Restoring River Walk Beauties

New Use for San Antonio's Historic Theater, Bank Building

The original two-story iron chandelier that hangs above the atrium lobby of the former Aztec Theatre, renamed The Aztec on the River, was refurbished by the grandson of its original designer. (Photo by Joel Spring.) BOTTOM: An historic photo shows the original lobby of the Aztec Theatre, which opened in 1926. (Black-and-white image from the Zintgraff Collection, UT Institute of Texan Cultures at San Antonio).

Two of San Antonio's historic structures along the River Walk - the Aztec Theatre and the Alamo National Bank Building - will find new and different lives this spring after undergoing more than $50 million worth of restoration and renovation.

The Aztec Theatre, which opened in 1926 to show motion pictures, has been transformed into an entertainment destination with eight movie screens and 28,000 sq. ft. of office space on the top floor of the two-story building. Catty-corner to the theater, which has been renamed Aztec on the River, the Alamo National Bank Building will emerge as the 310-room Drury Plaza San Antonio River Walk.

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Original Magnificence Restored

The transformation of the two buildings, which has taken several years, is scheduled for completion by June, said Steven V. Stendebach, president of Aztec Project Development Ltd. and Euro-Alamo Management Inc., the management company of Baron Theo Bracht of Belgium.

Stendebach used to office in the bank building, which was owned by Bracht. From his office, he could see the Aztec Theatre, which had fallen into severe disrepair. Stendebach and Bracht were dismayed to see the degradation of such a historically valuable building, and when the theater was put on the market, Bracht stepped in with an offer.

He then charged Stendebach with the task of creating a viable adaptive reuse plan for the building.

"We spent about a year and a half trying to figure out what to do with it," Stendebach said, adding that he talked with local convention and visitors bureau and hotel concierges to determine what was missing along the River Walk. "It's easy to measure space, but coming up with a business plan is difficult."

The former Alamo national Bank Building will soon emerge as the 310-room hotel, the Drury Plaza San Antonio River Walk. (Photo courtesy Drury Southwest)

Eventually, his research showed there was a need for an entertainment venue that appealed to all age groups.

But the theater, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was encumbered by restrictive deed covenants that had been placed on the building by the previous owner, the San Antonio Conservation Society. The covenants required that any reuse or renovation of the building would have to include refurbishment of the building's original features such as plaster, balconies and tile.

Because the theater had gone through some major modifications during its lifetime, it was hard to distinguish what was original. "We had to do a lot of research to see what the theater looked like when it opened in the 1920s," Stendebach said. In its heyday, the building, which is located at North St. Mary's and Commerce streets, featured plaster sculptures, elaborate furnishings, massive columns and murals with vibrant colors depicting ancient Aztec culture.

The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks occurred before Euro-Alamo Management could move forward with the project, and that meant "we were just stuck with no money to go forward," Stendebach said.

The cash crunch was resolved in late-2003 when Cape Girardeau, Mo.-based Drury Southwest Inc. agreed to purchase the bank building, a Class B high-rise built in 1929, and to tackle the renovation work on the theater.

"With our past experience, we thought we would be a great firm to oversee the restoration of the Aztec," said Kevin Whitfield, branch manager for Drury Southwest's San Antonio division.

The family-owned firm had plenty of experience in renovation and restoration of historic properties after making the historic Petroleum Commerce Building in San Antonio into the Drury Inn & Suites - Riverwalk. Through its restoration work, Drury Southwest came into contact with a number of historical preservation specialists that were eager to take on the challenge of restoring the Aztec to its former magnificence.

Extensive exterior and interior work was necessary, namely removing the street-level granite that had been put up on the building's brick exterior during the 1950s. Drury Southwest was able to locate Ash Masonry, the factory that manufactured the original brick, and Ash then reproduced the same color and quality brick to reface the building. The wooden windows were removed and stripped of all paint and grime. Fresh wood replaced the rotted sections.

After spending about $500,000 on the removal of pigeon guano and asbestos, the historic structure was modernized with all new plumbing and electric, as well as an HVAC system.

Then there was the paint and plaster restoration.

Drury Southwest called upon local paint contractor Restoration Associates to painstakingly remove layer upon layer of paint, color analyze it and repaint the interior with the original colors. The firm, which is well-known for its work on the Alamo, was also able to recreate the same patterns in the paint.

Another local firm, Battersby Plaster, worked to replicate entire sections of plaster that had been destroyed over the years through modernization or vandalism. As the foremost expert on ornamental plaster, Battersby reproduced in plaster the giant "stone" blocks, urns and Aztec-mask wall sconces. Additionally, the original two-story iron chandelier that hung in the lobby was refurbished by Ted Voss, the grandson of the original designer, German immigrant Theo Voss.

The key piece of the project, however, was connecting the theater to the River Walk, Stendebach said. Previously, the Aztec was oriented with its back toward the river, and Crockett Street separated the street-level building from the River Walk.

The basement of the building has been replaced by a River Walk level entrance and an Iron Cactus Mexican Grill & Margarita Bar.

Old Building, New Use

Meanwhile, Drury Southwest worked on redeveloping the bank building into a limited-service hotel, using its in-house architect for interior space planning. "The biggest challenge from an architecture and design standpoint was preserving the historical features of the building but also pro-

viding a state-of-the-art building for our hotel patrons," Whitfield said. Drury Southwest added a second stairwell in the 24-story building to provide a fire evacuation route for guests. The stairwell was configured to fit within the existing building frame, running through the core of the building and around the meeting space on the third and fourth floors.

Drury Southwest also put a new façade on the existing parking garage and extended the River Walk downstream from Houston Street. Local design firm Sprinkle/Robey assisted Drury Southwest with the parking garage and River Walk extension, which made the River Walk into a loop for the first time rather than a U-shaped path that forced visitors to backtrack rather than strolling the walk in a circle.

"The River Walk extension is a huge challenge," said Rob Leonhard, vice president of Boerne-based Coyle Engineering. The firm was involved in developing the infrastructure plans for the $3 million project.

The extension, comprised of more than 100 concrete box culverts, was built during the 10 days in January 2005 when the river was drained for regular channel maintenance. The layout for the 800-ft. extension had to be approved by the city of San Antonio, as did the sidewalk and architectural amenities. "The team made a painstaking effort to ensure that the extension mimics the rest of the River Walk," Leonhard said.

Collectively, Aztec on the River, Drury Plaza San Antonio River Walk and the River Walk extension were a test to the skills and abilities of everyone involved, Whitfield said. "We never thought we would have another project that was as challenging and rewarding as the Drury Inn & Suites - Riverwalk, but these projects have been," he added.