Builders Exchange Building

The 1924-1925 Builders Exchange Building served as the headquarters of the Builders Exchange of San Antonio, whose purpose was to gather, exchange, and disseminate information and various services throughout the building industry. The Builders Exchange Building was the first in the country built and owned by an association made up of members of the building industry exclusively. It meets Criterion C, in the area of Architecture, for its representation of the Late Gothic Revival philosophy and aesthetic which disseminated throughout the 1920s. The building is also an exceptional example of regionally prominent architect George Willis.

The 1920s was an era of unrivaled prosperity across the United States paralleled by commercial growth and consequent construction booms. San Antonio, then the largest city in Texas, flourished as an urban center. The economy thrived on the numerous rail systems that ran through town, affording transportation for local industries such as flour mills, foundries, breweries, and ranching, in addition to several military establishments.

The construction industry and related trades were well prepared for the tremendous development that took place in the 1920s in San Antonio. Thirty-two individuals interested in various aspects of the building industry had organized the Builders Exchange of San Antonio [Exchange] on 19 December 1900 and served as its charter members. This organization pioneered many construction services and offered its members and the pubic services equal to those of any institution of its kind in the United States. The Exchange issued a service bulletin daily showing contracts both to be awarded and awarded, plans being drawn, bids, contracts awarded, work contemplated, work completed, and public improvements. The organization provided building permit figures and wage rates in all building crafts, and acted as a clearinghouse for building work. Members received names of contractors, subcontractors and suppliers on request.

The organization strived to find a location to house their materials and small staff. Staff consisted of a secretary and stenographer, who also served as the telephone operator. The organization's numerous moves emphasize tiieir struggle. In 1901 the Exchange rented space in the Maverick Building (210 East Commerce Street), in 1903 it moved to a store on Presa Street, in 1904 it rented a room in City National Bank (at the comer of Navarro and Commerce streets). Five years later it moved to the Alamo National Bank Building (National Register, 1984) and in 1918 it moved to 250 College Street. In 1919 it occupied offices in the Bedell Building and in April 1925 it moved to the Builders Exchange Building, where it would stay until 1950.

The Exchange built the 10-story edifice at the southwest comer of East Pecan and North St. Mary's streets between 1924 and 1925 to house their offices. A subsidiary corporation of Exchange members, known as the Builders Exchange Building Company, formed to finance the construction project. They sold both single shares and limited blocks to allow a majority of the membership to share ownership of the new building.

Emmett T. Jackson, who lacked formal architectural training (but designed numerous buildings in San Antonio), and George Willis, a well known architect of the era, designed the building. Willis was a draftsman in the Frank Lloyd Wright Studio from 1898 to 1902. His early San Antonio commissions reveal his training, especially in the homes he designed for the L.T. Wright family at 342 Wilkins Avenue, and for the Dr. Lemma Young family at 828 Cambridge Oval. His other commissions include the San Antonio Country Club, the Palace Theater, and the Milam Building. In 1924 Jackson and Willis assisted prominent architects Atiee B. and Robert M. Ayres in designing the San Antonio Municipal Auditorium (National Register 1981). Willis also worked with Phelps and Dewees in designing the addition and renovation of the Bexar County Courthouse in 1926.

As one of only three commercial buildings in the city that bear Late Gothic Revival design, the Builders Exchange Building helps establish the architectural and historical context for this style in San Antonio. The other two buddings depicting Late Gothic Revival influences are the Emily Morgan Hotel and the Smith-Young Tower (National Register 1991).

In the 1920s architecture, on an international level, was making a bumpy transition from traditional to architectonic objectives. The 259 entries presented in competition for the design of the Chicago Tribune Tower in 1922 ranged from Howells and Hood's winning Gothic Revival tower to Eliel Saarinen's Art Deco skyscraper to Dane, Knud Longberg-Holm's representation of the European modem movement. The diverse entries made apparent the polarization of architectural ideals at the time. However, in the midst of this transition, the widely publicized Tribune Tower (1923-1925) served as a prototype for skyscrapers around the country, including San Antonio's Smith-Young Tower.

While the Builders Exchange Building is not a skyscraper, it imitates a modest version of the prominent Tower. The base frames wide-windowed retail space between structural piers and is set off from upper stories by a stylized horizontal motif. The upper portion of the building consists of identical stories, originally for offices. A Gothic spirit is evidenced in historical detailing, reduced and simplified, in the form of cast stone ornamentation.

The Exchange in San Antonio set precedent for other local builders exchanges to emulate. By 1929 the professional organization had grown to 300 members and a staff of 12. The Builders Exchange Building attracted public attention not only locally, but also nationally. This was the first local exchange to construct its own building. The national association adopted the San Antonio Builders Exchange services as a model of conduct and recommended organizing or reorganizing builders exchanges throughout the country based on that prototype. The San Antonio Exchange was the first organization of its kind in the United States to make a motion picture of its activities. The film was shown locally and in several cities in South Texas, as well as in Reading and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Miami and Jacksonville, Florida, Columbus and Youngstown, Ohio, and San Francisco and Oakland, California. At the request of Herbert Hoover, United States Secretary of Commerce at the time, the first sign in San Antonio intended to guide commercial and air mail planes was painted on the roof of the Builders Exchange Building in 1927.

The Builders Exchange Building was associated with many businesses and businessmen significant to the history and development of San Antonio. The Associated General Contractors, organized in 1924, had offices at and operated under the umbrella of the Exchange through the Depression years. Formed in 1944, the Greater San Antonio Builders Association was also strongly affiliated with the exchange. Officers and directors in 1925 included J.S. MacManus, G.W. Mitchell, CO. Sawtelle, P.M. Gordon, D.A. Condon, Walter Shafer, P.G. Osbom, Albert Steves, Jr., and Elmer Dittmar. In 1929, the Lumberman's Club of San Antonio moved onto the tenth floor. Their facilities offered pool, billiards, card tables, lounge, and dining areas. The club was a popular gathering place for the building industry, and many Exchange members were also members of the Lumberman's Club.

Membership in the San Antonio Builders Exchange declined during the Great Depression and recovery was slow during the 1940s, but grew in following decades. The Exchange moved from the its building to the Smith-Young Tower in 1950 to accommodate their augmented space needs. In the Tower they occupy 4,000 square feet.

The Builders Exchange Building is a rehabilitation achieved through the efforts of three private individuals and the City of San Antonio Housing Trust Foundation. The Builders Exchange Building provides apartment living for 41 residents on the upper floors and retail space at street level. The San Antonio Conservation Society Foundation has accepted assignation of a perpetual easement of the facade as a preservation measure.

The Builders Exchange Building retains a high degree of architectural and historical integrity. The building remains in its original location in San Antonio's central business district and, while its surroundings have changed somewhat, the continuity of the river and several proximate historic buildings maintain a setting resembling the historic environment. The overall design as exhibited in plan, form, materials, workmanship and style are similar to that of the 1920s. Thus, the building retains its integrity of feeling and association.

The reputation of the San Antonio Builders Exchange was prominent within the professional field. Locally, the Exchange impacted the built environment in the city from its inception. The Exchange and its tangible manifestation, the Builders Exchange Building, facilitated the city's transformation into a flourishing metropolis. The building serves as a reminder of the optimism that characterized urban skylines during the years before the Great Depression.