Maverick Building

The Maverick Building  was built in  1922 by the Estate of George  M.  Maverick  (1845-1913) on the site of the old Maverick Hotel demolished in 1921 to extend  the Presa Street  right-of-way  north of Houston  Street.  The  site  was  part  of  the  extensive  land  investments  of  the  Maverick  Family that,  since  the  mid-19th century,  included a  great  deal of property  on what became known as Houston Street.  By the  1880s,  the Maverick Family  was credited as the  major  developer  of this part of downtown.

The Maverick Building  was  among the first completed  as part of the building boom that changed  the face of  San Antonio's downtown in the  1920s prior to the Depression.   It  was noted for  its  "simplicity  of  design  in  marked  contrast  to office building  ideas of  ten  years  ago."  Because of its prominent location,  and its  stature as  the tallest  building  near Alamo  Plaza,  the  Maverick Building  dominated  the  skyline of the  northeastern  edge of downtown.
The Maverick Building  meets Criterion C (local  level) in the area of architecture,  as an intact,  early  example  of  the  city's  skyscraper   architecture,   as  an  early  local  example  of  reinforced concrete  architecture,  and  as  the only known local example  of highrise  architecture  by  the  firm of L.  Harrington Company,  Architects.  It also  meets Criterion A (local level)  in  the area of community planning and  development  for its association  with  the  modernization  of  San  Antonio's infrastructure in  the  teens  and  early  1920s,  the  city's  subsequent construction boom period of construction in the  1920s,  and  the Maverick Family's role in the  development  of  Houston  Street for some 75 years.   The period of significance extends from  1922 to  1945.