ONE OF THE GARGOYLES LOCATED NEAR THE TOP OF THE TOWER LIFE BUILDING ON SOUTH ST. MARY'S STREET IN DOWNTOWN SAN ANTONIO.

The Decorative Gargoyles of Downtown San Antonio

Prologue…

During the summer of 2023, I spent a considerable amount of time trying to improve my photography skills.  I had a trip planned to Brazil for August, 2023, and my goal was to be as competent as possible with my camera and assorted lenses.  Most of my practice and effort was dedicated to bird photography but, as the first of August rolled around, I started thinking about “street photography”, and decided to spend a little time taking non-bird photos.  On the morning of Saturday, August 5, 2023, I suggested to Dorothy that we take a trip to downtown San Antonio for barbeque after paying a visit to her mother at Kirkwood Manor, a nursing home in New Braunfels, Texas.  Her mother was admitted to Kirkwood the evening before, and the week or so leading up to that change had been particulary stressful and hard for Dorothy and her family, in addition to having to move her mother’s belongings from the assisted living facility back to her house.  My hope was to take her mind off of her mother’s rapidly declining health, with all of its attendant difficulties. When she agreed, I decided to also ask her if I could spend an hour or so on my photography while we were downtown.  Once again, she agreed, so we set out that morning headed for Kirkwood, with visions of barbeque and gargoyles in the back of our minds.

 

The Decorative Gargoyles of the Riverwalk Area of Downtown San Antonio…

 

In late March of 2020, I ran across an intriguing article in the San Antonio Express-News written by René Guzman entitled The Gargoyles Guarding S.A.  I saved a link to this article and tucked it away in a remote corner of my consciousness, intending to take a look at these gargoyles for myself someday.  As I contemplated a practice session on my street photography skills, these almost century-old gargoyles came to mind, and, with the blessing of my lovely wife, I decided to visit and photograph them as part of a trip downtown to enjoy some Texas Monthly Top 50 barbeque.   I set out on foot from Pinkerton’s BBQ to visit the three buildings discussed in the Guzman article.  My first stop was at the Nix Medical Center building, located at 414 Navarro St., San Antonio, Texas.  

 

The Nix Medical Center Building


This building was built by Joseph Nix in 1930, who also built the Medical Arts Building (now the Emily Morgan Hotel) in 1926.  Neither of these two buildings have what are considered classic gargoyle elements.  The Nix Medical Center building is the least decorated of the two, and has only five figures, which are located underneath the third-story window ledges.  These figures seem to represent a doctor, a nurse, a sailor, a person with a bandaid on his nose, and a person with a swollen cheek.  Here are some of the photos I took of this building and its unsual decorative features.  

 

THE DECORATIVE FACES APPEAR ON THREE SIDES OF THE BUILDING, JUST BELOW THE LEDGE OF THE THIRD-STORY WINDOWS. ALL FIVE FACES APPEAR WHEN THERE ARE FOUR WINDOWS IN THE FRAME. NOTE THE BEAUTIFUL BAND OF COLORED DECORATIVE WORK ABOVE THE WINDOWS.
IN THIS THREE-WINDOW DISPLAY, FOUR FACES APPEAR. THE MAN WITH THE SWOLLEN CHEEK HAS BEEN LEFT OFF.
THIS TWO-WINDOW DISPLAY WITH THREE FACES IS ON THE NAVARRO ST. SIDE, WHERE THE MAIN ENTRANCE IS LOCATED. NOTE THE NIX SHIELD BELOW THE WINDOWS AND FACES. IN THIS GROUP, THE SAILOR AND THE MAN WITH A SWOLLEN CHEEK ARE MISSING.
A CLOSER VIEW OF THE FACE THAT APPEARS TO ME TO BE AN OLDER MAN OR WOMAN WITH A BANDAGE ACROSS THE NOSE.
A DETAILED VIEW OF THE FACE THAT, I BELIEVE, REPRESENTS A DOCTOR.
A CLOSER LOOK OF THE FACE THAT, I BELIEVE, REPRESENTS A NURSE. BEAUTIFUL CURLS!
THIS FACE LOOKS LIKE A SAILOR TO ME. IT SEEMS OUT OF PLACE BUT PERHAPS REPRESENTS A PATIENT THAT HAS TRAVELED A GREAT DISTANCE FOR MEDICAL CARE.
THE FIFTH AND FINAL FACE AT THE NIX BUILDING SEEMS TO REPRESENT A MALE PATIENT WITH A SWOLLEN CHEEK.
THIS VIEW OF THE CORNER OF THE BUILDING SHOWS SOME OF THE BEAUTIFUL DETAILS, INCLUDING LIGHT FIXTURES, THAT ADORN THIS SPLENDID STRUCTURE. I TOOK THIS PHOTO STANDING ON COLLEGE STREET, WITH NAVARRO STREET BEING ON MY RIGHT.
I APOLOGIZE FOR THE POOR QUALITY OF THIS LAST PHOTO. IT SHOWS THE LAYOUT OF THE WINDOWS WITH THE FACES BELOW THE LEDGES. THE NORTH SIDE (IE COLLEGE STREET SIDE) HAS A TOTAL OF 23 FACES (3 FOUR-WINDOW AND 2 TWO-WINDOW DISPLAYS). THE WEST SIDE (NAVARRO STREET SIDE) HAS 36 TOTAL FACES ( 6 FOUR-WINDOW AND 2 TWO- WINDOW DISPLAYS). THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE BUILDING FACES THE RIVER AND IS OBSCURED BY LARGE TREES.

The Medical Arts Building (Emily Morgan Hotel)

 

From the Nix Building, I headed over to the Medical Arts Building, now known as the Emily Morgan Hotel, located across the street from the Alamo complex at 705 E. Houston, San Antonio, Texas.   This was my favorite spot of the day, and I could see the impressive, cathedral-like structure from quite a distance away as I approached on E. Houston Street.  

VIEW OF THE MEDICAL ARTS BUILDING LOCATED AT THE CORNER OF E. HOUSTON ST. AND AVE E, ACROSS FROM THE ALAMO. IN THIS PHOTO, THE ALAMO IS TO THE RIGHT, WHILE THE FEDERAL COURTHOUSE IS ON THE LEFT.
VIEW OF LOWER FLOORS FROM AVENUE E. THE SMALL ARCH ON THE FAR RIGHT HAS A ROW OF GRIFFINS ABOVE AND TWO FIGURES PARTIALLY HIDDEN BELOW.
VIEW ACROSS E. HOUSTON FROM THE ALAMO GROUNDS. THE SECOND SMALL GROUND FLOOR ARCH IS BEHIND THE BLACK PICKUP.

This is truly a stunning and splendid building.  The equisite detail and sheer magnitude of the oramentaion is almost overwelming.  On the lower levels, the rows of monkey faces (running between large, beautiful crowned faces) made me think of scenes from the Wizard of OZ.  But I missed getting detailed photos of the “rows of griffins” described by Guzman, as well as detail photos of the figures under the two ground-level windows and the caduceus staffs that accompany them.  I must make a return visit to this place someday!  Perhaps an overight stay so I can explore the interior of the hotel?  Stay tuned!

VIEW OF SOME OF THE MONKEY FACES, FRAMED ON EACH END BY A CROWNED FIGURE WITH A SMALL ORNATE COLUMN OVER ITS HEAD.
A CLOSER LOOK AT A PORTION OF ONE OF THE ROWS OF MONKEY FACES, WITH WHAT APPEAR TO BE WINGS ON EITHER SIDE OF THE FACES.
A CLOSER VIEW OF ONE OF THE CROWNED FIGURES THAT FRAME THE LINE OF MONKEY FACES. BEAUTIFUL DETAILS!
SIDE VIEW OF ONE OF THE CROWNED FIGURES NEXT TO A LINE OF MONKEY FACES.
I BELIEVE THE BIRD-LIKE FIGURES ARE THE GRIFFINS REFERRED TO BY GUZMAN. NOTE THE SUBTLE DIFFERENCE OF THE FIGURE ABOVE THE LINE OF GRIFFINS, AS COMPARED TO THE CROWNED FIGURES THAT FRAME THE MONKEY FACES. ALL OF THESE FIGURES ARE LOCATED ABOVE EACH OF THE TWO FIRST-FLOOR ARCHES.

The two highest floors and the tower portion atop the west part of the building are literally covered with interesting oramentation and figures.  I was pressed for time, so I only took a few photos of the upper portions but would like to return someday to take more detail shots and become more familiar with some of the enigmatic figures found up high on this wonderful building! 

THE TOWER AND FACADE OF THE TOP TWO FLOORS ARE COVERED WITH INTERESTING DECORATIVE ELEMENTS.
DETAILS OF THE EAST END OF THE BUILDING AS SEEN FROM E. HOUSTON STREET. CHECK OUT THE DORMERS!
A LITTLE CLOSER VIEW FROM HIGH UP ON THE BUILDING. UNUSUAL FIGURES PEEKING OVER SMALL SHIELDS.
CHECK OUT THE FIGURES HOLDING A SHEET IN FRONT OF THEIR BODIES.
ONE LAST PHOTO OF THE EMILY MORGAN HOTEL, AS SEEN FROM THE ALAMO PLAZA.

The Tower Life Building, 310 S. St. Mary’s Street

Before I left the area of the Emily Morgan Hotel, I walked around Alamo Plaza a bit, soaking up the somber energy that I always experience when I visit that special place.  I walked back to Pinkerton’s BBQ, gathered up my wife (who had a guilty “I ate some of your left-over bread pudding” look  on her face), collected our car, and drove over to the Tower Life Building.  Unfortunately, the real gargoyle figures are located so high up near the top of the building that it was difficult to get good photographs. But I did my best!

A PICTURE PERFECT DAY AT THE ALAMO, DESPITE THE EXTREME HEAT. CAN'T WAIT TO TAKE MY GRANDSON TO THIS HISTORIC PLACE!
CAUGHT IN THE ACT! DOES THAT LOOK LIKE A GUILTY SMILE ON MY BEAUTIFUL WIFE'S FACE?! SHE ALMOST FINISHED THE REMAINS OF MY BREAD PUDDING.

Authentic gargoyles were first designed and used to drain water away from structures to prevent water damage.  While the gargoles that adorn the top two floors of the Tower Life building are not functional, they are in the classic style.  It was very difficult to get decent photos since they were so high up, but I enjoyed trying!

BESIDES THE GARGOYLES NEAR THE TOP, THE TOWER LIFE BUILDING SPORTS SOME DECORATIVE ELEMENTS, INCLUDING SOME INTERESTING FACES.
A LITTLE CLOSER LOOK AT SOME OF THE FACES THAT ADORN THE TOWER LIFE BUILDING.
TOWER LIFE FACES IN MORE DETAIL.
MY FAVORITE!
THE CLASSIC GARGOYLES ARE ON THE TOP TWO FLOORS OF THE TOWER LIFE BUILDING.
A LITTLE CLOSER LOOK AT THE TOP OF THE TOWER LIFE BUILDING AND ITS GARGOYLES.
THE GARGOYLES REALLY STICK OUT FROM THE BUILDING.
AS I CROPPED THIS PHOTO AND ZOOMED IN ON THE GARGOYLE, I REALISED THERE WERE FACES NEAR IT. THEY LOOK LIKE THE FACES FOUND ON THE LOWER PART OF THE BUILDING.
ONE FINAL PHOTO HIGHLIGHTING THE FACES FOUND HIGH UP ON THE TOWER LIFE BUILDING NEAR THE GARGOYLES.

I enjoyed this little excursion to downtown San Antonio and am glad that I finally took the time to check out the gargoyles.  I think I will revist them when the weather is cooler and perhaps try to get some better shots from the top of adjacent buildings.  I also need to spend at least one night next to the Alamo at the Emily Morgan Hotel.  By the way, who was Emily Morgan you ask?  Look here to find out!