The Where I Live series aims to showcase our diverse city and region by spotlighting its many vibrant neighborhoods. Each week a local resident invites us over and lets us in on what makes their neighborhood special. Have we been to your neighborhood yet? Get in touch to share your story.
One of San Antonio’s oldest neighborhoods, Tobin Hill has a comfortable, easygoing feel. It offers a quiet contrast to the car-centric suburbs with lots of options for getting places without the use of a smog-producing vehicle. Tobin Hill’s location, history and relaxed vibe make it a good fit for those who prefer sidewalks to superhighways.
Tobin Hill’s history provides its underlying charm. Named for the Tobin family, which built seven homes in the area in the late 19th century, Tobin Hill’s boundaries are the result of an 1876 lawsuit in which the city sold the land making up what was then the Old Main Association to large landholders and “accidentally awarded Gillum & Yongue 177 acres. Gillum subdivided the 177 acres into lots, donated two blocks on either side of Main Avenue to the City for what is now Crockett Park, and sold the remaining lots,” according to the City of San Antonio.
Designated a historic district by the city in 2008, most homes were constructed in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. In addition to Craftsman-style bungalows, additional home styles include Colonial Revival, Tudor, Spanish Mission, and four-square residences. My home is an authentic historic four-square, constructed in 1914 and lovingly preserved. Also dating back to 1914, Belknap Place, a road that begins at San Antonio College and extends into the Monte Vista neighborhood, is “the oldest existing concrete pavement in Texas,” according to a historical marker in Tobin Hill.
Though my father and his family are from the Texas Panhandle, and he and my brother both went to the University of Texas at Austin, before moving to San Antonio I had never seen the state south of Lady Bird Lake. Those who think of the northeast as “old” and “historic” haven’t been to San Antonio. I have met people whose families “built the Alamo” and trace their roots back hundreds of years.
Originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, I’ve been welcomed by a supportive community in San Antonio. One example is the Downtown Run Group, which meets at the Pearl every Saturday (and at the zoo on Tuesdays and Thursdays). When I first ran with them, it was a cold January day and a small collection of diehards showed up. With the warmer weather, however, more than 200 routinely don their running shoes, earbuds, and spandex at 7 a.m. on Saturdays. Afterward, many stay to shop at the Pearl Farmer’s Market or grab a post-run breakfast.
Much has been written about the Pearl, the former brewery-turned-entertainment, hotel, and gastronomic destination, so I will not belabor the point. But it is officially within Tobin Hill’s neighborhood boundaries, according to the city. In addition to its outstanding restaurants and top-quality brews at Southerleigh Brewery, the Pearl is home to the Culinary Institute of America — one of only three campuses in the United States — and the incomparable Hotel Emma. I am fortunate that my neighbors work at the Pearl as chefs, affording me “inside intel” for restaurant openings and other features, like the new Pullman Market.
Tobin Hill’s main asset is its proximity to major amenities. By bus, I can be downtown in 10 minutes, the Pearl is a half-mile walk and the River Walk and Brackenridge Park offer miles of running and biking trails.
Key cultural institutions like the San Antonio Zoo, the DoSeum, San Antonio Museum of Art and the San Antonio Botanical Garden are nearby. We’re also close to Metropolitan Methodist Hospital and numerous college campuses, namely San Antonio College, Trinity University and the University of the Incarnate Word. The airport is a 15-minute drive or 25 minutes by bus.
Tobin Hill’s religious life is embodied in St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Church, the Metropolitan Community Church San Antonio, Our Lady of Sorrows, TriPoint: A Center for Life, and Temple Beth-El, a large, domed synagogue, one of the few in San Antonio.
Running through the heart of the neighborhood is Tobin Hill’s commercial strip along St. Mary’s Street, which offers multiple entertainment, food and drinking options. My favorite is The Lonesome Rose — a nod to author Larry McMurtry, from Archer, Texas, near my dad’s birthplace. This funky, honky-tonk is a great place for live music in a small space. You can wear your cowboy hat and snakeskin boots or your favorite thrash metal band T-shirt and combat boots and fit in just the same. Drinks are not over-priced, the bartenders know what they are doing, and there’s an outdoor space for when you need to get some air from dancing a vigorous two-step.
The western side of the neighborhood is known as “the gay strip,” an LGBTQ+-friendly area in the 1400 block of Main Street. A move is afoot to designate San Antonio’s North Main Avenue corridor as a cultural heritage district, honoring the area’s LGBTQ+ history. This adds to Tobin Hill’s historic appeal.
Mostly, though, Tobin Hill is a quiet, modest neighborhood, with large shade trees, green lawns and a feeling that residents care. The streets are clean and well-maintained. For those wedded to their SUVs, there is ample on-street parking — and Interstate 35, Interstate 10 and McAllister Freeway are not far away.
