Holiday Inn Express Riverwalk Area
Encyclopedia
The Holiday Inn Express Riverwalk Area (formerly the Comfort Inn Alamo/Riverwalk) is a hotel
in San Antonio, Texas
.
Built in 1878, the five-story building is rich in history and served as the San Antonio Bexar County Jail until 1962. In recent years, before becoming a hotel, the building was a records depot for both the city and county and is currently listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The five-story stone and brick structure was originally designed by prominent architect Alfred Giles
as a two-story limestone
jail containing 20 cages. Because of a rapid increase in the city's population, Henry T. Phelps
designed a third floor addition and remodeling in 1912, transforming the building to the Mission Revival style
.
In 1926, a second expansion was designed by Atlee and Robert Ayres, a father-and-son team and
leading architects of their time. The entire appearance of the building was changed with the
addition of two floors, a reconfiguration of window openings and a new projecting entry with an
arched entrance porch. The present façade
's appearance dates to that last addition when the
structure was faced in brick.
In the 2002 rehabilitation, the building was repainted to emphasize the façade's brick detail. A new jail was constructed in 1962 and the old jail became the County Election Center and Archives Building. In 1983, it was used as a private records storage facility, and later a city records storage facility until 2000.
The jail was once known as the Shrimp Hotel. The double entendre came about because the hotel was located on Camaron Street, named using the Spanish word for shrimp
—or crawfish—plentiful in the nearby San Pedro Creek
during the Spanish Colonial times
.
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
in San Antonio, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
.
Built in 1878, the five-story building is rich in history and served as the San Antonio Bexar County Jail until 1962. In recent years, before becoming a hotel, the building was a records depot for both the city and county and is currently listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The five-story stone and brick structure was originally designed by prominent architect Alfred Giles
Alfred Giles
Alfred Giles was a British civil engineer and Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1878 and 1892....
as a two-story limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
jail containing 20 cages. Because of a rapid increase in the city's population, Henry T. Phelps
Henry T. Phelps
Henry Truman Phelps was a prominent Texas architect responsible for the design of many Texas county courthouses and other public and commercial buildings in San Antonio and around the state....
designed a third floor addition and remodeling in 1912, transforming the building to the Mission Revival style
Mission Revival Style architecture
The Mission Revival Style was an architectural movement that began in the late 19th century for a colonial style's revivalism and reinterpretation, which drew inspiration from the late 18th and early 19th century Spanish missions in California....
.
In 1926, a second expansion was designed by Atlee and Robert Ayres, a father-and-son team and
leading architects of their time. The entire appearance of the building was changed with the
addition of two floors, a reconfiguration of window openings and a new projecting entry with an
arched entrance porch. The present façade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
's appearance dates to that last addition when the
structure was faced in brick.
In the 2002 rehabilitation, the building was repainted to emphasize the façade's brick detail. A new jail was constructed in 1962 and the old jail became the County Election Center and Archives Building. In 1983, it was used as a private records storage facility, and later a city records storage facility until 2000.
The jail was once known as the Shrimp Hotel. The double entendre came about because the hotel was located on Camaron Street, named using the Spanish word for shrimp
Shrimp
Shrimp are swimming, decapod crustaceans classified in the infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh and salt water. Adult shrimp are filter feeding benthic animals living close to the bottom. They can live in schools and can swim rapidly backwards. Shrimp are an important...
—or crawfish—plentiful in the nearby San Pedro Creek
Handbook of Texas
The Handbook of Texas is a comprehensive encyclopedia of Texas geography, history, and historical persons published by the Texas State Historical Association .-History:...
during the Spanish Colonial times
Spanish colonization of the Americas
Colonial expansion under the Spanish Empire was initiated by the Spanish conquistadores and developed by the Monarchy of Spain through its administrators and missionaries. The motivations for colonial expansion were trade and the spread of the Christian faith through indigenous conversions...
.