Name: Public to weigh in on fate of historic San Antonio church foundation, San Pedro Creek project
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Public to weigh in on fate of historic San Antonio church foundation, San Pedro Creek project

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This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateSan Antonians will have a say in preserving the remains of one of the oldest Black churches in Texas, a historic structure in the heart of downtown.The building’s foundation, a dramatic archaeological find, was discovered during construction — now on hold — of a critical section of the San Pedro Creek Culture Project, a major flood-control and beautification undertaking.San Antonio River Authority staff said they will launch a public comment process in November to find out whether the public thinks the entire foundation of the 1870s St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church should be preserved or just part of it.The partial preservation would allow construction of an entertainment plaza near the Alameda Theater to move forward, with some alteration.The discovery in February of the early 1870s church foundation has caused delays in a costly segment of the project, from Houston Street to Nueva Street. That section, budgeted at $74.7 million, was scheduled for completion in March 2021, then pushed back twice.On ExpressNews.com:Last week, SARA officials told members of the San Pedro Creek Citizens Advisory Committee the timeline now stands at substantial completion in March 2022.Christine Clayton, project manager with SARA, said the agency is working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Texas Historical Commission and city’s Office of Historic Preservation to determine the site’s eligibility for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places.A decision on preserving the historic church foundation requires public input, careful research and a methodical step-by-step process, Clayton said. She expects the Corps of Engineers to reach a decision in early 2021 that would allow work to resume in March, following a yearlong delay at the site.“We haven’t really touched it. We wanted to preserve it,” Clayton said. “We had been doing some work on Houston Street, but we made sure to give a good buffer so we don’t risk damaging the AME site in any way.”River authority staff is working with the Corps on a package of data and visual aids for a 30-day public comment period, likely to be held in a “November time frame,” she said.“The Corps kind of leads that effort, but (SARA) is going to be an equal partner and really put together a lot of outreach material,” Clayton said. “This is a public park, so we want to know what the public has to say.”“It still could be up till spring of next year before we can do any construction in this area,” she added.Excavation at the site by Houston and Camaron streets has unearthed a patchwork of historic building foundations, mostly associated with industrial uses. The ones of particular historical significance are limestone footings of the old Menger Soapworks and Alamo Brewery sites, and the 1870s worship space of early parishioners of St. James church, including many who had been slaves.St. James, founded in 1867, was one of the first AME churches formed in Texas after the Civil War and abolition of slavery. The church was a social, cultural and political lifeline for Black Texans adjusting to life as freed individuals.According to a history of St. James church written in the 1980s, founding members initially worshiped in a rented building in a soap factory owned by German immigrant Simon Menger. The recently discovered site was their third worship space. Research by Raba Kistner, the archaeological consulting firm on the creek project, indicates St. James bought the site in 1873 and expanded it in 1875.On ExpressNews.com:By 1878, St. James had moved to a cathedral structure in the area of today’s Christus Santa Rosa hospital complex downtown, according to the church archives. A “dynamic pastor,” the Rev. Abraham Grant, who later became an AME bishop, led St. James in paying off debt for the new building.The church moved again in 1928 to its current site at 402 N. Richter St., where it continues to operate today, holding services online during the pandemic.The Conservation Society of San Antonio has asked SARA to try to “conserve the full foundation footprint” of the church, which covers nearly 2,400 square feet, to provide a “visceral connection to an important chapter in our past,” society president Patti Zaiontz wrote in a letter in June.But project leaders are worried that preserving the whole foundation will require a redesign of the creek project. Plans for the site call for creation of a colorfully decorated open-air entertainment plaza, directly across the creek from the Alameda and new offices of Texas Public Radio. A redesign aimed at keeping the church foundation intact could affect pedestrian access and planned widening of the creek channel for flood control.Clayton said the Corps of Engineers wants input on “two options that are going out.”“One of them is the full preservation, where we don’t get our plaza. And the other one is where we have partial preservation, and we can still have our plaza and move forward with somewhat close to what we have now,” she said.SARA also is working with a focus group of preservation and history experts, including some from San Antonio’s Black community, to study options for interpreting the church site.River autohrity officials aren’t sure whether public meetings will be held in person or virtually, because of COVID-19. That will be noted when the dates and times of the meetings are announced.Mark Penner, a committee member and owner of Penner’s, a clothing store near the site, said he’s worried the 30-day comment period may not generate enough participation. He said he supports preserving at least part of the foundation, and any efforts to “save the stone,” but is worried about delays to the project.“We’re hoping to get enough comments to save the stone itself and continue the project as is, so it doesn’t get stalled and stalled and stalled. Which I’m sure everybody would prefer it move on,” Penner said.Clayton noted that a planned pedestrian paseo underneath a newly constructed Houston Street bridge might have to be eliminated if the Corps decides the full church foundation must be preserved.Committee Chairman Jerry Geyer asked SARA staff to return to the group next month with details on how the planned channel widening would be affected.On ExpressNews.com:The public input will help the Corps weigh the project’s design functions with its intent of celebrating San Antonio’s heritage, officials said.“We’re all working to make sure we do things right, because it’s such an important discovery and part of the culture of the park,” Clayton said. “Until we get that decision, we can’t do any further construction or excavation in that area.”The Corps’ decision may require more design work before construction can resume, Geyer noted.“Then we have to figure out how we’re going to do it,” he said.To learn more about the creek project, visit .Scott Huddleston covers Bexar County government and the Alamo for the San Antonio Express-News. 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This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateSan Antonians will have a say in preserving the remains of one of the oldest Black churches in Texas, a historic structure in the heart of downtown.The building’s foundation, a dramatic archaeological find, was discovered during construction — now on hold — of a critical section of the San Pedro Creek Culture Project, a major flood-control and beautification undertaking.San Antonio River Authority staff said they will launch a public comment process in November to find out whether the public thinks the entire foundation of the...

Public to weigh in on fate of historic San Antonio church foundation, San Pedro Creek project

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