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| Over
the years, I have heard stories that my mother told me about the times when she
worked as a secretary at the Scobey's warehouse on the west side of San
Antonio next to what is now the Union Pacific Railroad. She worked
there during the 1950s and by then, the old International and Great Northern
(or I&GN) Depot, later known as the Missouri Pacific Depot (or MoPac,)
which is just south of the Scobey's warehouse, was no longer bustling with passenger
activity as it had once been. Being a bit west of downtown and not having many
options for lunch, my mother took advantage of the former lunch counter in the
old depot on many occasions. Her memories of these times inspired me to explore
the old depot which has been a part of San Antonio
history for over 100 years. |
| "This
photo showing the depot shortly after it was built is hanging in one of the upstairs
offices." - Terry
Jeanson, September, 2008 |
| After
the arrival of the I&GN Railroad in 1881, San
Antonio became an important crossroads for train
travel across the state and the railroad
soon outgrew their first depot. Constructed in a grand fashion in 1907 and completed
in 1908, the new depot was built at the intersection of Houston and Medina
streets in an area historically known as the Cattlemen's Square. The
architect, Harvey L. Page, whose main office was on Medina Street, was
greatly influenced by the architecture of San
Antonio's Spanish missions, in particular the San José Mission. The stained
glass windows on the north, south and east sides are representative of San José's
"Rose Window" with the I&GN logo inside them. Page referred to this building as
his "Taj Mahal." The building's copper dome rises eighty-eight feet from the ground
and is topped with a bronze statue of an Indian shooting an arrow towards the
northeast, but I don't if there is any significance to the direction. The interior
has a domed ceiling with arches between large columns around the rotunda. The
north side staircase has a large stained glass window entitled "Two Indians at
the River" with one of the Indians in the window pointing in the same direction
as the Indian on top of the dome. |
 |
The
front side entrance on the south end.
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, September, 2008 |
| Southeast
corner detail. The design of the building was inspired by San Antonio's Spanish
missions. - Terry
Jeanson, September, 2008 photo |
| The
restored window over the east side entrance. Designed to reflect the "Rose Window"
at the San José Mission, it is identical to the windows over the north and south
side entrances. Given the opportunity to place their company logo inside the windows
during the restoration, the credit union decided instead to have the original
windows recreated. - Terry
Jeanson, September, 2008 photo |
| The
north side staircase with the stained glass window of "Two Indians at the River."
The window is approximately 22 feet high and 10 feet wide. The center banister
on the staircase was a later addition built for safety reasons. - Terry
Jeanson, September, 2008 photo |
| The
recreated staircase window. The colors were matched by collecting shards of the
broken glass from the interior of the depot during its restoration. - Terry
Jeanson, September, 2008 photo |
The
New Orleans, Texas and Mexican Railroad Company (an affiliate of MoPac) bought
the I&GN rail line in 1924 and then MoPac made an outright purchase in 1925. By
the 1930s, the building was then known as the MoPac Depot. Even before
World War II, passenger
train service at the MoPac Depot was in decline. Improved roads, affordable cars
and the airline industry drained away the customers. MoPac finally sold the building
in 1970. Several efforts to turn the building into other things, like a library,
a museum, a restaurant and a center for the Veteran's Administration, all failed.
Meanwhile, the building fell into decay. The copper and brass from the dome was
stripped away by scavengers, leaving the interior exposed to the weather. Nearly
all of the building's windows, including the decorative stained glass windows,
were broken out. Vagrants took to living in the building, starting at least one
destructive fire during their stay. The plaster on the interior columns was cracked
and destroyed and termites attacked just about all of the wooden furnishings.
The final degradation was the theft of the Indian statue on top of the dome in
1982. He was found soon afterwards in an abandoned railroad yard near the station
with a broken bow, missing right leg and head-feathers, a damaged posterior and
multiple holes, courtesy of a BB gun.
In
1985, the San Antonio City Employees Federal Credit Union was about to purchase
a new building only a few blocks away when city officials approached them about
using the old depot. When it was determined that the old depot would suit their
needs and not exceed their budget, the credit union purchased the building. Receiving
no funding or grants, the credit union could have restored the building any way
that they wanted, but they decided to maintain the building's historical integrity
and restore as much as they could to the original condition, but at the same time
turning it into a functional banking headquarters. All of the stained glass windows
were restored by using photographs and shards of the broken glass found inside
the building as a reference. An addition was placed on the west side of the building
where the railroad tracks run, but it was built to match the brick of the original
structure. The bronze Indian statue, which was kept
in storage after its abduction and subsequent rescue, was also restored and returned
to its position on top of the dome. The restoration was begun in 1987 and completed
in 1988. At $3.1 million, the restoration came in under budget and was less than
the purchase of the aforementioned new building. |
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| Close
up of the Indian on top of the dome. The repair work done on the right leg is
evident. - Terry
Jeanson, September, 2008 photo. More Texas
Statues |
| East
side entrance of the depot facing the Houston and Medina Street intersection.
- Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, September, 2008 |
| The
interior of the south side stained glass window with the I&GN logo. On a sunny
afternoon, the logo is reflected on the inner walls of the building. - Terry
Jeanson, September, 2008 photo |
The
interior of the building's dome.
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, September, 2008 |
The
old depot is now home to Generations Federal Credit Union and the railroad
is still used to haul freight. During my visit, my tour guide Arlene escorted
me around the building. (Because this building is a financial institution, interior
pictures can only be taken with a guide present.) She has enormous pride for the
fact that the building was able to be saved and rehabilitated and is well versed
in the building's history, but she admitted that the credit union may be selling
the building soon in order to move to a location with more space. The neighborhood
is rather run down and, according to my mother, was run down even in her day.
It is in need of a major revitalization. Arlene indicated that any future owner
of the old depot would have to agree to be responsible for maintaining the building's
historical integrity. Another employee I talked to during my visit has been working
there for about twenty years. She was telling me how she would miss working there
if the building was sold and that she sometimes took the historic building for
granted. After briefly working at a different branch of the credit union which
is in a modern style building, she gained a new appreciation for the old depot
upon her return.
Since the old depot is on the western end of downtown,
it is a little off the beaten path. Arlene said that most of the tourists she
encounters are either lost or there for a specific reason, as I was that day.
Arlene says that these "accidental tourists" are so taken with the beauty of the
building that they are encouraged to find out more about it. It is easy to see
why. Not only has the building been a San Antonio
landmark for over a century, but it has been a part of people's lives. |
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| "This
picture of the original ticket counter is hanging in one of the upstairs offices
at the old depot. My mother said that the former lunch counter was just to the
left of the ticket counter." - Terry
Jeanson, September, 2008 |
| "The
ticket counter is now the bank tellers counter. My guide told me that the original
fresco that was over the ticket counter windows was one of the things that could
not be restored." - Terry
Jeanson, September, 2008 photo |
| "This
print of a watercolor painting by (?) Atkinson (first name was not legible) is
hanging outside the east side conference room on the upper floor. My guide said
the artist used old postcard pictures of the depot as a reference." - Terry
Jeanson, September, 2008 | |
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