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. If your story is selected and published, you will receive a $250 stipend.
In our almost 35 years of marriage, Kevin and I have lived in 13 homes, most of them in San Antonio. We lived on the East Coast for 3 years but told most people we were just out of town for a bit. We both went to high school and college here. San Antonio is our hometown.
We successfully downsized in 2016 and moved to the near Eastside. After living in 4,000 square feet with my mother-in-law and daughter before she went to college, downsizing to 1,400 square feet was an exercise not only in reorganization, but a philosophical change in how we lived and used smaller spaces.
Our most recent home was across the street from the historic San Antonio cemeteries in Dignowity Hill. Kevin liked to give cemetery tours for friends across the 36 cemeteries spanning 110 acres. Some of San Antonio’s founding family members are buried there — Guenther, Steves, Driscoll, Frost and Menger.
The San Antonio National Cemetery was built in 1867 and is the oldest in Texas which honors Civil War soldiers, the Buffalo soldiers and Medal of Honor recipients. Living next to a cemetery is not for everyone, but the quietness of the cemetery was offset by the business of East Houston Street. Much like in other areas we have lived, Dignowity Hill is a neighborhood in transition and that is part of its appeal.
On a Monday evening this past November, we were visiting the dog park at Lockwood-Dignowity Park and noticed a for sale sign on a home we always admired. We laughingly said, “We should go look at that,” knowing the scale and prominence on the corner of the park was the opposite of downsizing from a much quieter street half a mile away.
We looked at it on a Tuesday, made an offer on Wednesday, had a contract on Thursday and inspection on Friday.
Three weeks later we moved into our 14th home: The Friedrich House, a Victorian architecture house in the Queen Anne style built in 1906. All our small and understated plans now focused on a 120-year-old home that was more than double in size with a half-acre corner lot. We don’t even have furniture for the downstairs.
Dignowity Hill is beautifully positioned at one of the highest points in San Antonio geographically giving it some of the best views in the city. Not to mention the nearby growth along Broadway and the soon to be sports and entertainment district downtown.
While many of the articles in this series normally speak to the neighborhood restaurants, shops and community activities in a certain area, we feel an enormous responsibility to not only tell the history of this iconic San Antonio home, but also share it. We still can’t believe we actually live here.
Like many entrepreneurs in San Antonio in the early 20th century, Edward Friedrich built his house close to his business. He could oversee his factory on Commerce Street and I imagine 100 years ago, he walked the 6 blocks to work every day. While Friedrich did not wholly invent air conditioning, he is credited with the invention of room air conditioners and food preservation through refrigeration.
Friedrich became one of the largest manufacturers of commercial refrigeration equipment. The best part is that Friedrich was a craftsman and cabinet maker which makes for a unique home with great woodwork. Much of his work can be found at his brother Albert’s bar, The Buckhorn Saloon, which opened in 1881.
Kevin and I recently completed a total renovation on a small 1920s house which gave us the confidence to take on this beautiful property. We knew what to look for in the foundation and mechanical systems. We also knew the importance of a good renovation and restoration. She — the house — has been beautifully renovated, but we want to take it further and really restore her. Especially since none of the interior historic doors actually latched! Kevin spent one full weekend chiseling out the strike plates and realigning the bolt boxes.
The layout is what you would expect of a house like this. All the classic spaces are downstairs; grand foyer, formal parlor, dining room and library along with an unexpectedly large kitchen and full bathroom with the largest clawfoot tub I have ever seen. We have decided to decorate the downstairs in period pieces, relative to the 1900s through 1930s and probably tackle the kitchen in a couple of years. Antique dealers are now some of our best friends. The upstairs has four bedrooms and another two full bathrooms. We are making a more private space upstairs and we have accepted that our TV and recliners are part of our modern lives.
But the true highlight of the house is the turret and her downtown views. Situated facing the southwest, we can clearly see the Southside, the Alamodome, the Tower of the Americas and most of the San Antonio skyline. New Year’s Eve was incredible. As we begin living in the last house of our lives, we know that she will keep busy with her endless to-do list. We are grateful that our daughter lives five blocks away and rely on her opinions of how the property should be restored. Those of us that take on old houses know any project is likely to take twice as long and cost three times as much.
For now, we enjoy watching the daily activity of the park and meeting neighbors as we sit on the porch with our family. Sunday mornings have become unofficial cigar parties as we wave to friends walking down to the Farmer’s Market at Nolan and Pine. We look forward to living many years in the Friedrich House and are excited to take on this stewardship. If you see Kevin and ask about “that big yellow Victorian on the East Side,” you better settle in. He’s got endless stories and pictures to share.
