The Robert B. Green building in downtown San Antonio has been deemed unsafe after a 5.4 magnitude earthquake West Texas sent tremors across the state Wednesday.
On Thursday, University Health officials said damage to the building, which is more than 100 years old, exacerbated existing structural issues. As a result, the building has been closed off and public safety officials have established a safety zone around it until University Health determines how to proceed.
The building, which opened in 1917 as a hospital, most recently housed administrative services; those offices are being relocated to office space across the city, according to University Health.
In 2013, most of the clinical services still being offered in the building were moved to the newer Robert B. Green clinical building, which officials said appears to be unaffected by the temblor.
According to the press release, engineers are examining all buildings on the campus to check for damage.
The historical building was named after former Bexar County Judge Robert B. Green and was designed by Atlee B. Ayres. It opened in 1917 and was lauded as “one of the best and most modern institutions of its kind in the Southwest,” according to University Health.
The hospital offered treatment during the influenza pandemic of 1918 and the polio epidemic in the 1940s and 50s.
The hospital provided examinations for U.S. military members and trained multiple generations of nurses and doctors.
Wednesday’s earthquake was felt in parts of San Antonio, Austin and as far away as Dallas.
The U.S. Geological Survey’s website reported the quake’s epicenter 37 kilometers west-southwest of Mentone, an unincorporated community in Loving County near the New Mexico border.
A number of smaller aftershocks were reported in the hours following the larger quake, according to USGS.
San Antonio College evacuated several campus buildings and even canceled classes Wednesday evening after the shaking “out of an abundance of caution.”
The USGS website includes a Did You Feel It? link for each earthquake, allowing those who felt it to report specific details such as where they were, how they would describe the shaking and how they reacted.
