UPDATE/EDITOR’S NOTE at 7:00 p.m. May 7, 2014: The Historic Design and Review Committee (HDRC) unanimously voted (9-0) against the two-block relocation of the historic Boehler House and former Liberty Bar near the Pearl Brewery during its meeting today. The small home behind the bar, however, is cleared to be moved to the 900 block of Avenue A.
The decision may be overturned if The Pearl Brewery files an appeal with the Board of Appeals.
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I am a preservation architect, and have been working with Rio Perla Properties since the property was purchased in 2002, first as a senior associate with Ford, Powell & Carson and in the last 18 months as an independent consultant.
I have firsthand experience with Rio Perla’s commitment to the history and built environment of the Pearl Brewery and its surrounding neighborhood. Through the restoration and preservation of numerous historic structures at Pearl, from the 1894 Brewhouse, the Boiler House and the Pearl Stable to the relocation and adaptive reuse of the ca. 1900 Mueller House on Avenue A, Rio Perla has shown this commitment time and again. (See photo gallery above.)
Adherence to the Secretary of Interior’s Guidelines for Restoration, the City of San Antonio Historic and Design Review Commission Guidelines and the River Improvement Overlay Standards have been and continue to be integral parts of any project at Pearl. Throughout the world and in San Antonio as well there are precedent examples of moving historic buildings for the betterment of the structures and their use by their surrounding communities.
The Marble Arch in Hyde Park was moved in the late 1880’s from Buckingham Palace, the 1802 home of Alexander Hamilton in New York City, was relocated from a cramped lot on Convent Avenue to a more spacious setting facing West 141st Street in nearby St. Nicholas Park.
Here in San Antonio both the Fairmount Hotel and the Sullivan Carriage House were moved to enhance their public use and ensure their survival. The Fairmount was moved from Commerce Street where Rivercenter Mall is to its current location across from the entrance to Hemisfair Park and the Sullivan Carriage House was moved from Broadway up to the San Antonio Botanical Garden to act as the visitor center and restaurant.
Rio Perla’s proposal to move the Boehler House at 328 E. Josephine Street — now Minnie’s Tavern and Rye House — from a location that no longer represents the neighborhood that existed when it was built to a spot a couple of blocks away that is a thriving, vital hub in this same neighborhood will not only save it from further deterioration, but will structurally stabilize and restore the much loved building.
Additionally, there is a long and well documented relationship between this building and Pearl Brewery. The original owner and proprietor, Fritz Boehler, was an early brewmeister at Pearl. Another owner, Aubrey Kline, worked at the brewery as public relations director for more than 30 years and operated Boehlers with his brothers during the 60s and 70s.
When Prohibition ended on September 15, 1933, Boehler’s was the first place the Pearl trucks stopped.
We see the relocation and renovation of this historic building to 618 Avenue A as the next chapter in this long and storied relationship. The new life that Pearl will bring to a properly restored Boehler’s will continue the transformation that Rio Perla has brought to the neighborhood, and will protect and honor the history of the building and the families who have lived and worked there.
*Featured/top image: Rendering of the Boehler House’s new location. Photo courtesy of Pearl Brewery.
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We should move everything to the Pearl.
Why move it to satisfy the interests of the pearl? Leave it and restore it so the neighborhood as a whole can benefit.
Thank you, Jeffrey, for explaining much more articulately what I have speculated in conversations regarding this move. It’s sad that people are focusing on the proposed use of the lot after the building is moved rather than the real purpose of the move as you have described.
I believe its current location anchors the Pearl. Moving it was disrupt the flow and the overall balance of the area. Why not take over some of the property on the other side of the river? Those buildings are easily demolished for parking lots.
Thanks to Jeffrey Fetzer for shedding light on the purpose and thinking behind the proposed move.
I got the calls there that my favorite brother had been killed in a car accident and six weeks later that my Mother had passed away… Lots of memories there and most but not all of them good….
I got the calls there that my favorite brother had been killed in a car accident and six weeks later that my Mother had passed away… Lots of memories there and most but not all of them good….
Hilarious that the architect thinks moving the building a few blocks to a ‘thriving’ neighborhood is a good idea, when the building is already in a ‘thriving’ neighborhood.
Great to see your voice here Jeff – love your work!
Why don’t they move the Fox motel instead? The Josephine/Grayson exit will never be the same. “Beauty & Charm” will surely be gone when the view ends up looking like the Warsaw Ghetto-esque can plant. Shameful.
There’s still no compelling reason it cannot be restored in situ. The circumstances are quite markedly different from the move of the Fairmount and the Sullivan Carriage House. There’s no reason Silver Ventures can’t rehab it right where it is without compromising the ceremonial north entrance. The relationship of the structures is ruined when one is picked up and moved out of context. It becomes a Potemkin mindset to tinker and move structures that truly do not need to be moved. National preservation standards consider this the least best option for an historic structure. I would like for once for architects that do have an extraordinary preservation record such as Ford, Powell & Carson to explain those concepts better, rather than simply justifying the request. Pretending those of us who oppose this move are fetishizing the building or just don’t grasp the magnitude of the owner’s request nor their wonderful preservation record, does a disservice to us all.
Just a point of clarification, this is not a Ford, Powell & Carson project. Mr. Fetzer is acting as an independent consultant for Pearl.
Mr. Fetzer, yes, thank you for such a detailed article and thank you for filling it with fluff regarding your expertise and accolades. Articulation of the same things others in favor of moving the building have expressed however succinctly put does not hide the fact that you are regurgitating the same things they have said. The difference is that now you’ve been roped in to making the same point except with bigger words and an air of officialism. I want to know one thing…why is it imperative to move the building to preserve it? How is it that the spot two (count it 2!!) blocks away would better? Is there something wrong with the ground on Josephine and Ave A? The building has stood there 120 years, is a staple to that location and yet all of a sudden it’s imperative to move it to “preserve” it. Yes, of course, it’s because now someone is making money! Please explain to a little ‘ole simpleton like me because even as educated as I am, all I read is fluff.
Also, you Ms. Lynn have implied that everyone against the move is focused on the wrong thing not to mention, insulting the movement to keep it at it’s current location by implying we cannot understand the nature of preservation. No, actually, we’re focused the fact that a man made a promise to a family that he would not sell the building or change it in any way (which is the reason they sold it to him and not others) and now a mere year later it’s exactly what he’s doing…why? We know, why, greed and money hidden under the guise of sincerity. Where was his sincerity last year…oh yeah, in that heartfelt promise. Hmmm. What is your part in this? You know, since you ARE a Realtor down at the Pearl. Did you broker the deal? That would be interesting to know.
People are not just focusing on making it a parking lot…they are opposed to disrupting the essence and bones of this building. Why not leave it where it is and make a Pearl Museum out of the building!? The only reason why Silver Ventures wants it moved so badly is so they can profit off of it… they will be getting at least 20K a MONTH for it….ATLEAST!!! There is a 6-8ft solid metal fence that SEPARATES The Pearl from the property now. In another 5 years The Pearl will have extended out and take over the whole area. DPT will soon become part of the “Pearl Compound”. The major gateway for MOST people entering the Pearl is right between Josephine Street Cafe and Fritz’s building. NOW Silver Ventures/The Pearl is spreading Fritz’s history like wildfire…. 125 years later!ha A year ago they could give a hoot! Also, this supposed lot that they want to move it to is………
A PARKING LOT already….so they are going to take parking, to make make parking!?
Huh!??? Oh but it’s because they will be getting a fat rent check from the new tenant once they move it to the “PEARL COMPOUND”…. and give the building a fraudulent lean. The lean happened due to the 1921 flood that happened at 328 E JOSEPHINE, not at the Pearl compound.
And the Cathedral in Dresden was rebuilt ( along with every other historic building ) in place from scratch after being obliterated in WW II. What a bunch of apologetic malarkey. This is all about integrating an historic structure into a shopping center and commodifying “history” for private gain.
So, the goal of this venture is to “properly preserve the building”. Tell me, will the preserved building have any commercial use in the new location or is this a purely philanthropic gesture by the organization that owns the Pearl?
It would be nice to see the structural assessments that require this new level of preservation because if it is as necessary as this story makes it sound, then the space should be closed immediately.
It’s odd that the location “no longer serves the area” due to the actions (construction & regentrification) of the same people that want to move it.
Keep it where it is where it serves as a greeting to the majority of people going to the Pearl.
This is not about preservation. It’s about Silver Ventures’ bottom line as they incorporate a formerly historic structure into their Disneyesque shopping center. How intellectually dishonest
can you get, Mr. Fetzer? And to counter your red herring argument that lots of historic buildings have been moved—in Dresden, they rebuilt everything exactly as is after it was obliterated in WW II. That term “Preservation Architect” is a joke.
The late great Linda Pace, Kit Goldsbury’s first wife, would’ve loved the idea of using some of the spaces on Josephine for a ‘green’ park’ as well as rehearsal/artist space for actors, for musicians, for poets and homeless bongo drummers. Don’t move the damn building and waste money on ego. Make it all greener.
UPDATE: The Historic Design and Review Committee (HDRC) unanimously voted (9-0) against the two-block relocation of the historic Boehler House and former Liberty Bar near the Pearl Brewery during its meeting today. The small home behind the bar, however, is cleared to be moved to the 900 block of Avenue A.
The decision may be overturned if The Pearl Brewery files an appeal with the Board of Appeals.
Common sense. Let’s go back to, yes! La Perla! examine every block & make a park & make the warehouses places where artists can work, but protect what is truly the spot on earth in San Antonio-before-US281 and give it greenery & amor! Recycle, reuse, preserve, conserve…
Leave it there!
Just ask H-E-B to move it and it will happen.
Does anyone know if Silver Ventures appealed the ruling?
Our understanding is that options are being weighed.