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.

Texas & Pacific Hospital

Last summer I took one of my dogs to a dog show in Longview, Texas.  He had a mid-day show time so we had Saturday morning free. I made a trip over to Marshall Pottery and found an intriguing old building on the way (imagine that!).

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

When Bentley and I were on our way to Marshall Pottery I spotted an old building as we were going into Marshall.  On our way back I circled around the block to get a better look and some pictures.  There really wasn't much place to park and it was clearly posted "no trespassing" so I had to take what I could get picture wise.  There were no signs or anything, really to identify the building.

It appeared to be a school.  There was a building to the side that was connected by a covered walkway on a lower level and an enclosed walkway on the upper level.  What puzzled me was that this side building had what appeared to be a carport that was under part of the back side of the building.  The area was big enough that several vehicles could have easily parked under the carport.  It seemed odd for a school but I thought maybe it was a Catholic school and that was where the nuns or priests lived.

Here's a full view from across the street, obviously this building has been abamdonded for a while.

Here's the view from the back,  you can see the covered walkway.

When I started searching on the internet for this building I first thought it was one of the old high school buildings but I couldn't get the address to line up with the historical information.  I looked at it on Google satellite and could see a circular drive in front of the building, very interesting.  And, this building is adjacent to some of the current day school buildings.

Some more searching and I had the correct identification.  This is the T & P Hospital and it served all employees of the Texas & Pacific Railroad. Knowing that it was hospital explains the building to the side; that was the emergency room where the ambulances or emergency transports could pull under the carport covering.

As usual I found myself picturing this building as it was when new and in use, although I had envisioned students coming and going and not patients and ambulances.   There was a roof fire about a year ago and the owner commented that he would love to sell the building.  The article in the Marshall paper stated that the building was inspected after the fire and was deteriorating.  It also has asbestos so it will probably continue to decline until it is torn down and a little piece of history is lost.

Bastrop Christian Church

This door leads into Bastrop Christian Church in Bastrop, Texas.  When I first saw the church from a distance I immediately thought of the churches and buildings of New England.  Imagine my surprise when the plaque by the door described this building as being in a New England Victorian style!

The church was founded sometime before 1857. Members met in the courthouse until a rock church building was built on this site in 1867.  The New England Victorian building was completed in 1895. 

 

Bastrop was established in 1832 when Stephen F. Austin located 100 families in this area.  In 1834 the name was changed to Mina.  The town was incorporated under the laws of Texas on December 18, 1837, and the name changed back to Bastrop. 

  

 

 

   

 

The building on the right is their education building.  It was built just a few years ago, but is such a sensitive addition it looks like it was built at the same time as the church.

 

This is the peaceful courtyard between the two buildings. 

 

The wind vane also reminded me of New England!









Old State House

This door leads into the building known today as the Old State House in Boston, Massachusetts.  This Georgian style structure was built in 1713 to house the government offices of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.  To commemorate the Old State House's 300th birthday The Bostonian Society is hosting a week long celebration with many events and activities, including several that pertain to historic preservation. 

Today this small building sits proudly in the middle of modern high-rise buildings with cars circling around it and a subway rumbling underneath!  In the 1700's this was the center of  Boston's civic life.  Within its walls the tyranny of the crown was proclaimed and the desire for freedom came to life.  The first public reading of the Declaration of Independence in Massachusetts was done from this balcony; two hundred years later Queen Elizabeth would stand on this balcony and wave to the crowds below during a visit to the United States!

On March 5, 1770 five colonists were killed outside the Old State House by British Regulars in what became known as the Boston Massacre.  The British soldiers had been sent to Boston in October 1768 for the purpose of enforcing the heavy taxes demanded of the colonies and to ensure loyalty to the King.

 
The building would serve as the Massachusetts Commonwealth State House until the new State House was completed in 1798.   In the following years it would be used for a variety of purposes and would be altered to accommodate the needs of the various tenants.  From 1830 to 1841 the building was used as Boston City's Hall.  By 1879 the building was falling into a terrible state of disrepair and demolition was looming.  A group of concerned citizens formed the Bostonian Society and in 1881 turned the building into the Old State House Museum.  This group still maintains the building today while the building is owned by the City of Boston.

There have been numerous restoration projects as this old building requires constant upkeep and stabilization.  Old State House History details the building's history and has a timeline of events. The subway was tunneled under the building in 1905; the building rumbles with the passing of each train.

The Museum has many artifacts and exhibits detailing events of the American Revolution.  Although Samuel Adams or John Hancock never walked on the modern floors or gazed on the restored walls, there is a sense of history in the rooms and the presence of those Patriots seems to linger.  I felt a renewed sense of appreciation for those men and their commitment to the cause of independence.

To commemorate its 300th anniversary, the Bostonian Society invites everyone to join in a week of events and activities for all ages.

“Whether you’re a longtime Bostonian or a first-time visitor to the city, the symbolism of this building speaks to the steadfast human spirit in all of us,” says Bostonian Society President Brian W. J. LeMay. “After the recent events in Boston, we hope participating in this milestone anniversary provides everyone some level of restored peace and resilience.”

The Blue Hole

This post is not about an old building, it is about a natural feature, the Blue Hole, that pertains to the last post about the Upper Pump House.  It is historically significant since water was vitally important to the early settlers, as it is to our community today.

This is the ampitheatre in the Botanical Garden.  During the years of the Water Works Company, this was the reservoir for the water pumped from the Upper Pump House which was located 1/2 mile below the Blue Hole, the official headwaters of the San Antonio River.

This is the Blue Hole as it looks today, bone dry.  A combination of drilling artesian wells and exteme drought took its toll on the spring.  It will begin to flow again when the Edwards Aquifer reaches a certain level; however, the Aquifer is currently far below that level.  In the 1940's the Blue Hole was dry, and did not begin to flow again until a significant rain in the early 1970's brought the water level up. When there is water flowing form the spring it has a bluish cast, thus the name.

It is thought that the first Spaniards to have visit the Springs were members of a 1691 expedition led by Domingo Teran de los Rios and Father Damian Massanet who were enroute to visit the missions in East Texas.   Father Antonio de San Buenaventura y Olivares would visit the site in 1709 and thought it would make an ideal location for a mission. He would return in 1718 to establish the first mission, San Antonio de Valero (the Alamo) in its first location two miles west of the Blue Hole.

Early descriptions of the head waters describe the water as gushing several feet in the area with lush vegetation surrounding the waters.  The Eurpoeans delighted in the water source that had drawn the native peoples to the area for centuries.  Each of the missions would build acequias to bring the fresh water from the river to the mission. 

This area is part of the campus of the University of the Incarnate Word and is a protected area of over 50 acres.  A plaque on the rock wall explains that George W. Brackenridge built the concrete surround to protect the spring; it goes down to within a few feet of the Edwards Aquifer.  The rock wall was added in later years as additional protection.In 2008 the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity formed The Headwaters Coalition, a non-profit, sponsored ministry dedicated to spreading an ecological ethic and protecting this forested area that includes the Blue Hole and Olmos Creek.

In the 1890's there was still enough water here to make this a popular spot to come on Sunday afternoons.  A small dam was constructed that created a long, wide lake.  I wanted very badly to hike down this dry river bed; only the signs that asked for respect for the protected area kept me out.

This volleyball court was once a spring fed pool!

George W. Brackenridge would build his beautiful home on this property and name it Fern Ridge.  Today the home sits just beyond the volleyball court and is known as Brackenridge Villa.

Upper Pump House

The Upper Pump House (AKA Pump House #1)



I have been in and out of Brackenridge Park for many years, yet I had never noticed this old rock structure with its twin tunnels until recently. Amazingly, I had driven by the street side of the building and never thought about what it was, or might have been. When I noticed the structure from across the river I was puzzled about it, especially since I had never noticed it before.  So I crossed the river to explore it and was even more intrigued. There was a plaque that I started reading, just skimming through until I realized that one of the pictures was the Amphitheatre in the Botanical Garden.  I realized that I needed to start over and re-read carefully! With a little more research I realized that this structure had an amazing past.

In 1877, the city of San Antonio gave a contract to J. B. LaCoste and his associates for supplying the city with water from the spring at the head of the San Antonio River. The San Antonio Water Supply Company built a raceway and a pump house a half-mile below the headwaters on the property of George W. Brackenridge. 

Water falling from the end of the raceway had sufficient force to operate a large turbine which was connected to plunger pumps, forcing water uphill to the reservoir,  located in what is today the San Antonio Botanical Garden.  From there it was distributed by gravity to taps in people's yards (at that time, there was no indoor plumbing).

The current drought-like conditions give a good view of the tunnels

 

A water works plant had been in discussion since 1869 when Brackenridge's mother bought the property; even before then there had been debate about the ownership of the headwaters, known then and now as the Blue Hole.   The springs had become contaminated by outhouses and garbage; typhoid fever and malaria were rampant in San Antonio.  In 1866 a devastating cholera epidemic caused the community to realize there was a link between sanitation and disease; it desperately needed a method of water distribution that would eliminate the possibility of contamination.

There was much discussion and many talks, but nothing could be agreed upon.  Government and politicians moved slowly then, just like now, and there were several failed attempts to start a water system.  Brackenridge was determined that the city should own the springs, and had even offered to sell them to the city provided that they never be sold again;  that offer would also fail because the price could not be negotiated.



LaCoste had expected hundreds of people to sign up for service, the number was in the tens, and the unprofitable water works was sold to Brackenridge in 1883. Under his direction and foresight, the struggling water works system was built into a valuable asset.  In 1885 Brackenridge foresaw the possibility of the original plant being insufficient to meet the city's growing needs, and he purchased property along the River about a mile downstream where he built a second raceway and pumping plant to move spring waters to the reservoir. That structure is also still standing today.



This is the street-side view of the pump house

In 1888, from his observations of the wildly fluctuating spring flows, Brackenridge became convinced there was danger of complete failure of the springs as a source of water for the city. In 1889 and 1890, he drilled large artesian wells into the Edwards Aquifer, some of the first Edwards' wells. Spring flows became much less important as a water supply source.  Brackenridge's concerns were proved right when a long drought and the drilling of more Edwards' wells did impact the flows of the springs in the late 1890's.
 
Brackenridge was heartbroken and unable to watch the demise of his beloved springs.  He decided to sell 280 acres including the Blue Hole to the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word for $120,000, and in 1899 his Water Works Company donated 343.73 acres of land for the establishment of Brackenridge Park. In 1925 the Water Works Company was sold to the city of San Antonio, and operates today as the San Antonio Water System.

Next post:  The Blue Hole

Decker UMC

I've gone to a facility near Austin several times in the last two years for dog shows.  The route to the facility takes me by this pictuersque little church and I always want to stop and read the marker, and of course, make pictures.  Yesterday I finally had a chance to stop and explore. 

The community of Decker is about 8 miles east of downtown Austin, Texas.  The first settlers in this area were Swedish immigrants who arrived around 1867.  They worshipped in churches in Austin until 1871 when the Reverend C.C. Charnquist began to preach in homes; a church would be built and dedicated on Pentecost Sunday, 1879. In 1884 the church was enlarged and a parsonage was built.  By this time there was also a public school in the community; by 1907 there were two teachers and sixty students in the school. There was a community cemetery, as well as the one next to the church.

The church's bell - I wonder if they still ring it on special occasions

The current building was built between 1901 and 1902 under the pastorate of Reverend C.O.Freeman, with the modern addition (on the right) being added in 1967.

This is the side of the church, looking somewhat northeast.  I'm not sure what happened with the siding, it appears to be storm damage, but it does reveal a layer of a prior type of siding.

Whether you are traveling north or south on Decker Lane the view of the church is charming. There has only been limited development around the church, so I feel like it still looks much like it did a hundred years ago.

As luck would have it, they were having a family reunion in the church so there were cars blocking the view for pictures, and I didn't want to explore around too much and intrude on the gathering. But the next time I go by I will stop again.  (Go to church's website to see a picture of the church without cars.)