29-528: The Bexar County Courthouse is a historic building in downtown San Antonio, Texas , United States. The building was designed by architect James Riely Gordon , and borders Main Plaza, along with such other architectural landmarks as the Cathedral of San Fernando . The style is Romanesque Revival , and the main material used is red sandstone . Ground was broken for Gordon's structure on August 4, 1891, and
58-584: A property in Texas on the National Register of Historic Places is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Downtown San Antonio Downtown San Antonio is the central business district of San Antonio, Texas and the urban core of Greater San Antonio , a metropolitan area with nearly 2.5 million people. Downtown San Antonio is encircled by 1604 and I-410 loops and three interstate freeways: I-35 , I-37 , and I-10 . Together,
87-898: A branch of the San Antonio Public Library (SAPL) system, is located at 600 Soledad Street. SAPL also operates a library portal located at the Briscoe Western Art Museum on Market Street. BiblioTech digital public library has a satellite branch at the Bexar County Courthouse in the Central Jury Room. The Alamo Mission in San Antonio ("the Alamo"), located in Downtown, is Texas' top tourist attraction. Because of
116-632: A part of federal stimulus spending. The six story, neoclassical , Beaux-Arts building opened in 1937. The Consulate-General of Mexico in San Antonio is located at 127 Navarro Street in Downtown. Greyhound Lines operates the San Antonio Station at 500 North St. Marys Street. VIA Metropolitan Transit operates an Information Center at 211 W. Commerce Street, its Main Executive Office, called The Grand, at 123 N. Medina Street, Ellis Alley Park & Ride, and Centro Plaza,
145-468: Is Romanesque Revival. The main entrance is an arched entrance. The courthouse has lived through major political changes which charged a lot of the unneeded expansions or renovations. It was rededicated in 2015. See also: List of museums in Central Texas This article about a building or structure in Texas is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about
174-623: Is also based in Downtown. The Texas Fourth Court of Appeals is located in the Cadena-Reeves Justice Center in Downtown San Antonio. The San Antonio Post Office and Courthouse, located at 615 East Houston Street, functions as a United States Postal Service post office and as a regional office for federal agencies. In 2009, $ 61 million were allocated to renovate the Post Office and Courthouse as
203-652: Is an art community in downtown San Antonio, Texas , United States . There are art galleries , stores selling souvenirs, gifts, custom jewelry, pottery, and imported Mexican folk art, as well as several restaurants in the district. La Villita connects to the San Antonio River Walk and its outdoor venue, the Arneson River Theatre. It is close to the Alamo , the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center , Rivercenter Mall , and HemisFair Park . It
232-624: Is in the Guinness World Records as one of the heaviest buildings ever moved intact. It was placed in its new location, three blocks south of the Alamo, over four days in 1985, and cost $ 650,000 to move. Not far from the city center there are many local theaters, such as the Overtime Theatre. Downtown San Antonio is seeing an uptick of outdoor tourism attractions. With the opening of the Mission Reach section of
261-516: Is in the attendance zone of Fox Tech High School in Downtown, while southern parts are zoned to Brackenridge High School , south of Downtown. Navarro High School , a magnet school, is adjacent to Downtown. The University of Texas at San Antonio has both its Downtown and HemisFair Park campuses in the downtown area. Trinity University is a private, primarily undergraduate, liberal arts college in midtown San Antonio, approximately five miles due north of downtown. The six-story Central Library,
290-602: Is still operating in Texas. James Riely Gordon was the architect of the courthouse. He was born in Winchester, Virginia. His family moved to San Antonio, where he did most his work, when he was 11. In 1891, Gordon won a competition that would get him the commission of the Bexar County Courthouse. He has accounted for 18 courthouses, in which 12 of those still stand today. There are only a couple that aren't in Texas. There has been four major additions to
319-525: Is suffused with the local sounds of folklorico and flamenco music during the summer, particularly during celebrations such as the Fiesta Noche del Rio . Also based along the River Walk is the newly restored Aztec On The River , the only surviving exotic-themed movie palace in Texas. The Downtown Area also features Cathedral of San Fernando , The Majestic Theatre , HemisFair Park (home of
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#1732781063392348-580: Is within walking distance of most downtown hotels. Located on the south bank of the San Antonio River , La Villita was one of San Antonio's first neighborhoods. In 1939, as ground broke on the San Antonio River Walk development, city officials led by Mayor Maury Maverick acted to preserve this part of San Antonio's history. It was a Native American settlement and then a collection of primitive brush huts, called jacales , for
377-642: The Fiesta San Antonio each April, La Villita is host to a Night in Old San Antonio with dozens of booths grouped to offer fifteen areas for various kinds of food, such as Sauerkraut Bend, China Town, Irish Flat, and the Mexican Market. The outdoor festival, with its narrow streets decorated with paper flowers and papel picado (cut paper banners), typically attracts 85,000 celebrants, many wearing costumes and unusual hats. The event
406-782: The National Youth Administration to restore and preserve this colorful part of San Antonio's history. The NYA offered classes in arts and crafts as part of its program. Today La Villita is an arts community, and is included in the National Register of Historic Places listings in Bexar County, Texas . The galleries and shops found in one city block offer art by local and regional artists featuring oil paintings, sculptures, watercolors, metal art, rock art, textiles, copperwares, pottery, jewelry, stained glass, and regional folk art. During four nights of
435-773: The Tower of the Americas , and UTSA's Institute of Texan Cultures ), Pearl , La Villita , Market Square , the Spanish Governor's Palace , and the historic Menger Hotel . On the northern side of the Alamo complex, beside the Emily Morgan Hotel , is the San Antonio Cavalry Museum, which features cavalry artifacts and exhibits and is frequented by local re-enactors. The Fairmount Hotel , built in 1906 and San Antonio's second oldest hotel,
464-559: The Joske's chain in 1987. In August 2008, Dillard's moved out of the historic building as a part of a redevelopment plan for Rivercenter Mall. The Rivercenter Mall was built around St. Joseph Catholic Church after the church refused to move. Many people travel to visit the Alamo Plaza Historic District, which houses the famous Alamo. Attractions such as the river walk are home to many of the festivities throughout
493-680: The River Walk, new recreational tourism businesses such as Mission Bike Tour and Mission Kayak opened up to give tourists a new visiting experience. Visitors can now do activities such as kayaking the San Antonio River and bicycling to the World Heritage Missions. See also: List of museums in Central Texas 29°25′N 98°29′W / 29.42°N 98.49°W / 29.42; -98.49 La Villita La Villita Historic Arts Village
522-795: The Spanish soldiers (and their Indian wives and children) stationed nearby at the Mission San Antonio de Valero (an active mission from about 1718 to 1793, now better known as the Alamo). After a flood in 1819 washed away most of the huts, more substantial adobe houses replaced them. Late in the 19th century, European immigrants from Germany, France, and Italy moved into the area and soon became active in business and trades: retailers, bankers, educators, and craftsmen. The variety of architectural styles seen in La Villita's buildings reflects
551-641: The University District. The northwestern corner of Downtown is the Medical District. The Central Business District is home to the Rivercenter , anchored by a Macy's , an IMAX theater, an H&M , and formerly Dillard's . The five-level Art Deco Dillard's, at the corner of Alamo and Commerce streets, opened in 1887 as Joske's . Joske's flagship store was 551,000 square feet (51,200 m ) in floor space until Dillard's bought
580-615: The city, particularly the Northwest Side and Uptown, there are companies based in Downtown San Antonio, such as H-E-B , Eye Care Centers of America , Bromley Originate Change , and Kell Muñoz Architects. The San Antonio Police Department (SAPD) serves Downtown from the Central Substation. The main SAPD headquarters are in Downtown. The San Antonio Fire Department (SAFD), the city's fire protection and EMS service,
609-670: The company's main transit facility, which is located across from the Grand. Both Centro Plaza and the Grand are located in the Cattleman Square District of Downtown. Amtrak operates a train station in St. Paul's Square. Since Downtown is located at the City's geographical center, Interstate Highways 10, 35, and 37 combine to form a Downtown Circulator, which completely surrounds Downtown San Antonio. IH35 borders Downtown S.A. to
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#1732781063392638-412: The cornerstone was laid December 17, 1892. After several delays, construction was fully completed in 1896. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. The Courthouse currently functions as the county seat of Bexar County . In the years of 1870-1910, almost every town in Texas had built a courthouse. The Bexar County Courthouse is the largest and oldest courthouse that
667-459: The courthouse. The first one happened in 1914. The second one in 1923 was a massive remodeling and expansion to accommodate the growing population. Another expansion happened in 1963 where 9,000 square were added. The biggest expansion happened in 1972 where almost 39,000 square feet was added to the building. In total, the building is about 300,000 square feet. There has been a recent finished restoration project that costed $ 9.1 million. It included
696-563: The cultural mix, from the one-room homes of the poor to the larger houses of the prosperous. La Villita deteriorated into a slum in the early part of the 20th century. During the Great Depression , work began on the River Walk, a make-work project funded by the Works Progress Administration which came close to La Villita. The project, led by Mayor Maury Maverick, sponsored a companion effort in 1939 by
725-568: The mission, San Antonio is often called the "Alamo City". The River Walk , which meanders through the Downtown area, is the city's second-most-visited attraction. It was one of the first restorations of an urban river. Lined with numerous shops, bars, and restaurants, as well as the Arneson River Theater , this attraction is transformed into an impressive festival of lights during the Christmas and New Year holiday period, and
754-770: The north and west, IH10 to the south and west (overlaps with IH35), and IH37 along the east end. Downtown is within the San Antonio Independent School District , which is headquartered in there. Austin Academy, a PreK-8 school, is northwest of Downtown and serves parts of northern Downtown. Bonham Elementary School, an elementary school which will become PreK-8 by 2009, is south of Downtown and serves southern Downtown. Bowden Elementary School, east of Downtown, serves parts of northern Downtown. Middle schools serving sections of Downtown include Tafolla, Twain, and Wheatley. Northern Downtown
783-419: The restoration of the original building. This recent restoration project removed the 1963 and 1972 additions. It seems that the main goal of this project was to return the courthouse to its original plan as much as they could, although the original plan before any additions cannot be found. This restoration improved the building by creating new entrances and a new stairway. A four story red sandstone building. It
812-864: The three highways create a rectangular route around the city's urban core: I-35 to the north and west, I-37 to the east, and I-10 to the south. The rectangular loop has a nine-mile circumference and is known as the "Downtown Loop" or "Central Loop", which encompasses both it and Southtown . Downtown is home to many districts including the Alamo District, Alamodome District, Arsenal, Central Business District, Convention Center District, Historic Civic District, Houston Street District, Lavaca District, La Villita District, Market Square District, North Downtown, River North District, Zona cultural, San Antonio CO-OP district, River Bend District, King William Historic District , South Flores Warehouse District, SoSo (South of Southtown), Southtown Arts District , Eastbourough, and
841-544: The year including NIOSA A Night in Old San Antonio which celebrates Fiesta , Cinco de Mayo , and numerous parades such as celebrations for their home NBA team the Spurs, Christmas parades and much more. In the southeastern part of Downtown is the Alamodome , a 65,000-seat arena that hosts many types of events, primarily conventions and football games. While many companies based in San Antonio are based in other parts of
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