmithing was another skill taught to the Indians.  The Spaniards felt that teaching European skills to the Indians was vital to the colonization process. 

The focus of the Espada visitor center is on the trades and crafts taught to the Indians.  On my last visit a kind docent who is a member of a local weaving guild talked with me at length about weaving and demonstrated the loom set up in the visitor center.

This unique circular bastion was added by soldiers of the Mexican Army sent to Espada after a Comanche raid in 1826 destroyed crops, killed livestock and wounded several men. In 1915 the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word opened a school within the perimeter of the walls formed by the bastion.  It would operate here for 52 years while serving the many ethnic groups of the Espada community.

Perimeter walls

The original walls were built of bricks made on site and fired in a kiln just beyond the walls.  These bricks were thinner and wider than bricks of today.  The "ladrillos" closely resembled the size and shape of Roman bricks that had been brought into Spain more than two thousand years ago. The master craftsmen that built the missions were mestizos, part Indian and part European.



Ruins of Indian quarters