SAN ANTONIO — 88-year-old Richard Moore calls himself "The Dinosaur of Tobin Hill" and as an elder, he said he is sad to see the loss of another neighborhood old-timer.
Thursday, a few minutes after 7 p.m., a 74-year-old iconic building burned so fast and so hot the city demolished the remains of the 4,300 square foot structure as soon as firefighters brought the blaze under control.
For decades the building with the graceful columns was home to a well-known furniture repair business.
Neighbor Kirsten Carabin said "It was so beautiful. It was the home of the iconic Oehler-Boggs, who was the best upholsterer in town."
Carabin said "Anybody who knew Mr. Oehler loved Mr. Oehler. He was German. He was precise. The way he did upholstery was like no other and I still have furniture that he upholstered for me 30 years ago."
Having recently moved into the area, Carabin said she was so enchanted with the building, she wanted to buy it and restore it to its former glory.
"About three weeks ago, maybe four weeks ago I walked through it," Carabin said wistfully, adding "It had red pine floors, beautiful tall ceilings. There were a lot of homeless people there, but the bones (of the building) were there to have it restored. It was unbelievably beautiful."
Carabin called the loss upsetting, not just for the neighborhood but for the city.
"It's a loss for San Antonio because we're losing our iconic buildings in San Antonio," Carabin said, calling the building and the man who loved it iconic.
"The two story with those beautiful majestic columns and the capitals and that porch. It just an example of a time that has gone past."
Moore said he's been in the area since 1967 and he was across the street when he heard the commotion.
"All of a sudden we hear all the sirens and we came out here and this thing was all aglow and it was in full bloom," Moore said, adding "the whole neighborhood was lit up with the flames."
Moore said the building has been a haven for the homeless for a long time and he was so concerned about safety, he recently called police to abate the threat.
"We called the police officer the other day and the police didn't go inside the building. They just yelled at them 'Get out of here!' and 12 homeless were in there," Moore said.
Moore said with colder weather setting in, he was worried about fires. He said when the police were on site, a maintenance worker tried to disconnect an electrical connection by removing a circuit breaker.
"So consequently, they had no electricity so it's surprising what caused this fire. If they had no electricity, was it arson or, or what or homeless?" Moore said.
He said removing people from the building did nothing to improve conditions.
"They came right back and broke in again from the backside," Moore said, adding "It was boarded up very, very loose. These guys, they're smart enough, they carry crowbars or hammers and they can get into anything."
It's a concern across the area, Moore said "We're fearful that any abandoned old house, they break in."
Over time, the building has had plenty of attention from the city's code compliance division.
A check of the records, going back to 2019, shows almost two dozen actions, ranging from overgrown vegetation, graffiti, junk vehicle issues and general maintenance.
Before Thursday's fire, there were four cases in 2024 alone.
Now that the building has been demolished, a violation notice posted at the front of the building indicates the property owner, who is based in Austin, has until November 24 to abate the mess left behind.
If the owner doesn't comply, there is a provision for the city to have the abatement work done and put a lien on the property until the cleanup bill is paid.