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Director, Office of Historic Preservation
Stay in Touch
Contact Us
E-Mail:
Office of Historic Preservation
Phone: (210) 215-9274
Historic Preservation Links
Office of Historic Preservation Past Events and Programs
Below are many of the events and programs that the Office of Historic Preservation has sponsored. For additional information on any of these, please contact the Office of Historic Preservation staff at 215-9274.
S.T.A.R. Project in Government Hill - Nov. 17-18, 2012
S.T.A.R.
(Students Together Achieving Revitalization)
is a partnership between the Office of Historic Preservation, the UTSA
College of Architecture,
The S.T.A.R. Program recently provided services to homeowners in the Government Hill Historic District on November 17 and 18, 2012. Thank you to all of our sponsors, volunteers, and participants for making the weekend a success! Check back soon for photos of the event or check out our S.T.A.R. Page and Past Events Page for photos of recent S.T.A.R. Projects. Click on the links below for photos of the S.T.A.R. weekend and a story on the Government Hill S.T.A.R. Program on Univision.
S.T.A.R. - Fall 2012 Government Hill - Photos
Univision - Government Hill S.T.A.R. Project
Go! Historic Guided Running &Walking Tours - Downtown Holiday Lights - Dec. 2012
Thanks
to those who joined us for our Go! Historic SA Guided Running and
Walking Tour of the Downtown Holiday Lights on
Thursday, Dec. 6th. The tour started and finished at historic Casa
Navarro and included stops at Main and Military Plaza, La Villita, the
Riverwalk, and more. Participants learned about our historic
downtown while taking in the beautiful holiday lights!
Thanks also to all of our guides, re-enactors, and participants who joined us on our second annual Go! Historic SA Guided Running and Walking Tour of the historic Eastside Cemeteries in October. We had a great turnout and beautiful weather to get everyone into the Halloween spirit! The tour highlighted several of the 31 historic cemeteries within the district, and re-enactors portrayed a number of the famous "residents" buried there. See photos of the Eastside Cemeteries Tour here.
Our walking and running guided tours are offered periodically throughout the year so check our Events and Announcements page for upcoming dates!
October was Archaeology Month!
Dr. Harry Shafer Receives Lifetime Achievement Award from TAS
Dr.
Harry Shafer, Retired Professor Emeritus from Texas A&M University and
Historic Design and Review (HDRC) Commissioner for Council District 2
was honored on Saturday Oct. 27, 2012, with the Texas Archeological
Society’s (TAS) Lifetime Achievement Award.
The award was presented at the TAS Annual Meeting held in Tyler, Texas
on Oct. 25-28, 2012. The Lifetime Achievement Award
is the highest honor that the TAS bestows. The award
recognizes an individual TAS member’s lifetime commitment to Texas
archaeology. It is presented as deemed appropriate by
the TAS Board to a TAS member in recognition of his or her lifetime
involvement in TAS and Texas archaeology. Dr. Shafer's nomination
stated: "He has made significant contributions to
Texas archaeology that were and continue to be unparalleled. As a
professor at Texas A&M University, he has left a robust imprint on the
current cultural landscape of Texas archaeologists, providing a
knowledge base of basic and advanced methodological and theoretical
underpinnings that are sure to be employed for many years to come."
Dr. Shafer was appointed to the HDRC in 2009.
He is a Fellow of the TAS (1985) and received the President's
Merit Award from the TAS in 2004. Other awards
include the Texas Historical Commissions (THC) Archeologist of the Year
in 1994, the Society of American Archaeology (SAA) Award for Excellence
in Lithic Studies in 1995, and the Association of Former Students of
Texas A&M Distinguished Teaching Award in 1992. Dr. Shafer has over 50
years of professional experience in archaeology. He
founded the archeology program in the Department of Anthropology at
Texas A&M in 1972 where he taught for 30 years. He is the co-author of
Ancient Texans: Rockart and Lifeways along the Lower Pecos,
Mimbres Archaeology at the NAN Ranch Ruin, New Mexico, Painters
in Pre-history: Archaeology and Rockart of the Lower Pecos Canyonlands
(in press), and co-wrote Field Methods in Archaeology and Maya
Stone Tools. He has authored numerous other publications.
Dr. Shafer currently is President of Abasolo Archaeological
Consultants in
Texas Archaeology Month at Mission San Jose - October 13, 2012
Each
year, archaeologists in
National Archaeology Month Artifact Identification Day - October 20, 2012
The
Southern Texas Archaeological Association (STAA), the National
Park Service (NPS), and the Archeological Institute of America,
Southwest Texas Regional Association (AIA-SWTAS) hosted an
Artifact Identification Day on Sat. Oct. 20, 2012, at the Mission Concepcion Convento.
Participants brought in historic and prehistoric artifacts and "whatzit"
items for identification by expert archaeologists, See below for
photos of the event.
Artifact Identification Day 2012 Photos
4th Annual Historic Homeowner Fair a great success! - August 2012
The 4th Annual Historic Homeowner Fair on
Saturday, August 25th at Thomas Jefferson High School was a big success!
Thank you to all of our sponsors, exhibitors, presenters, volunteers,
and attendees for once again making this event a great opportunity for historic
homeowners and those interested in historic buildings.
The day featured educational sessions covering topics such as preservation and sustainability, financing rehabilitation projects, repairing historic windows, mid-century modern architecture in San Antonio, and much more. The midday keynote session was a presentation of the first public draft of the proposed Historic District Design Guidelines. The exhibitor hall included products, services, and information targeted to residents interested in preserving historic homes. Activities for school-age children were hosted by the Thomas Jefferson High School architecture students.
The educational sessions will be available to view on our website, so check back soon. Don't miss the opportunity to review and comment on the draft Historic District Design Guidelines (see links further down the page).
Historic Homeowner Fair Schedule of Events/Exhibitors
S.T.A.R. Project in Tobin Hill and Five Points - March & April 2012
A recent S.T.A.R. project in Spring 2012 focused again on the Tobin Hill
Historic District and for the first time in the Five Points
neighborhood. Students and contractors assisted homeowners for two weekends on March 24-25 and March
31-April 1, 2012. See photos of the work done in both
neighborhoods at the link below.
S.T.A.R. stands for Students Together Achieving Revitalization and is a service-learning project with the Office of Historic Preservation, UTSA's College of Architecture, and San Antonio College architecture students. Students provide homeowners of properties within historic districts assistance with minor exterior repairs and maintenance at no cost to the homeowner.
S.T.A.R. Spring 2012 Photos - Tobin Hill and Five Points
S.T.A.R. Volunteer Days in the Tobin Hill Historic District - Nov. 19-20, 2011
S.T.A.R.
(Students Together Achieving Revitalization)
came to Tobin Hill! The Office of Historic Preservation (OHP) partnered
with UTSA College of Architecture and
Thank you to all of our sponsors, contractors, and student volunteers for making the weekend a great success! Check out the link below for photos of the event.
Read about S.T.A.R. in the UTSA College of Architecture Winter 2011 Newsletter (pg. 7) and in San Antonio Magazine!
"Spooky" Eastside Cemetery Guided Tour - October 29, 2011
Over
100 participants joined us on Saturday, October 29th for the Go! Historic SA
Guided Running & Walking Tour of
the historic Eastside
Cemetery District!
Established in the early 1850s, the district encompasses 31 different
historic cemeteries on the City’s near Eastside and includes burials of
many famous San Antonians.
Runners and walkers of all skill levels participated, and as a special treat, interpretive docents portrayed some of the most famous residents buried within the district including Clara Driscoll, Samuel Maverick, William Menger among others.
Archaeology Month 2011 - Archaeology Day at Mission San Jose
On
Saturday October 8, 2011 the
The event was co-sponsored by the University of Texas at San Antonio's Center for Archaeological Research and the Institute of Texan Cultures, the Southwest Texas Archaeology Society (AIA), San Antonio Museum of Art, Southern Texas Archaeological Association, Casa Navarro (Texas Historical Commission), Goliad State Park (Texas Parks and Wildlife), San Antonio River Authority, Girl Scouts of Southwest Texas, Texas Coritani, and the City of San Antonio's Office of Historic Preservation. Funding was provided by the National Park Service and other sponsoring institutions.
Texas Archaeology Month 2011 Slide Show
3rd Annual Historic Homeowner Fair a Great Success! - August 27, 2011
Thank you to everyone who attended our 3rd
Annual Historic Homeowner Fair on Saturday, August 27th!
The
Historic Homeowner Fair provided residents and professionals with a
unique opportunity to interact and discuss issues related to caring for
older homes.
Educational presentations and a midday plenary
session covered topics including preservation and sustainability,
financing rehabilitation projects, landscaping for historic properties,
UTSA College of Architecture instructors and graduate
students were on hand at the "Ask an Expert" booth to
answer questions about rehabilitation plans. Homeowners brought
photographs and ideas and received free advice from these experts in
preservation and architectural design. 
View many of the Educational Presentations offered at the Fair.
Window Restoration Workshop at Acosta/Halff House in HemisFair Park - 2011
A
Window Restoration Workshop,
presented by the City’s Office of Historic Preservation and the UTSA
College of Architecture, was held on September 16th and 17th to teach the basics of wood window
care and repair.
Window workshops are offered periodically throughout the year. Stay tuned for information about upcoming workshops.
S.T.A.R. – Volunteer Days in Dignowity Hill Historic District - 2010 and 2011
The Office of Historic Preservation (OHP)
coordinated two service projects called
S.T.A.R. (Students
Together Achieving Revitalization) with students from the UTSA
College of Architecture.
This group of over 250 graduate and undergraduate architecture students assisted homeowners in the Dignowity
Hill Historic District with minor exterior repairs and maintenance
projects during the first two weekends of November 2010 and again for
two weekends in March and April 2011. Over
25 houses participated in the project to promote revitalization in
this Eastside neighborhood. Homeowners were assisted with windows, siding, porches, general
exterior yard maintenance, and painting.
Volunteer contractors and building professionals were on hand
to lend support. Read all about the
November project in the
S.T.A.R. Report
2010.
Check out the before and after photos from the most recent S.T.A.R. Project 2011 this spring.
A big thank you to our sponsors who have helped to make this event possible!
National Preservation Month Wrapped up in May - 2011
The Office of Historic Preservation (OHP) participated
throughout the month of May in National Preservation Month 2011. The National Trust for Historic Preservation chose the
theme, "Celebrating
Preservation Month Activities - check out all of our events!
Thank you also to all of our Preservation Month Sponsors who helped make the events and activities possible!