National Register Listing

Vogel Belt Complex

a.k.a. Fest Block and Steves Building

111--121 Military Plaza, San Antonio, TX

From its beginning as the Spanish Presidio, established in 1722 by the Marques de Aguayo on the banks of San Pedro Creek, through its days as the Plaza de Armas, heart of an emerging regional center, Military Plaza has played a pivotal role in the development of San Antonio. The tradition of the plaza as a place of government, established in the 18th century by the Presidio and the Spanish Governor's Palace, continued into the 19th century with the combination jail, courthouse and city hall structure known as the "Bat Cave". In its turn, the "Bat Cave" was demolished to make way for the present city hall, erected in 1891. But the dedication of the new city hall unfortunately signaled the end of another traditional function on the plaza; the once-active hay and vegetable markets were forced to relocate, and the legendary chili queens, "beautiful, bantering but virtuous, "who for nearly a century had hawked their savory concoctions from rickety booths around the square, were banished to Alamo Plaza and were soon to fall prey to an overly zealous health department. With the open-air market, however, had developed a thriving commerce in wool, cotton, hides and leather, in wholesale groceries and provisions and in tin supplies and hardware, all of which continued in the buildings surrounding the plaza well into the 20th century.

Local significance of the building:
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1975.