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Old 11-08-2011, 10:02 PM
 
3 posts, read 10,876 times
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There is a small section of Brackenridge Park that is gated. I've always wondered what it was. If you are heading down Hildebrand towards Broadway, it is to the right before the large parking lot. There is a large stone gate along with another chain link fence in front of it. Anybody know what this is or why it's closed off? They have some nice statues inside.
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Old 11-08-2011, 10:39 PM
 
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I've always assumed it was a cemetery.
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Old 11-08-2011, 11:17 PM
 
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I think it's a private park that At&t or Southwestern Bell (whatever that building is right next to it used to be) owns. It was for the employees of that company.

I think that is what I heard.
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Old 11-08-2011, 11:26 PM
 
Location: San Antonio, TX
4 posts, read 10,094 times
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It was a garden owned by Dr. Aureliano Urrutia. There were/are some pretty nice sculptures and artwork in there. He's probably most known now for the artistic gates he had commissioned. Two of the gates on Hildebrand were removed for preservation; you can see them at the San Antonio Museum of Art.
Here is a nice link telling his story and some history of the garden and gates:

Dr. Aureliano Urrutia's Gates, the forgotten San Antonio.

There's a bridge that was built to cross over the river into the west side of the garden area from Brackenridge Park; where you enter the park from E. Hildebrand onto Brackenridge Rd. It is gated with a sign showing a schedule of hours, but I've found that it's generally locked. One day I'll get in to see the artwork.
I think the chainlink perimeter is, however effective it may be, to protect the portions of the remaining gate from vandalism.

Last edited by muchas.migas; 11-08-2011 at 11:37 PM..
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Old 11-09-2011, 10:47 AM
 
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Wow, great info!
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Old 11-09-2011, 11:24 AM
 
3 posts, read 10,876 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by muchas.migas View Post
It was a garden owned by Dr. Aureliano Urrutia. There were/are some pretty nice sculptures and artwork in there. He's probably most known now for the artistic gates he had commissioned. Two of the gates on Hildebrand were removed for preservation; you can see them at the San Antonio Museum of Art.
Here is a nice link telling his story and some history of the garden and gates:

Dr. Aureliano Urrutia's Gates, the forgotten San Antonio.

There's a bridge that was built to cross over the river into the west side of the garden area from Brackenridge Park; where you enter the park from E. Hildebrand onto Brackenridge Rd. It is gated with a sign showing a schedule of hours, but I've found that it's generally locked. One day I'll get in to see the artwork.
I think the chainlink perimeter is, however effective it may be, to protect the portions of the remaining gate from vandalism.



That is really great info. I did not have a chance to ever stop by and look around outside. That really sheds a lot of light on that place. Thank you very much!
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Old 11-09-2011, 03:38 PM
 
Location: The "original 36" of SA
841 posts, read 1,747,441 times
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I think the CoSA made a deal with Incarnate Word (who had bought the property from AT&T) and is in the process of restoring it.

Some other trivia: the actual house was torn down to build the automotive dealership on Broadway (the cool mid-century O'Neil Ford one). A compromise was made that the house could be demolished if a lot of trees were preserved.
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Old 11-10-2011, 05:26 AM
 
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I once heard that the buildings on Broadway which are now occupied by Cheever Books and the front part of Half Price Books, were previously servants' quarters for a large estate.
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Old 11-10-2011, 09:09 AM
 
1,066 posts, read 3,693,944 times
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For the longest time, there was a urban legend, that the reason for the headless angel statue was because his daugther was decapitated in a botched kidnapping/ransom scheme. I forget the details, but it wasnt entirely true or false.

GWHopper did extenstive research on this park & its history in the original GBNF in SA thread.

//www.city-data.com/forum/1742997-post1645.html

Last edited by Primo; 11-10-2011 at 09:19 AM..
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Old 11-10-2011, 10:14 AM
 
78 posts, read 199,486 times
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Cant believe they tore the house down. Makes you wonder about what happened to the stuff inside.

Found some more photos of the house from here:
UTSA Digital Collections
L-2382-C :: ITC - San Antonio Light Collection
[Entrance to Quinta Urrutia, 3225 Broadway, San Antonio, Texas] :: ITC - General Collection
L-2382-B :: ITC - San Antonio Light Collection
[Entrance to Quinta Urrutia, 3225 Broadway, San Antonio, Texas] :: ITC - General Collection

Last edited by BstYet2Be; 11-10-2011 at 05:18 PM.. Reason: thnx for posting the links only! Finally, copyrighted pics done right! ;)
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