Returning to Roots
Adobe Structures in San Antonio, TX
Roots of Adobe in San Antonio
This story map puts together the history of adobe structures in San Antonio, Texas. Mud and Earthen structures like adobe exist all over the world. Adobe is an important part of San Antonio Heritage. It could have possibly been brought by the Pueblo, Jumano, or Mexican or Central American tribes to the San Antonio area. There is also the possibility it was brought over by the Canary Islanders using Moorish architecture techniques. Adobe matters to the city of San Antonio because it contributes a side to history that is not well known.
Some of the ingredients to make adobe bricks
What is adobe anyways?
Based on the research adobe in San Antonio, it is defined as:
Building material that is made from the combination of earth and organic material including but not limited to: limestone, caliche, grass, horse hair, pebbles, soil and water. Usually shaped into bricks by hand. Likely comes from a mixture of Indigenous and Moorish/Spanish cultures.
What does adobe look like in San Antonio?
Adobe can look so different depending on where you live. Adobe is usually made of items that are around the builder. In early San Antonio, it would have probably been made from horse hair, grass, caliche, soil, crushed limestone, pebbles and water Then they would mix this all together, put the mud in brick molds and let it dry for days to weeks. Even though this was a long process, the future homes were worth it. Adobe structures are known to be fire and insect resistant and also act as a natural AC and heater.
Image from adobe-making workshop at Casa Navarro
Next time you go out to the missions, on a hike or just in your own yard see if you can find some of these items so you can make your own adobe!
Recipe for adobe bricks
- In a large mixing basin add 4 parts water, 1 part lime and a handful of cut fiber
- Blend well using a hand tool or shovel
- Add 7 parts soil to mixing basin. Blend well until dissolved with water
- Add 3 parts caliche to mixing basin. Blend well until the soil, lime fiber and water are well mixed
- Place in to Adobe form and let it sit for two days.
- Pull the form and set Adobe block on a narrow edge to complete the drying process. (3-6 weeks)
So where were the adobe structures in San Antonio?
This is the key from the Sanborn map. The brown color is labeled to represent adobe structures.
It is really hard to say where ALL of the adobe structures were located. When the City of San Antonio began widening the streets in the early 1900s, they destroyed many adobe structures in the city.
However, there is a company that did a pretty good job of finding most of the adobe structures in downtown San Antonio. The name of the company was Sanborn Fire Insurance Co. Their maps only include the downtown area, because at the time, San Antonio was much smaller. San Antonio is much bigger now because of cars and trains.
The Sanborn maps note on the key that adobe is brown, but there is also a special note about how the company defines adobe. So now we have a little bit of information about what adobe would have looked like during the early 1900s.
This is a Sanborn Fire Insurance Map, the blocks of color representing different types of building materials the building was made from. The streets are labeled with the name of the street from that time period. The small numbers on the streets in front of the buildings are the addresses. Here we can see that on S. Alamo St there were a few adobe structures.
Where did all the adobe go?
Unfortunately, there is a huge decline of adobe structures in San Antonio by the 1900s. After the Texas Revolution, San Antonio began to change from its Catholic and Tejano culture to a state that was filled with Americans, European and Anglo settlers. Some of the new settlers did not like the old culture and ways so the city began to make laws banning things that were important to Tejano and Indigenous culture, like adobe structures
In 1860, the city of San Antonio passed an ordinance that essentially banned all traditional styles of buildings in San Antonio. The city passed the ordinance due to fire safety concerns for homeowners in the labeled areas.
From the beginning of 1900s, San Antonio began developing new structures from limestone, wood and soon metal. When the railroad companies moved to San Antonio in the late 1800s this provided a way to transport building materials that were not close by to the inner city.
More progress in San Antonio was set to destroy the Veramendi House . Although they kept the doors not much else remained. Looking back now, San Antonio is filled with regret.
This is an ad from a newspaper in 1914 appealing to its audience to rid of the old ways from the adobe and stagecoach days of the 1860s in San Antonio. This encouraged San Antonio residents to shift towards more modern architecture.
Check out this map of where adobe once was and where it remains today
The bottom layer of the map represents blocks that once had adobe structures on them. I outlined a block that once contained adobe because there was such a vast amount and Sanborn did not cover all of San Antonio. The map with all the colors represents the areas that adobe still exists today. The StoryMap SpyGlass effect The map with all the colors represents the areas that have adobe structures that still remain. A map underneath with a special SpyGlass effect shows where adobe in San Antonio existed.
Story Map Swipe and Spyglass
Map of adobe that still remains
Check out another interactive map to see where some adobe remains today!
This map provides addresses to some adobe structures on them. The adobe structures that exist today are either private residences or government owned. There are probably about 30+ adobe structures that are still remaining. I am positive that there is more adobe remaining in San Antonio that I was not able to document.
This is Casa Navarro. Casa Navarro was once the home of José Antonio Navarro, one of only two native-born Texans to sign the Texas Declaration of Independence. His family's home was made with adobe brick and is now under the protection of the Texas Historical Commission.
You can visit Casa Navarro at 228 S. Laredo St. San Antonio, TX
The Spanish Governor's Palace was constructed in the early 18th century. The National Historic Landmark represents some of the last remains of Presidio San Antonio de Béxar. It was built to establish Spanish dominance because the French were moving closer to the land they wanted. The Spanish governor, Don Martín de Alarcón, was told to build the mission and presidio by the San Antonio River and San Pedro Creek. This would later be known as the Alamo.
There is a house located at 149 Guadalupe St . The address was originally 118 Toro Lane/Guadalupe Alley. It is a part of the San Pedro Creek Cultural Park. the home can be found on The Sanborn map from 1912 There is not a lot of information on this house. There is not much information available about this time at this time but hopefully the San Antonio River Authority can conduct thorough research to find out more.
The Bustillo-Rivas House is recognized by the Daughter of the Republic of Texas as a historic site. The owner of the house is also a member of the DRT. The house and property has only been owned by members of her family since it was built. The adobe house is located on the Domingo Bustillo Land Grant.
Exposed adobe
Exposed adobe crumbling
Other public adobe sites
Why should I care about adobe?
There are so many reasons so you should care about adobe but here's a short of some
- Adobe structures are a small piece to the bigger picture of not only San Antonio history but also Texas history
- Adobe structures come from so many different backgrounds, just like the people who make the San Antonio community.
- Adobe is also part of your history. You might live near adobe and you wouldn't even know it! It's important to protect history so it is never forgotten.
