SAN ANTONIO — A piece of San Antonio history is coming down.
This week, CPS Energy began demolishing a saloon at the corner of 10th and Alamo whose limestone walls are older than anyone alive today.
Built by the Sommers family, the 19th-century saloon was transformed into a deli during Prohibition. It's that history that some in the Alamo City are fighting to keep alive.
“We have very few buildings built before 1880 in San Antonio,” said Vincent Michael, executive director of the Conservation Society of San Antonio. “It’s a very rare structure.”
After surviving 150 years, it took just weeks for the City of San Antonio to allow its demolition, Michael says.
“We wish we had more opportunity (to save it),” he said. “We wish we had a public forum.”
According to Michael, the city gave CPS Energy permission to demolish 20th-century additions to the building back in 2021.
“But the city said they had to keep this limestone building from the 1870s,” he said. “Unfortunately in April of this year, the city said, ‘You can now tear it down.’”
Michael told KENS 5 he was recently informed the structure didn’t meet San Antonio’s criteria for a landmark designation.
“At the Conservation Society, we feel differently because of its connections to the Sommers, to Southwell, and the fact it’s an old caliche block building," said Michael. "We think it does meet three of the criteria.”
Michael says it’s a balancing act. San Antonio needs to accommodate urban growth and development, he suggests, while also preserving its roots.
“Especially in one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States," he said. "(In) San Antonio, keeping our history is even more important so that all the new people coming here get a sense of our rootedness."
The saloon's roof was removed Friday morning.
According to the Conservation Society, CPS Energy is required to give the city the building’s limestone blocks. They will be stored at the Material Innovation Center.
We reached out to CPS Energy and the City of San Antonio for comment, and are waiting to hear back.
After this story aired, the City of San Antonio released more information about the demolition and plans for the site.
In an email response, a spokesperson said:
"The stone building known as the former Sommers’ Beer Garden is owned by CPS Energy. CPS requested a historic assessment in 2019 of the property, at which time the Southwell building was still extant. OHP issued the requested historic assessment, determining that the property was not eligible for landmark designation. This determination was consistent with a previous assessment completed as part of the River North Historic Resources Survey in 2010/2011.
In 2021, CPS requested the demolition of the Southwell building, and OHP issued approval. At this time, the stone building was retained and stabilized.
In early 2023, CPS reached out to OHP to determine whether the stone structure could be removed. During the review, the demolition request was listed on the OHP Public Portal for 30 days for public input (April 4 – May 4). Also, OHP staff reached out to the Conservation Society and other stakeholders in March 2023.
After review, OHP determined that demolition could be administratively approved and would not require HDRC review because the building was not eligible for landmark designation given the alterations to the building and there were no public comments received on the item. We recommended that the materials be salvaged. After this approval, CPS engaged with OHP's Deconstruction & Circular Economy Program Manager to coordinate a salvage plan for the structure. Beginning this week with the roof, CPS will dismantle the building manually. Curtis Hunt will perform the deconstruction of the stone walls which will likely start sometime next week. CPS will donate these materials to the Material Innovation Center, where they will be stored together onsite at the MIC's warehouse at PortSA. This would enable potential reconstruction in the future if someone was interested in doing so.
CPS is expanding an existing electrical substation in River North, and requested removal of the buildings on site for this expansion."
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