National Register Listing

Brady Building-Empire Theater

204 E. Houston St.--226 N. St. Mary's St., San Antonio, TX

The Brady Building was an office building in San Antonio, Texas that was built in 1914. It was used as an opera house and theater during the pre-Depression boom period.

The Brady Building was constructed in 1914 by San Antonio insurance broker and real estate investor Thomas F. Brady (1836-1923). Brady purchased the site in 1890, retained the old Turner Halle that stood on the property, and operated an opera house and theater there until 1914 when he constructed a new, modern office building and theater. Located at San Antonio's 100% corner, the heart of the city's commercial district, the 8-story building contained modern offices and the 1,800 seat Empire Theater, at that time the city's largest motion picture venue. The St. Louis firm of Mauran, Russell and Crowell designed Brady's building five years after completing the Gunter Hotel (1909) directly across Houston Street in which Brady was also an investor. Constructed during a local economic boom that began c.1912 and extended until 1929, the Brady Building incorporated the latest in design elements. Each office was generously lighted by multiple large windows made possible by the building's steel frame construction. The building featured high speed elevators and telephone, electric, gas and water service to each office. The theater's first floor and two balconies and were heated and ventilated by a forced air system. The theater continued to operate as a movie house until 1975, and the office building remained occupied until the 1980s. It was renovated in 1992 as apartments. The theater was renovated in 1997-98 as a performing arts venue and re-opened in April 1998. The Brady Building meets Criterion A (local level) in the area of commerce as a tall building constructed by a local business investor during San Antonio's pre-Depression boom period. It is also significant in the area of entertainment and recreation as a building constructed to house the Empire Theater, the city's largest motion picture theater in 1914. The period of significance extends from 1914 until 1948.

Local significance of the building:
Entertainment/recreation; Commerce

Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1999.

The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.